Adventure in the City of Stories, by Emma Otheguy, for Timeslip Tuesday

Happy book birthday to  Adventure in the City of Stories, by Emma Otheguy, illustrated by Polly Bernatene (middle grade, July 21, 2026 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers) which happily for me is published on a Timeslip Tuesday! Once again, the three cousins (Siggy, Camila, and Jorge, from Cousins in the Time of Magic) are plunged into a time travel adventure.  This time around, they must go back to New York City in the early 1930s.

The story begins when Camila, the bookworm of the family, is desperately upset when her principal sends her home with the Spanish language books she brought to school to share with her new friend Marisol, but writes a letter to the whole school community that such books are inappropriate in a US school.  But in a cupboard in their Tia Xia's house there an old book in Spanish by Pura Belpré (a name which doesn't mean much to the kids yet, but will to many adult readers!) along with two strange puppets that belonged to her, and the cousins decide to lend the book to Marisol.  This does not go well.

The book and the puppets were found by Tia Xia seemingly abandoned in a closet in the Latin History Museum where she works, and she brought them home.  But now their absence has been noticed, and a criminal investigation has been launched.  The kids decide to take them back to their original time and place, 1930's New York City, traveling in one of Tia Xia's magical time boats.  But Cooper, the white bully next door, makes off with one of the puppets as they begin the journey.  

The three cousins find themselves in the past, with 1 puppet and an old book, and not much in the way of a plan.  The NY public library seems like a good place to start, and off they go with a new friend, Puerto Rican Antonia.  Unfortunately, their conversation with librarian Anne Carrol Moore (another name that will thrill librarians) is overheard by rich and nasty Mrs. Wilson, who hates the recent influx of Puerto Ricans into the city.  Antonia knows this well, as her mother works for her. And Mrs. Wilson currently is furious at Antonia, for submitting an essay to Mr. Wilson's competition for young writers that celebrates Puerto Rico at the expense of New York.  So Mrs. Wilson immediately decides the kids are thieves and takes the book from them.  

What follows is a tense scramble to foil evil Mrs. Wilson, with the added worry of repercussions landing on Antonia's family.  It's great to see the foiling work, and great as well to see the modern kids appreciating the slice of New York social, and literary, history they've fallen into.  Message sometimes overshadows story, but not enough to matter in the long run, especially since the thought-provoking celebration of stories refusing to be trampled, and the value of diverse stories, is such a timely and lovely one!  And the history lessons folded into the mix are great--fun fiction is the best way to learn about the past!  In this case, the history of Puerto Rico, which will be new to many young readers.  

And though the time travel wasn't the main point of the book, it was an effective vehicle for an entertaining and illuminating story.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher