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From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Paco dreams of being a bullfighter, napping underneath trees, and even just enjoying his lunch. But school just doesn't hold his attention in fact, the classroom is where he does most of his daydreaming. When a teacher sees Paco's doodles of his pueblo and his family, he appreciates Paco's creative side and takes him to the art room, introducing him to colors, paints, brushes, and a blank canvas. Now, Paco can truly explore the world around him as well as the one inside his dreams. The bright, vibrant colors first seen in the illustrations of Paco's imagination later reappear as he discovers painting, lending a whimsical, almost magical feel to this story. Rhyming couplets, in English with occasional bolded Spanish words, make this a natural read-aloud; context clues in the text and illustrations, as well as an appended glossary, will help emerging Spanish readers with the vocabulary. A bright, engaging story about a boy who finds something that's worth paying attention to.--Rosie Camargo Copyright 2018 Booklist

Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Paco is a restless student with a vivid imagination; he'd rather daydream and draw than pay attention in class. When his profesor notices Paco's artistic talent, he is introduced to a whole new world: the art room. The serviceable rhyming text includes Spanish words sprinkled throughout. Bright colors bring the illustrations--and Paco's imagination--to vibrant life. Glos. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Paco is a fidgety daydreamer. After his teacher reprimands him for not paying attention, the boy compromises by drawing during the lesson. His teacher is amazed by the artwork and takes him to the school's art studio, where the inexperienced artist miraculously knows how to mix paint. Alarmingly, no one seems concerned when Paco doesn't return to the classroom. Kyle's uncomplicated rhyming story employs code-switching to introduce Spanish-language vocabulary. However, the masculine form for teacher, el professor, is only used oncethereafter, it's used as if it were a proper name without the article "el"an oversight that will strike many as amateurish. The rhymes and meters are at times forced and awkward. "He colored montaas that stretched to the sky, / with pjaros swooping down low, flying high." Heinsz's manga-inspired illustrations are bright but confusing. In one scene Paco is drawing his hometown seemingly somewhere in Spain, and then he's flying over saguaros in the U.S. Southwest. A bullfighting motif is repeated by both author and illustrator despite its growing unpopularity worldwide and its representation of colonization. The author's note inadvertently implies that only minority kids "like Paco" are the restless ones. An uneven phonetic glossary is included. Some words are Anglicized while others are not. "Que" is "kay" instead of "keh," while "Ol" is correctly rendered "oh-LEH." Paco has black hair and brown skin, and his teacher presents white; his classroom is diverse.Not, alas, as strong as Kyle's earlier Gazpacho for Nacho (illustrated by Carolina Faras, 2014). (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.