My Family Adventure (Sofia Martinez) Product Bundle – Illustrated, January 1, 2015

This was purchased to encourage a reluctant reader to explore books beyond the “Junie B Jones” series. The graphics are visually appealing and support the storyline, aiding reading comprehension. The books in this series are pretty short, which actually was giving a confidence boost to the reluctant and somewhat resistant reader. Cultural and linguistic elements, such as calling her grandmother “abuela”, are great, and there’s a glossary of words used in the book as well.Though it seems counterproductive to go from longer chapters (as in Junie B books) to shorter ones (this book/ this series of books), this graphic-rich style opened the door to DC Superheroes books as a next step, which is huge! May your resistant reader find this book an engaging and beneficial part of their reading journey!I only wish they had more books in the series, and that they expanded to have longer books as an option for Sofia as well; they’ve been that good for my reader!

Sofia Martinez is a fun little girl who wants to world to notice her. In each of the three stories in this short early chapter book, Sofia sets out with the best of intentions. In Picture Perfect, Sofia is determined to make her family take notice of her. But when switching picture frames with her older sister doesn't do the trick she has to come up with something else that will have her family oohing and aahing over her upcoming school pictures. In Abuela's birthday, Sofia decides she wants to make a pinata. So with the help of her cousins she sets out to do so, unfortunately, things don't go according to plan and the results involve a cat, flour, and a bathtub. The Missing Mouse presents Sofia with the opportunity to search for the pet mouse that escaped while in her care. Jules has written a sweet and fun series that's right up there with the Judy Moody series in terms of fun and character. The inclusion of Spanish words works well with definitions included at the end for those like me who are curious about the official definitions. Context helps a lot in figuring out what the Spanish words mean. Books like this are becoming ever more important as the need for diverse books continues to grow.

My 4yr old boy loves this book. He likes the relatable and fun stories involving the family and their pets. There are just enough pictures to keep him interested in the longer stories that make up this beginning chapter book.

Seven year old Sofia Martinez is the star of this children’s story book. The book actually contains three different short stories, each of which is divided into chapters and each telling about some aspect of her family life. Throughout the stories short key Spanish terms are also used and there is a Spanish Glossary to explain the meanings of these terms.This early chapter book has beautiful, vivid illustrations which bring the characters and situations to life. In each story, Sofia tries to overcome a different problem in her own inimitable manner, often with entertaining, humorous results. In the first story, she wants to stand out from her two older sisters, because she feels nobody notices her. In the second she - disastrously - tries to make a piñata and in the third she needs to re-capture a mouse, Snowflake!I like how the book is bilingual and the spanish vocabulary is colour highlighted, making it easy to spot. This colour coding will also help younger readers realise that they may well not understand the coloured text and why. This is a great way to introduce a different language in a non-threatening manner to children who have never seen or spoken it before but it will also be great for children who have grown up speaking both Spanish and English. I hope this will be a book from a series and have no hesitation in recommending it for children who are ready to read, relatively independently, early chapter books.Teachers would probably find this book a great resource for stimulating PSHE discussions as well as introducing Spanish to their pupils.Thanks to the author, publishers and NetGalley, too, for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a 2nd grade teacher and I was so excited to add this Sofia series to my classroom. My kids will love the silly situations Sofia gets herself into with her sisters. And the coolest is all of the Spanish words incorporated can be found in a glossary in the back. My students will have a great opportunity to find the bolded Spanish words and use the glossary to figure out their meaning. A MUST have series! Can't wait to keep adding to my collection.

Perfect Adventure for my Second Grader who also takes Spanish at school. I just love that my daughter is getting the best of both worlds while reading and enriching her Spanish Vocabulary. It’s also nice that this book is enhancing her reading helping her with her Spanish as well as helping her learn to use a glossary. Now a days it’s rare to tell your little to use the glossary, but it’s important that they know what it is and how to use it for their future. Sofia has made a Great learning adventure for my daughter and we look forward to more.

What great introduction to chapter books! We bought three of the "Sofia Martinez" books and all were fun stories! Really like the Spanish words throughout although I wish there was a little bit more. Illustrations are cute & colorful.Think it's great for 1st graders as the reading was a bit easy for our 2nd grader but nonetheless was still very enjoyable.

This is such a great series for K-2 students! Once I read this title, I was excited to read the other books too! This series will be a great addition to our school library. Sofia’s culture cheerfully shines through and the inclusion of Spanish words and phrases is a bonus.