Best-friend-cousins Del and Alma are about to be neighbors in the same building when Alma moves from her old home by a lake to her new home in the city. It's going to be great! Right?

Read the first chapter aloud to 5.5yo but other books took precedence - we'll come back to this later and I expect it will go well then!

Del (short for Delfina) is so excited that her cousin Alma is coming to live in their apartment building. They are best friends and it will be wonderful to have even more family together! The minute Alma shows up, Del is ready to show her the wonderful treasures in the second-hand shop on the bottom floor, the neighborhood, and everything!

Alma loves her cousin and is thrilled to be living in the same building. At the same time, she is a little shyer than Del and misses her big bedroom, living by a lake, and having a little more peace and quiet. On top of that, Del is always talking about magic and Alma just doesn't see it. She starts to feel like she doesn't belong in her family at all - and Del doesn't help, always telling her what she's doing wrong and how to change.

When Del discovers "magic" earrings and seems to have nothing but good luck, Alma loses her temper and instead of apologizing, she does something awful. Now she feels even worse! But with the loving help of Abuelita, the two cousins make up their fight and learn to be kinder to each other. Del realizes that Alma doesn't need to be told what to do all the time - but she does need to hear that she belongs with her family, even if she is different.

Black and white illustrations are scattered throughout the story, but the cover portrays Del with dark hair and brown skin and Alma with light brown hair and light skin. Spanish is sprinkled throughout the story and a consistent them is that of family - how they fit together even when people do things differently or think differently. The apartment houses an extended family - the shop on the first floor, Abuelita on the second, Del and her family on the third, TiTi Rosa and her little girl Evie on the fourth, and Alma has just moved onto the top, fifth floor. Some casual references imply that at least some of the family have a background in Puerto Rico.

Verdict: This is a simple and sweet beginning chapter book, with just a hint of magic, and a wonderful depiction of a loving and multi-ethnic family.

ISBN: 9780062878250; Published June 2020 by Katherine Tegen Books; Borrowed from another library in my consortium