Speaking Spanish in the U.S. is both barrier and celebration in this funny, touching picture book. Carlos' parents work long hours, so his main caregiver is Uncle Tomas, who has been glowering and gloomy ever since the family moved to L.A. from Mexico. "Uncle Rain Cloud," as Carlos calls him, spits out the few English ("El-blah-blah") words he knows. The anger is always there when he fetches Carlos from school, shops with him at the supermarket, attends the teacher conference (when Carlos has to translate). Only at night does the fury abate, when Tio Tomas tells Carlos amazing stories of Mexico, including myths of the gods with their musical tongue-twister names. VandenBroeck's bright, softly textured pictures in acrylic and colored pencil show the child's bond with the hurt, angry man, who is a stranger in the supermarket but brings the richness of the ancestors' stories into Carlos' home. When Tio Tomas finally admits he feels "like a broken-winged bird," and he lets his nephew teach him English (he'll keep Spanish for important things), Carlos knows they both will have twice as much as everyone else. Johnston's text is clear and poetic, "stretching the words out clear to Mexico," and she smoothly weaves in the Spanish in a way that's easy to understand. Many immigrant kids will recognize the role reversal: what it's like to act as teacher to the adults in the family. Hazel Rochman Copyright c American Library Association. All rights reserved