A year of discoveries culminates in a performance full of surprises, as two girls find their own way to belong. Mexico may be her parents’ home, but it’s certainly not Margie’s. She has finally convinced the other kids at school she is one-hundred percent American—just like them. But when her Mexican cousin Lupe visits, the image she’s created for herself crumbles. Things aren’t easy for Lupe, either. Mexico hadn’t felt like home since her father went North to find work. Lupe’s hope of seeing him in the United States comforts her some, but learning a new language in a new school is tough. Lupe, as much as Margie, is in need of a friend. Little by little, the girls’ individual steps find the rhythm of one shared dance, and they learn what “home” really means. In the tradition of My Name is Maria Isabel—and simultaneously published in English and in Spanish—Alma Flor Ada and her son Gabriel M. Zubizarreta offer an honest story of family, friendship, and the classic immigrant experience: becoming part of something new, while straying true to who you are. Acclaimed children's writer Alma Flor Ada and her son Gabriel Zubizaretta have teamed up for the very first time to bring us a compelling chapter book for children dealing with a timely topic-- the problem of assimilation from a child's point of view. -Atheneum Alma Flor Ada, an authority on multicultural and bilingual education, is the recipient of the 2012 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, and in 2014 she was honored by the Mexican government with the prestigious OHTLI Award. She is the author of numerous award-winning books for young readers, including Dancing Home with Gabriel Zubizarreta, My Name Is María Isabel , Under the Royal Palms (Pura Belpré Medal), Where the Flame Trees Bloom , and The Gold Coin (Christopher Award Medal). She lives in California, and you can visit her at AlmaFlorAda.com. Gabriel M. Zubizarreta draws from his experiences of raising his three wonderful daughters in his writing. He hopes his books will encourage young people to author their own destinies. He coauthored Love, Amalia and Dancing Home with Alma Flor Ada. Gabriel lives in Northern California with his family and invites you to visit his website at GabrielMZubizarreta.com. Dancing Home 1. The Map Margie felt nervous having to wait outside the principal’s office. She kept her eyes fixed on the huge map that covered the entire wall. Mrs. Donaldson seemed to be a pleasant woman, but Margie had never had to address the principal all by herself before. The map’s colors were vivid and bold, showing Canada, the United States, and part of Mexico. Alaska and the rest of the United States were a strong green; Canada was a bright yellow. The remainder of the map, however, showed only a small part of Mexico in a drab sandlike color Margie could not name. For Margie, maps were an invitation to wonder, a promise that someday she would visit faraway places all over the world. Looking at this one, Margie could imagine herself admiring the giant glaciers in Alaska, standing in awe in front of the Grand Canyon, gazing at the endless plains of the Midwest, trying to find her way in the midst of bustling New York City, or peering at the rocky coasts of Maine . . . but when her eyes began to wander south of the border, she averted her gaze. That is not a place I want to visit , she thought, remembering so many conversations between her parents and their neighbors, tales of families not having enough money to live a decent life, of sick people lacking medical care, and of people losing their land and homes. As she pushed those troubling thoughts aside, Margie’s heart once again swelled with pride, knowing she had been born north of that border, in the United States, an American. Margie looked over at the girl waiting in the other chair outside the principal’s office. Her cousin Lupe was not as lucky as Margie, who had been born in the United States. Lupe had just arrived from Mexico and looked completely out of place in that silly frilly dress she had insisted on wearing. “My mother made it especially for me,” she had pleaded, and Margie’s mother had allowed her to wear it. That dress was much too fancy for school. It was so embarrassing for Margie to be seen with a cousin who was dressed like a doll! Margie knew her classmates would tease Lupe about her organza dress and her long braids. Would all that teasing spill over to Margie? Were they going to start mocking her, squealing “Maargereeeeeta, Maargereeeeeta” and asking her when had she crossed over from Mexico? She had hated it so much when they used to tease her like that! It had been such a struggle for Margie to get her classmates to stop thinking of her as Mexican. She was very proud of having been born in Texas. She was as American as anyone else. Now Margie feared that because Lupe was tagging along in that dumb dress, everyone would start back up with the teasing she had hated so much. She could