Lola Levine Is Not Mean!

September 21, 2015
Drawing from her own Peruvian and Jewish backgrounds, Brown kicks off a chapter book series starring second-grader Lola Levine, a highly competitive soccer player who earns a reputation for being “mean” after she accidentally injures another student with a slide tackle during a recess match. Lola’s vivacious personality spills out over the pages, and her relationships with her younger brother, Ben, and best friend, Josh, are especially well-developed. Dominguez’s b&w spot illustrations are in step with the upbeat mood, and beyond the soccer theme of this book, Brown highlights Lola’s blended heritage (she signs off the letters she writes with “Shalom”), love of animals, and interest in writing, introducing plenty of material to explore in future books. Ages 6–10.

Starred review from September 1, 2015
Brown introduces a smart, young protagonist with a multicultural background in this series opener for chapter-book readers. Second-grader Lola Levine is half-Peruvian and half-Jewish; she is a skilled soccer player, a persuasive writer, and aspires to own a cat in the near future should her parents concede. During a friendly recess soccer match, Lola, playing goalie, defends an incoming ball by coming out of her box and accidentally fouls a classmate. And so Lola acquires the rhyming nickname Mean Lola Levine. Through Lola's first-person narration, readers see clearly how her savvy and creativity come from her family: Dad, who paints, Mom, who writes, and a fireball younger brother. She also wears her bicultural identity easily. In her narration, her letters to her friends, and dialogue, Lola easily inserts such words as diario, tia, bubbe, and shalom. For dinner, the family eats matzo ball soup, Peruvian chicken, and flan. Interspersed throughout the story are references to all-star soccer athletes, from Brazilian master Pele to Mia Hamm, Briana Scurry, and David Beckham. Dominguez's black-and-white illustrations are cheery and appealing, depicting a long-haired Caucasian father and dark-skinned, black-haired mother. Typefaces that emulate penmanship appropriately differ from character to character: Lola's is small and clean, her mother's is tall and slanted, while Juan's, the injured classmate, is sloppy and lacks finesse. Celebrate a truly accepting multicultural character. (Fiction. 6-10)

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2015

Gr 1-5-In this first book of a new series, Lola is a second grader who loves sports, especially soccer. She also enjoys expressing her feelings by writing her diary. And she has a bratty little brother. Sound familiar? Her classmates think she is a tomboy, and the boys don't like to play games with her because she hurt a fellow classmate, Juan Gomez, by mistake. So now she is known as Mean Lola Levine. Lola is half Jewish and half Peruvian, and her favorite word is shalom-though it's a bit overused throughout the book. She deals with typical woes, such as worrying about how to survive in school, and she learns an important lesson about how words can hurt others. Her supportive family and best friend, Josh, help her cope. The writing style is typical of the genre: straightforward and predictable. Beginning chapter book readers will enjoy Lola's spunk and humor. Black-and-white illustrations are sprinkled throughout. VERDICT A good choice for chapter book collections.-Janene Corbin, Rosebank Elementary School, Nashville, TN

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2015
Grades 1-3 When soccer-loving Lola accidentally fouls a second-grade classmate at recess, she's banned from playing competitive sports and nicknamed Mean Lola Levine until she writes apologies, transforming her into the Soccer Queen. This first entry in a smartly crafted new series introduces Lola, best friend Josh Blot, and her family. Lola's first-person narrative breathlessly chronicles her enjoyment of soccer, the ill-advised slide tackle and its repercussions, and her desire for a kitty. There are mean girls in her class, but, in the usual unpredictable way of second-grade social lives, one might turn out to be OK. The appealing protagonist is energetic and enthusiastic, and her family is atypical. Her father, a ponytailed artist, works at home, and her mom writes for a newspaper. They celebrate both their Peruvian and Jewish roots and encourage the use of peaceful words. Gray-scale sketches and Lola's letters break up the text nicely for young readers. With as much about family and friends as about sports, this chapter book should have broad appeal.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)