Welcome to the Island

by Dela Costa, Ana Sebastiïn (Illustrator)

Overview

Meet the ever-curious Isla Verde, a young girl with a secret—she can speak with animals—in the first book of an all-new chapter book series!

Welcome to the adventurous island of Sol! For eight-year-old Isla Verde, Sol is the perfect place to live. The sun shines bright, the markets brim with delicious food and music, there are animal friends around every corner, and her best gecko buddy, Fitz, is up for almost every adventure!

Yes, Isla’s best friend is a gecko. In fact, that’s part of her big secret...she can speak to animals—and they speak right back! No one else knows about her special talent, not even Mama, Abuelo, or Abuela! But when new girl Tora moves in next door, Isla starts finding it harder to keep her secret under wraps.

With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, the Isla of Adventure chapter books are perfect for beginning readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781665926539
Publisher:	Little Simon
Publication date:	12/27/2022
Series:	Isla of Adventure , #1
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	404,434
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 5.40(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Dela Costa loves nature, discovering new things, and spending too much time speaking to animals even though they don’t respond...yet. She lives in New York.

Ana Sebastián is an illustrator living in Spain. She studied fine arts at University of Zaragoza and Université Michel de Montaigne, Bordeaux, specializing in digital illustration and completing her education with a master’s degree in digital illustration for concept art and visual development. Her work focuses on color and light. She mainly works with her iPad Pro at her studio but sometimes you can find her working at coffee shops, in the mountains, or near the sea. Ana also likes to work with colored pencils and watercolors. When not drawing, she will probably be reading, practicing yoga, or traveling.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1: Isla’s Secret

Editorial Reviews

12/16/2022

Gr 2–5—Isla Verde has a secret: she can talk to the animals of Sol, the island where she lives. Isla is an adventurous Black girl, eager to explore with her bestie Fitz the gecko and her other animal friends. When a family moves in next door, she meets Tora Rosa, a light-skinned girl from the big city (La Ciudad) who seems different from her in every way. She's tidy where Isla is covered in dirt from her explorations; adores pink where Isla's last name clearly cues green; and finds reptiles and amphibians scream-worthy, while Isla considers them her closest chums. Yet Isla wants to make a human friend all the same! But she's out of practice and grows self-conscious as she stumbles through getting to know Tora while concealing her ability. Then Tora's cherished La Ciudad pin is snatched by a seagull, and the girls bond on their mission to retrieve it. Isla confides in Tora, who is thrilled by the girl's secret, and the book ends on a promising note of a blossoming odd-couple friendship. Charming monochrome art occupies half of almost every page and brings Isla and her beautiful home to life. Onomatopoeia absorbs readers in delightful minutiae like Isla's meditative sketching and her jaunt to the local market, while plentiful use of italics will teach them about emphasis (especially if read aloud). With 10 chapters and advanced terminology, this title would be best for older chapter book readers into younger middle grade, or as a read aloud. VERDICT A series debut bustling with welcoming energy, appropriately challenging language, and lessons about friendship. Children will eagerly anticipate more visits to Sol.—Ashleigh Williams

School Library Journal

2022-10-12
An 8-year-old girl struggles to keep her secret when a new neighbor moves in next door.

Nobody knows that Isla Verde can talk to the animals on the island where she lives, Sol. It’s a talent that comes in handy when she sends her best friend, Fitz the Gecko, to check out the moving truck that arrived on her street. To her excitement, one of the new neighbors is a girl her age, so she might finally have a human best friend. However, Tora Rosa, who comes from La Ciudad, seems like the complete opposite of Isla—she’s tidy, loves the big city where she’s from, and runs from animals—but Isla still wants to make a good impression, so she comes up with an idea. On a trip to town to prepare for her big plan, Isla bumps into Tora. When an attention-seeking bird steals Tora’s prized pin, a reminder of her old home, the two embark on an adventure across the island. As they traverse Sol, Isla runs into some of her best animal friends, which puts her secret at risk of exposure. Isla just may find that the best way to make a friend is to be herself, despite her and Tora’s differences. A well-paced adventure with simple language, this is an excellent selection for beginning readers. Soft, warm illustrations depict Isla’s beloved island as she shows Tora around, keeping young readers engaged while they learn about what the island offers. Isla’s curiosity and joy shine through as a budding friendship blossoms. Isla and her family are brown-skinned, while Tora and her family are lighter-skinned; both families are Spanish-speaking and present as Latine.

A charming start to a new adventure series. (Fiction. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews