A New Home

by Tania de Regil

Overview

As a girl in Mexico City and a boy in New York City ponder moving to each other’s locale, it becomes clear that the two cities — and the two children — are more alike than they might think.

But I’m not sure I want to leave my home.
I’m going to miss so much.

Moving to a new city can be exciting. But what if your new home isn’t anything like your old home? Will you make friends? What will you eat? Where will you play? In a cleverly combined voice — accompanied by wonderfully detailed illustrations depicting parallel urban scenes — a young boy conveys his fears about moving from New York City to Mexico City while, at the same time, a young girl expresses trepidation about leaving Mexico City to move to New York City. Tania de Regil offers a heartwarming story that reminds us that home may be found wherever life leads. Fascinating details about each city are featured at the end.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536201932
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	04/09/2019
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	234,474
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 10.40(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Tania de Regil studied fashion design at Parsons School of Design in New York City before moving back to her native Mexico City, where she finished her degree. A New Home is her American publishing debut. She lives in Mexico City and travels to the United States frequently.

Editorial Reviews

De Regil, in her colored pencil, watercolor, and gouache illustrations, moves from the wide snapshots of either city into close experiences. As both stories merge and progress through the same events (attending sporting and cultural events, playing, traveling to their new homes), the narrative furthers the conversation on the similarities between the protagonists. The stories come together in a sweet moment when they cross paths at the airport, hopeful for the possibilities of different adventures in their new homes...A heartwarming story that depicts the anxiety of moving and leaving the familiarity of one's own culture behind.
—Kirkus Reviews

A little boy from New York City and a little girl from Mexico City take turns voicing their apprehensions about moving to a new home in a new country—a move that the audience immediately recognizes as essentially swapping places...Pair this with Kostecki-Shaw’s Same, Same but Different (BCCB 11/11) and encourage kids to consider the pleasures of new surroundings waiting to be explored and embraced. A Spanish-language edition is also available.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

This debut picture book features a boy in New York City who learns he will be relocating to Mexico City, and a girl in Mexico City considering her move to the Big Apple...A positive, reassuring recommendation for families coping with relocating to a new city. Recommended for school and public libraries.
—School Library Journal

What makes this simple story work are De Regil's brightly colored mixed-media illustrations...Appended with information about each scene represented, this makes an upbeat and reassuring addition to books about moving.
—Booklist

Tackling both big-life concepts—fear and sadness that accompany moving—as well as geographic and cultural concepts, it’s an excellent read-aloud that will provide a solid foundation for further classroom learning.
—BookPage

De Regil’s reassuring ode to one’s beloved home acknowledges both the flaws and vibrancy of the two places and encourages children to be brave and open-minded about moving; the dual narratives of bilateral north-south movement offer readers a unique perspective and challenge the stereotype of a unidirectional flow of migration.
—The Horn Book

From the Publisher

04/01/2019

PreS-Gr 1—This debut picture book features a boy in New York City who learns he will be relocating to Mexico City, and a girl in Mexico City considering her move to the Big Apple. Both children are unsure about their respective moves, as they will miss many things about their homes. The narrative is structured so that both children share the same thoughts, while the whimsical, detailed watercolor and pencil illustrations show each child enjoying, playing, and exploring their home cities. For instance, when the story reads, "But what if there is nowhere for me to play in my new city?" side-by-side, single-page spreads depict the boy ice-skating in Central Park and the girl riding her bike through Bosque de Chapultepec. Each child thinks, "I hope my life won't be so different in my new city," while the quiet, thoughtful illustrations demonstrate how simultaneously distinctive and similar their homes are. The endpapers offer fun facts about each city alongside compact replicas of the story's individual spreads. VERDICT A positive, reassuring recommendation for families coping with relocating to a new city. Recommended for school and public libraries.—Brianne Colombo, Fairfield Free Public Library, NJ

School Library Journal

2019-01-28

A boy from New York and a girl from Mexico City reminisce about the things they love in their hometowns prior to moving to each other's respective cities.

After the characters are introduced, the narration unfolds in such a way that it represents the experiences of either child. As the story progresses and the images mirror each other in the spreads, the visual narrative depicts the similar experiences both families have without othering either child. De Regil, in her colored pencil, watercolor, and gouache illustrations, moves from the wide snapshots of either city into close experiences. As both stories merge and progress through the same events (attending sporting and cultural events, playing, traveling to their new homes), the narrative furthers the conversation on the similarities between the protagonists. The stories come together in a sweet moment when they cross paths at the airport, hopeful for the possibilities of different adventures in their new homes. De Regil doesn't shy away from the problems both countries and cultures experience, such as homelessness and wealth inequality, yet does not place blame. The backmatter provides information on both the landmarks the children visit—such as Lincoln Center, Palacio de Bellas Artes, and the Museo Nacional de Antropología—and the cultures and issues that surround them. The boy presents white, and the girl has brown skin.

A heartwarming story that depicts the anxiety of moving and leaving the familiarity of one's own culture behind. (Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews

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