Abuela's Wishing Tree: El rbol de los deseos de Abuela

by Mitzi Fernandez Spitzer, Julia Sarapata de Carvalho (Illustrator)

Overview

WINNER International Latino Book Awards Best Children’s Fiction Picture Book – Bilingual Gold Medal 2024
“A nostalgic and uplifting story of one family’s experience in two cultures.” KIRKUS REVIEWS

Abuela’s Wishing Tree is a lyrical bilingual picture book that pays tribute to the Cuban immigrant experience and the delight of nostalgia of those who have left their countries of origin. A celebration of multigenerational joy and family. Seen through the eyes of a Cuban American girl who is about to celebrate her quinceañera, Abuela’s Wishing Tree highlights how each family member brings to life a different memory of Cuba, and how home is always where the heart is.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781958615034
Publisher:	Con Todo Press
Publication date:	05/08/2023
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.00(d)
Language:	Spanish
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Mitzi Fernandez Spitzer is a first generation Cuban American whose book was inspired by her deep love for her family and the customs and traditions she grew up with. Her greatest joy and role in this life is being a mother to her five beautiful children. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and family where she spends her work week as an elementary librarian.

Julia Sarpata de Carvalho is a children's book illustrator and designer from Warsaw, Poland. She is inspired by nature, animals, light, shadows, and magic, which she wants to bring in every one of her illustrations. She is also a mom and happy wife, married to a Brazilian architect and CGI artist, trying to manage the balance between her loving family and work. She wishes to tell stories filled with mysteries, magic, and miracles, which can only happen with the help of our imagination. She wants to fill all the pages of the books she is working on with details and little surprises for readers to find.

Editorial Reviews

A nostalgic and uplifting story of one family's experience in two cultures.- Kirkus Reviews

On the eve of her quinceañera, or 15th birthday celebration, the narrator thinks about the tree her abuela (grandmother) planted from a seed after immigrating to the United States from Cuba. That tree, now grown tall, represents hopes and dreams. Inspired by her love for her family, the narrator imagines a wishing tree that could conjure physical manifestations of their most precious memories: summer carnavales, beloved foods, Spanish movies, and the smell of the ocean. Young children—particularly lap readers—will experience comfort and a sense of wonder.

A nostalgic and uplifting story of one family's experience in two cultures.- Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher