Sebastian is painfully shy: he doesn’t talk to his neighbors, he doesn’t talk in school, he doesn’t even tell the barber that he hates it when his haircut ends up looking like a billiard ball. All this begins to change when Sebastian serendipitously finds a pair of old roller skates left in the park. Slowly, cau tiously, he teaches himself to skate, and the newfound confidence gives him the courage to start talking to everyone who has been patiently waiting to hear what he has to say. In fact, he even befriends the shy girl in his class and offers to teach her to skate, too. 2006 USBBY-CBC Outstanding International Books List. lvb

Originally published as Patins del Sebastià in Spanish by Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Spain ( Los patines de Sebastián in Catalan by Círculo de Lectores in La Galera), in 2003. Translated by Roser Ruiz.

Sebastian doesn't talk much, even though he has a lot to say, but a pair of roller skates may unlock more than Sebastian's coordination in this story about a boy who realizes that with practice, he just gets better and better--and learns a lot more than just how to skate. Full color.