3.5 stars

Joaquin is having a bad time, and suddenly he learns about alebrijes.
The colours are stunning, and the introduction of the alebrijes is well done.

Very beautiful, fresh, and meaningful story to help kids find their strength! I just wish the story's ending would have expanded a bit more. What I mean by that is I think this story ended in an odd way. I loved how the author concluded with showing readers that everyone, even adults, need a little extra help sometimes. However, I would have liked to see a conclusion on how the alebrije helped Joaquin. Other than that, though, I really enjoyed reading this book. The illustrations perfectly captured the breathtaking creativity of alebrijes, and it gave the book a dreamy feel, which worked well. Lastly, this book has such a good lesson for young readers: that you might need a friend to help you through tough times, but eventually you'll find your own strength. This is so important for young readers to see and read about.
Great book!

This book is like a warm colorful hug. I love the use of the bright vibrant colors because it really draws the reader in and makes the book attractive! I can see this being a popular book at my library amongst kids and parents alike!

Imaginative, colorful illustrations, fantastical creatures, and friends who help you through your most challenging obstacles. What’s not to love? I’ll admit that I absolutely love the idea of this book, but in execution, it fell short. The text of the story felt oddly stilted and the insertion of random Spanish words felt contrived. The illustrations were beautiful, but then the words felt like they were squeezed into available spaces, with a font that doesn’t match the aesthetic of the book and changes colors, sometimes making it difficult to read. Come for the colors. Stay for the history and making your own alebrije activity. Make up your own words and ignore mediocre text.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

IF YOU EVER NEED A FRIEND, An Alebrije Story features a boy who doesn't feel comfortable at school. He discovers how to have an alebrije, who gives him confidence.

I loved the colorful illustrations and the alebrijes. It was fun to read a book centered around Latino culture. The message is a little on the nose, but I think kids will still enjoy this book because being scared is relatable and the illustrations draw you in.

Happy reading!

This book is wonderful. I love books that deal with children's emotions and teaching them different strategies on how to regulate them. Being Mexican-American, I felt very connected to this book particularly. This book both shows kids a way to process emotions as well as teaching them something about the Mexican culture. The art is beautiful and shows the beauty of the subject matter.

Good parts:
Use of colour in the illustrations
Inclusion of an activity which was realistic for the reader age group.
The opening was so strong and I had really high hopes for the book to talk properly about how children can and should approach others.

Bad parts
It did feel patronising at times instead of whimsical. I think this is a fine line in children’s literature and there were moment when that book failed that balance.
It did not offer a practical guide to helping with emotions

I love the premise of this book; creating a friend to help when we feel scared, anxious, angry, etc. This story tackles ways to handle some big feelings, and it's great that it also adds that adults need help too. Kids need to know that!

Unfortunately the text on my kindle was tiny, making it very difficult to read, and zooming in didn't make much difference.

#IfYouEverNeedaFriend #NetGalley

A beautifully illustrated and colorful book, on emotions and how everyone struggles with them. The book introduces a few Spanish words. The children in this story learn to deal with emotions by creating an alebrijes or magical animal.

The story of Joaquin who is having a hard day. With the help of a magical slide he is taken to a fantastical world and meets his alebrije. The colorful illustrations are perfect for the mythical creatures that serve as spirit guides. And the creatures help with the children’s emotions. The elementary school where I work as a librarian is a Spanish immersion school and this would be perfect for our shelves as there are several Spanish words used in the story. I only wish the words on the page were a bigger font for easier reading. I liked the information about alebrijes at the back and the questions.

If You Ever Need a Friend is beautiful inside and out. The message that we all need encouragement, help, a friendly face, or support of some kind from time to time really resonates. The illustrations are adorably bright and engaging. I love how the author incorporated Spanish words in a way that enables children to easily deduce the definition through context clues, giving them an introduction to another language. This is a book children will want to return to again and again.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the arc, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'll admit that I only knew of alebrijes because of their depiction in Coco, so I was excited to learn more through If You Ever Need a Friend. This is such a cute story! Joaquin struggles with speaking up and getting involved, but with the help of his friend Imogen and a magical portal on the playground, he finds the path to his own alebrije.

The illustrations were super cute, and I especially love the pages with Joaquin's and Imogen's scribbled brainstorming. I only wish we'd actually seen Joaquin's growth in the end -- maybe his alebrije nudging him with the horns in another shy situation, etc.

All in all, I think this has a wonderful, timeless message for anyone who struggles with their self-confidence. We're never alone! ♥

(Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.)

A beautiful story about our emotions and how we can cope with them. The story is relatable and fun, kids will love this. I love the cultural aspect of the story too, it was fun to learn more about alebrijes and their roles. The ending was wonderful. And the illustrations were so colorful and engaging. This is a story your kids will want to read again and again!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

This is a beautiful colorful book! I wish that the writing was a little big bigger, I had to enlarge the PDF for every page, to be able to read it. This book introduces foreign words (foreign to me, assuming Spanish). I felt like I kind of needed an introduction to the fact that there were going to be foreign words in the book, not because I don't like them or they don't belong, it was just startling and I had to think hard about what I was reading. It just wasn't quite what I expected. I'm not rating the book based on that feeling. I really enjoyed the explanation at the end of the book, however that will be to much for small children. I like that the child learned that even adults need help as well. I really liked the questions at the end of the book, they should spark some great discussions for the reader and listener. Thanks to Netgalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

Joaquin is having a rough day, discovers his Alebrije with the help of his friend Imogen & learns when he’s feeling all alone, left out or having a hard day, it’s nice to know that your Alebrije can help you find your way. A fun, colorful & imaginative book your lil will love.

Thank you for granting my "Wish" to read this title. The cover and description looked so cute and fun and it did not disappoint for my family. This was giving Encanto/CoCo vibes.

My littles (2 & 5) loved this. The story follows a little boy who does feel like he has any friends and is just ignored when he sees a magical slide that takes his to another place to find his spirit animal. Within the content, the littles learned a few Spanish words for body parts.

The illustrations were stunning. So colorful and bright, they caught the attention of my littles and they stayed focused throughout the story.

Thank you Shadow Mountain Publishing, Nadine Fonseca, and NetGalley for allowing my family to review.

Gorgeous illustrations and a strong message make this an intriguing picture book. However, there is a disconnect between the writing and the rest. It feels like it was written for children without consulting children. By being driven by the lesson, the charm of the lesson is lost.

I would still be willing to add it to my library, but it is not the top of my wishlist.

All opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the eARC.

I read “If You Ever Need a Friend” with my three year old daughter and she loved it! She was immediately reminded of Disney’s Coco and she was able to understand the emotion Joaquin was experiencing because she’s also felt like sometimes she’s not being heard.

The illustrations of the alibrjes were beautiful and the story was easy for a young reader to understand and relate to. We’ll absolutely be adding this to our library!

Thank you NetGalley, Shadow Mountain Publishing, and Nadine M. Fonseca for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!