Elena wants to be a glassblower like her dad and when she goes to ask her Dad if he can teach her he says no. Elena goes out of her way to go on a journey and learn from someone else. She goes to Monterrey and gets taught. Then comes back in disguised as a grown up to show her dad her new glassblowing skills and tricks him. This is great to show a class because of the beautiful illustrations and the hilarious story ( )

A sweet and inventive book with nice illustrations full of surprises the kids love to pick out. A kind, brave, feisty, clever heroine. ( )

Beautifully illustrated, and a charming story. I really loved the glass-blowing aspect, and magical unexpected music -- unusual and delightful. ( )

This book was about how when someone wants to do something, if they put their mind to it, they can do it. I really liked this book for many reasons. The first reason is the language. It was in English but certain words were in Spanish. For example, "El sol blazes like Papa's furnace, and the road is long." The writing was very engaging and was very well paced. I also really enjoyed the illustrations. They were very detailed and helped to enhance the story. The last reason why I loved the book was that it pushed readers to think about tough issues. All the people in the story doubted Elena because she was a girl. Many girls in today's world are doubted just because they are female and apparently are not capable. I loved how in this story, Elena proved that to be false. ( )

I loved Elena’s Serenade. It was a great story about a little girl who wanted to become a glass blower, but her dad wouldn’t let her because she was a girl. Therefore, she disguised herself as a boy and left home on a journey to become a glass blower. One thing I really enjoyed about the story was its message. Though it is a fictitious story, it shows that girls can do anything boys can do and defies gender stereotyping in the types of jobs people have. Also, I enjoyed the illustrations. I can’t tell what medium was used to create the illustrations, but I loved the detail and bright colors throughout them because they really enhanced the story. Finally, I loved the emphasis on Hispanic and Latin culture. Elena lives in Mexico, so the setting and culture is different than what many students in America know, so this book would definitely help broaden their horizons on it.
I would recommend this story for early readers K-2 because it’s a fun and heartwarming story with beautiful illustrations that young kids would love to hear in a read aloud. ( )