Carina Felina
Carmen Agra Deedy 
Illustrated by Henry Cole
Scholastic Press
August 15, 2023
Ages 4-8

This hilarious and clever story is a retelling of a classic folktale set in Havana, Cuba. Pepe is a handsome parrot that falls helplessly in love with Carina Felina, a hungry, blue cat. Pepe invites her over for a home-cooked dinner of crackers and fresh coffee. But Pepe doesn’t know he is Carina’s dinner. Pepe is only the beginning of Carina’s meal. She gobbles up a florist, an oxcart man, and a wedding party. She eyes a pair of crabs and snatches them up, too. Can the pair of crabs outsmart Carina to save their friends? 

Cole’s sketches come to life with multi-colored soft brush finishes. They present visual humor, revealing Carina’s full belly of all the characters trapped inside. The artwork is also a great representation of the setting. Deedy and Cole continue to expose readers to Cuban culture by using bilingual words and their translations. Readers can point out the characters and name them both in Spanish and English by the end of the book. Children will find this book intriguing with the repetition of Carina’s phrase “I’m Carina Felina! I do what I like, I eat what I wish. Step out of my way, or be my next dish!” and more use of verse. The cumulative story’s predictability is great for growing early readers. Carina’s persistent, outrageous behavior of swallowing characters whole is amusing but compelling, which will delight in a storytelling setting.