Sonia Sotomayor: Be Bold, Baby!, written by Alison Oliver, reviewed by Klaudia Janek

Summary: Sonia Sotomayor is another book in the Be Bold, Baby! board book series by Alison Oliver. Fans will notice the continuity in the bold colors of Oliver’s illustrations. It’s a very succinct overview of Sonia Sotomayor’s life designed for the youngest of readers. The book starts by advising readers to “be a good listener.” A quote from Sotomayor states that “Abuelita would close her eyes and recite poems written long ago about the tropical land our family had left behind.” The book goes on to encourage readers to explore, be courageous, be helpful, be vocal, be a mentor, be just, be a good sport and to be an inspiration to others. Each declaration has a corresponding illustration that is a scene from Sotomayor’s life as an example of how she did each of those things. Babies will love the mirror at the end so they can see themselves reflected as part of the story. Older readers will enjoy the more detailed author’s note at the end.

Straight Talk for Librarians: This board book is a perfect fit for the PreK section in a school or public library. If you have others from this series, then this is a necessary addition. This book needs to have an older reader reading this book out loud for the younger reader. The vocabulary is pretty high level and is designed to be discussed with the examples from the illustrations. It sends a positive inspirational message. Each of the women featured would be good role models for growing readers. I think the mirror is a really nice interactive touch that finishes the story. It’s a great example to use to introduce the newest readers to what a biography is.