Feisty Carmen is a bit of a drama queen, and always wants to be the star of the show. A creative young girl who enjoys putting on productions for her family in which she writes, directs, designs the costumes, and stars in the show, it takes her a while to realize that collaborating with her adoring younger brother Eduardo might be fun. But once she does... the results are fabulous!

An entertaining and ultimately heartwarming family story by author Anika Denise is paired with colorful, appealing artwork by illustrator Lorena Alvarez Gómez in Starring Carmen!. This was a solid three stars for me, but I added an extra half star because I enjoyed the artwork so much. Alvarez Gómez' palette is vivid, her figures humorous and endearing, and I appreciated the fact that the family depicted are biracial, but that this is not the focus of either story or illustration. The visuals here reminded me a bit of the work of Brigitte Barrager, who has illustrated such books as Uni the Unicorn. Recommended to anyone looking for fun new picture-books about feisty girls, and how they fit into their families. ( )