This is a beautifully illustarted picture books of the life of Cuban salsa singer Celia Cruz. This vibrantly illustrated story captures Cruz’s journey as a child growing up in Havana to her inspiring rise to fame as the world’s queen of salsa. The way they described her singing was also very beautiful it made me wish I was there hearing her sing. The illustrations were also beautiful it made me feel like I was walking in the streets of Cuba. ( )

The power of a dream. this book tells the story of Celia Cruz, the famous afro cuban singer, the queen of Salsa. I like how in the book we see Celia as a child She is the older sister in the family and takes care of her siblings and cousins. She is shy, but independent, and . The book touches very important topics such as race, economical status and gender. This biography also talks about how Celia moved to the US and was not allowed to return to Cuba because of political reasons and how her loved ones supported her and helped her become the iconic Star that changed the history of latin music ( )

Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa is a story about a young Cuban girl, with a voice like a songbird, who worked her way to the top to become the Queen of Salsa. She faced adversity along the way such as her father pushing her to forget music and become a school teacher, the public’s initial disapproval of her becoming the lead singer of a popular group, and her being banned from returning to Cuba after moving to America. Despite the challenges, Celia met the man of her dreams and found much success in her career. The colorful pages really bring the story to life. This is a great book to promote diversity and music. I also enjoyed the Spanish words incorporated into the book to match the Cuban culture, and the glossary in the back was helpful to understand the meaning of the words. Great book for a young audience! ( )

This book talks about Celia Cruz, its starts with her childhood and how she rise to fame. She became very popular and was loved by many. when she came to the United States she was banned from ever returning to her native country of Cuba. I really enjoyed reading this book and I personally loved the colorful illustrations.

This book tells the life story of salsa singer, Celia Cruz. The first thing that caught my eye were definitely the colorful pages. Each page had bright orange, red, blue, pink, and green backgrounds. I liked how the story started off with Celia Cruz as a child and her life in Cuba. As the story progressed, Celia became older, faced challenges, and became the queen of salsa and a very influential Latin American singer. I really liked how the story incorporated a few Spanish words to give the story a Cuban feel. For example, "Her voice is 'tan dulce', sweet like 'azucar'." Along with these words, there is a glossary at the end of the book to help readers understand the words. I liked how the glossary is at the end, and not on the page, because it gives readers a chance to try and fill in the blanks and try to figure out what the word means on their own, but can also double check with the glossary. There was also an authors note at the end of the book as well, explaining how the author saw Celia Cruz as a huge role model and influenced her life while growing up, and stated that, "her [Celia Cruz] music and her life is a reminder of the sweetest things in life." The big idea of this book was to inform the readers of the life of the amazing singer, Celia Cruz. It was also a tribute to those who knew, loved, and remember the impact she had on her listeners. ( )