Status
Available
Publication
Dreamscape Media (2018), Edition: Unabridged
Library's review
"Based on her experience of leaving Mexico for the United States, Morales’ latest offers an immigrant’s tale steeped in hope, dreams, and love.
This story begins with a union between mother and son, with arms outstretched in the midst of a new beginning. Soon after, mother and son step on a
A resplendent masterpiece. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)" A Kirkus Starred Review, www.kirkusreviews.com
This story begins with a union between mother and son, with arms outstretched in the midst of a new beginning. Soon after, mother and son step on a
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bridge, expansive “like the universe,” to cross to the other side, to become immigrants. An ethereal city appears, enfolded in fog. The brown-skinned woman and her child walk through this strange new land, unwilling to speak, unaccustomed to “words unlike those of our ancestors.” But soon their journey takes them to the most marvelous of places: the library. In a series of stunning double-page spreads, Morales fully captures the sheer bliss of discovery as their imaginations take flight. The vibrant, surreal mixed-media artwork, including Mexican fabric, metal sheets, “the comal where I grill my quesadillas,” childhood drawings, and leaves and plants, represents a spectacular culmination of the author’s work thus far. Presented in both English and Spanish editions (the latter in Teresa Mlawer’s translation), equal in evocative language, the text moves with purpose. No word is unnecessary, each a deliberate steppingstone onto the next. Details in the art provide cultural markers specific to the U.S., but the story ultimately belongs to one immigrant mother and her son. Thanks to books and stories (some of her favorites are appended), the pair find their voices as “soñadores of the world.”A resplendent masterpiece. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)" A Kirkus Starred Review, www.kirkusreviews.com
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Awards
A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (Picture Books — 2018)
Kirkus Prize (Finalist — Young Readers' Literature — 2018)
Audie Award (Finalist — 2019)
Georgia Children's Book Award (Finalist — Picturebook — 2021)
BCCB Blue Ribbon Book (Picture Books — 2018)
Monarch Award (Nominee — 2021)
California Young Reader Medal (Nominee — 2022)
Charlotte Zolotow Award (Highly Commended Title — 2019)
Virginia Readers' Choice (Nominee — Primary — 2021)
IBBY Honour Book (2020)
Colorado Children's Book Award (Nominee — 2020)
Américas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature (Commended Title — 2019)
Flora Stieglitz Straus Award (2019)
CLEL Bell Picture Book Award for Early Literacy (Nominee — 2019)
Anna Dewdney Read-Together Award (Honor Book — 2019)
Pura Belpré Award (Winner — Illustration — 2019)
Iowa Goldfinch Award (Nominee — 2021)
Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award (Younger Readers — 2019)
NPR: Books We Love (2018)
CCBC Choices (2019)
Kansas NEA Reading Circle Recommended Book (Primary — 2019)
Notable Children's Book (Younger Readers — 2019)
Nerdy Book Award (2018)
Los Angeles Public Library Best of the Year (Children's Books — 2018)
Penn GSE's Best Books for Young Readers (Selection — Picture Books — 2018)
Tejas Star Reading List (2020)
Picture This Recommendation List (Fiction — 2019)
El día de los niños / El día de los libros (K-2 — 2020)
Evanston Public Library 101 Great Books for Kids (Nonfiction — 2018)
Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List (Grades K-2 — 2020)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Kids (Picture Books — 2018)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2018
ISBN
1974908194 / 9781974908196