By Judy Fernandez Diaz
Yesenia Rosado has a great deal on her mind. She’s well-aware that her three older sisters had flourished in fifth-grade: Harvard-bound Juana won first place in the science fair, Barbarita sang her first solo with the school’s orchestra, and Silvia led the student council.
Now it’s Yesenia’s turn to carry the torch, but the pressure from her sisters’ accolades coupled with her own differing interests is taking a toll on her mental health. Her parents know something is wrong but aren’t sure what’s causing it. So at Dr. Morales’ recommendation, they decide to get Yesenia a cat, even though Papi is not a fan of pets.
Bodega Cats: Just Kitten Around pulls us into the world of Yesenia, a playful and caring fifth-grader from Washington Heights who loves to knit. She carries around her knitting notebook where she jots and draws many crafting ideas, allowing her creativity to soar. But she keeps it hidden from Mami and Papi, because they view knitting as a waste of time. They’re obsessed with grades, and consider a B unacceptable. With that in mind, how will Yesenia ever share with them the grade she received on her latest social studies test?
Out on Jan. 21 from Henry Holt & Company, Just Kitten Around is the second book in the Bodega Cats series by award-winning Dominican-American author Hilda Eunice Burgos. The books include adorable illustrations by Mexican and Black artist, Siara Faison, and are chock-full of delightful Dominican details like an ornate crocheted toilet paper doll and a scrumptious-looking bodega yaniqueque display. The stories alternate between the POV of the main character and their feline friend.
In Kitten Around, readers watch all of Yesenia’s heavy problems seemingly melt away when she meets her new kitten, Candy, at her cousin Miguel’s family’s bodega. Candy is short for Candela, so you know she’s bursting with personality. Candy is a very playful kitten who gets off to a rocky start. She scratches and chews on anything and everything, which leads to yelling from Mami and Papi and more stress for Yesenia.
Candy, on the other hand, is apprehensive but excited to be in her new home. There are so many toys for her to scratch and chew. She doesn’t understand why her playfulness makes Yesenia’s parents so angry. The energetic kitten also enjoys spending her days at Mami and Papi’s bodega, where she’s joined by the youngest Rosado sister, 4-year-old Lucita, and a revolving door of warm and welcoming community members from the surrounding neighborhood.
One of my favorite elements of this book is reading Candy’s point of view and seeing the world through her eyes. In one scene, a customer drops into the bodega with pieces of her hair wrapped around wide tubes. An intrigued Candy notices how the hair tubes bob like toys:
“You’re a cutie, Candy! Yes you are, yes you are!” The lady shakes her head up and down, up and down.
I can’t help myself. I reach up and loop a paw inside one of the tubes. It slips off the lady’s head.
“Candelita!” Mami gasps.
Uh-oh. I grab the tube between my teeth and dart under a shelf.
This story is about finding one’s way in a family and leaning on friends to make it through. Both Yesenia and Candy struggle to fit in and learn to rely on each other to navigate their missteps. Along the way, they face misunderstandings and challenges, but their bond brings them back at the end of their various adventures. They also pull strength from their respective friends in their species: Yesenia’s talkative friend, Frankie, who has asked her to join forces on their social studies project. Yesenia had long held a grudge against him because when he moved from the Dominican Republic to Washington Heights three years ago, he said Yesenia wasn’t Dominican because she was born in New York. But over time, Frankie realized their similarities outweigh their differences. And Candy makes feline friends along the way, like Gramps, who helps her when she’s in a jam.
Burgos is masterful at writing rich & complex middle-grade characters that will pull you into their world. You will laugh at their antics, feel compassion for their pain, and root for them through and through. She is also skilled at creating descriptive settings that transport you into all the action. Bodega Cats: Just Kitten Around carried me out of Arizona and dropped me smack in the middle of Washington Heights, and I loved it. I highly recommend this book to all readers of middle-grade stories.
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Visit our Bookshop to pre-order a copy of Bodega Cats: Just Kitten Around.
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About the Author: Hilda Eunice Burgos is the author of the Bodega Cats series, Ana María Reyes Does NOT Live in a Castle, The Cot in the Living Room, and Miosotis Flores Never Forgets. Her parents emigrated from the Dominican Republic before she was born, and she grew up in Washington Heights, New York, as one of four sisters. From the time she was an elementary student at P.S. 132, Hilda has always loved reading, writing, and doing arts and crafts — the first scarf she crocheted quickly unraveled, but she didn’t give up! She and her husband have two grown children and an adorable dog named Bear. They live in the Philadelphia area, where Hilda also works as a lawyer.
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Judy Fernandez Diaz is a first-generation Dominican American living in Arizona. She was selected as a Las Musas Books Spring 2020 Hermana mentee and an Aspen Summer Words middle-grade participant in 2022. Her short stories have been featured in two anthologies: “The Larimar Experiment” was included in Where Monsters Lurk and Magic Hides published by Bee Infinite Publishing (Sept 2022) and “Flor de Caña” was included in Quislaona: A Fantasy Anthology published by DWA Press and Worldbuilding Magazine (2023).
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