Melvin and the Boy
"Castillo’s expressive artwork gently sets the boy in the center of a friendly, bustling cityscape and deftly conveys his longing for an animal friend, the joy at finally achieving that goal, and the ultimate realization that perhaps a wild animal belongs in the park, not leashed or cooped up in an apartment." --Horn Book Magazine  “Emotionally true and therefore highly satisfying.” --Kirkus Reviews "With pared-down, rhythmic words and mixed-media illustrations filled with spot-on body language and details from an urban child’s world, Castillo elevates the familiar theme of a child’s unrequited yearning for a pet, adding a welcome twist when the boy, not the parents, is the first to recognize that Melvin belongs in the wild.” --Booklist