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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

"A big truck with its mouth wide open is parked at the curb, ready to gobble up Evelyn's mirror with the stickers around the edge, her easel for painting on rainy days, and the sofa that we bounce on to get to the moon." Evelyn Del Rey is Daniela's best friend, and the book focuses on how the two best friends spend Evelyn's moving day. The van is being loaded and the apartment emptied, while the girls use an empty box to pretend they are driving around the city in a bus. Their sadness as Evelyn drives away with her parents is as strongly evoked as the delight of their earlier escape into play. The final page shows an older Daniela with a box of letters, clearly still friends with Evelyn. There are many books about a best friend moving away but Meg Medina portrays this reality with vivid emotions and childlike details. Sonia Sánchez's digital illustrations are filled with texture, character, and color, reminiscent of the picture books of Ezra Jack Keats. Both girls are Latina, and Evelyn Del Rey is also of African descent. (Ages 3-7)

CCBC Choices 2021 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2021. Used with permission.

From Horn Book

Starred review from September 1, 2020
Daniela knows she's going to have to say goodbye to Evelyn, her next-door neighbor and "numero uno best friend." But first, the two girls share a last day of play in this bittersweet story by Newbery winner Medina (Merci Suarez Changes Gears, rev. 9/18). Together Daniela and Evelyn, "almost twins" despite looking nothing alike, race up the steps, down the hall, and into Evelyn's apartment, as familiar to Daniela as her own. An empty cardboard box becomes a bus to steer around the city until, in what seems like no time, everything else has been packed into the moving van parked downstairs. Even as the girls make plans to talk every day after school and visit over the summer, Daniela must face the truth that "tomorrow everything will be different." After a photo (say "!Patata!"), secret handshake, and hug, it's time to say goodbye. Evelyn Del Rey is really moving away. Daniela's first-person, present-tense narration balances action and introspection, while in the illustrations the small, expressive figures of the two girls seem barely able to contain the deeply felt emotions, familiar to many children, that accompany loss and change. Sanchez's illustrations layer colorful patterns and textures with filigreed lines and corrugated cardboard collage; bright yellow beech leaves litter the girls' urban neighborhood, suggesting a season of transition. The final image of an older Daniela, seated on the floor of her room surrounded by letters from Evelyn, assures readers that, no matter what, you never forget your first "mejor amiga." Concurrently published in Spanish as Evelyn Del Rey se muda. Anamaria Anderson

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From Publisher's Weekly

Starred review from July 13, 2020
Friends Daniela and Evelyn play while movers pack Evelyn's family's belongings. Narrating in Daniela's voice, Newbery Medalist Medina (Merci Suárez Changes Gears) tells readers about Evelyn: "my mejor amiga, my número uno best friend." The two spend almost every day together; today, their last, is no different: "Come play, Daniela," Evelyn calls. Digital artwork by Sánchez (Raisins and Almonds) radiates warmth and specificity as the girls interact with neighbors ("We sneak past grouchy Mr. Miller's door and wave to Mr. Soo") and revel in their last moments in homes whose windows face one another ("Our apartments are almost twins, just like us"). Art reveals their easy transitions in and out of make-believe as they play bus with an empty box-exuberant Evelyn leans out the back, while Daniela, the driver, looks behind her with furrowed eyebrows. Soon it's time to say goodbye; they put stickers on each other's cheeks to seal a promise of ongoing friendship, "and then Evelyn hugs me hard." Landing on the moment of their parting grief adds poignancy to their vibrant connection, and a final page turn offers further joy to this portrait of two girls of color and their strong, resilient friendship. Ages 5—7.

From School Library Journal

July 1, 2020

K-Gr 4-Daniela goes over to her friend Evelyn's apartment to play just as they do every day, because she is her "mejor amiga." They play games, just like always, and laugh, just like always; but the more Daniela talks about their games, the more she alludes to the fact that Evelyn is moving. When Evelyn and Daniela say goodbye, they learn about how to remain friends, even if moving hurts right now. Medina has created a wonderfully true tale of the happiness that best friends share and the complicated emotions that are faced when that best friend must move away. The story is simple and easy to understand, even for nonspeakers of Spanish, as both illustrations and context help with translation. S�nchez's illustrations give life to the world these two best friends live in, while also revealing details about the move. The raw emotions that Daniela and Evelyn experience come through in the drawings. VERDICT Medina and S�nchez have created a winning emotional story about two best friends who will always be best friends, regardless of all kinds of upheaval.-Margaret Kennelly, iSchool at Urbana-Champaign

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Kirkus

Starred review from July 1, 2020
Daniela's "n�mero uno best friend," Evelyn Del Rey, is moving away. But today, for one last time, they'll play. Just like they always do. Daniela and Evelyn are two Latinx girls who live across the street from each other in apartments that are almost identical. One has a bedroom with "sunny yellow" walls and lives with both her parents and a cat; the other has a bedroom with "cotton candy" pink walls and lives with her mother and a hamster. But they "are mostly the same, just like [their] apartments. But not after today." As the grown-ups pack and the moving truck is loaded, the girls enjoy one last day together. When the time comes to say goodbye, plans are made and big hugs are given. The ending hints at a friendship that lasts into future years, but the beauty of the book lies in the sheer pleasure and exhilaration exhibited by the girls as they enjoy the present moment. Newbery Medalist Medina's versatility is in evidence here, showing she's as much in tune with the picture-book audience as she is with older readers. With lines that go at angles and splashes of bold colors and patterns, S�nchez's artwork is as lively and full of movement as the two girls. Layered applications of color create texture, and the interiors of their apartments are cozily beckoning. Evelyn is depicted with brown skin and locs, and Daniela with pale skin and two puffy pigtails. A tender story of friendship and change. (Picture book. 4-7)

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

From Booklist

July 1, 2020
Preschool-G Medina approaches the difficulty of best friends separated by a move from the perspective of the child left behind. Here young Daniela crosses the street to play with Evelyn, her "mejor amiga, my numero uno best friend," on the day the moving truck arrives to take away all Evelyn's things. Together, the girls greet neighbors, play in all their special places, and hide from the grown-ups when it is time to say goodbye. They agree to talk on the phone, although both realize their relationship won't be the same. Medina's simple, straightforward text never sugarcoats the pain of parting from a best friend; and while Mami assures her daughter that she will make new friends, Daniela knows Evelyn will always be her bestie. S�nchez's digital illustrations depict these two brown girls living in nearly identical inner-city brownstones, connected by a pulley the girls have rigged so they can trade toys. Vivid colors keep the overall tone upbeat, and a final illustration depicts an older Daniela enjoying letters from her friend. Realistic and quietly satisfying.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

From Horn Book

July 1, 2020
Daniela knows she's going to have to say goodbye to Evelyn, her next-door neighbor and "numero uno best friend." But first, the two girls share a last day of play in this bittersweet story by Newbery winner Medina (Merci Suarez Changes Gears, rev. 9/18). Together Daniela and Evelyn, "almost twins" despite looking nothing alike, race up the steps, down the hall, and into Evelyn's apartment, as familiar to Daniela as her own. An empty cardboard box becomes a bus to steer around the city until, in what seems like no time, everything else has been packed into the moving van parked downstairs. Even as the girls make plans to talk every day after school and visit over the summer, Daniela must face the truth that "tomorrow everything will be different." After a photo (say "!Patata!"), secret handshake, and hug, it's time to say goodbye. Evelyn Del Rey is really moving away. Daniela's first-person, present-tense narration balances action and introspection, while in the illustrations the small, expressive figures of the two girls seem barely able to contain the deeply felt emotions, familiar to many children, that accompany loss and change. Sanchez's illustrations layer colorful patterns and textures with filigreed lines and corrugated cardboard collage; bright yellow beech leaves litter the girls' urban neighborhood, suggesting a season of transition. The final image of an older Daniela, seated on the floor of her room surrounded by letters from Evelyn, assures readers that, no matter what, you never forget your first "mejor amiga." Concurrently published in Spanish as Evelyn Del Rey se muda.

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)