My Abuelita

by Tony Johnston, Yuyi Morales (Illustrator)

Overview

Winner of a 2010 Pura Belpre Illustrator Honor!

Abuelita’s hair is the color of salt. Her face is as crinkled as a dried chile. She booms out words as wild as blossoms blooming. She stuffs her carcacha—her jalopy—with all the things she needs: a plumed snake, a castle, a skeleton, and more. Her grandson knows he has the most amazing grandmother ever—with a very important job. What does Abuelita do? With her booming voice and wonderful props, Abuelita is a storyteller. Next to being a grandmother, that may be the most important job of all.

Sprinkled with Spanish and infused with love, My Abuelita is a glorious celebration of family, imagination, and the power of story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152163303
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/07/2009
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,096,225
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD540L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Tony Johnston is the award-winning author of more than one hundred books for young people, including the New York Times bestseller Off to Kindergarten, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, and The Quilt Story, illustrated by Tomie dePaola. She lives in California, where she was born and raised.

Born in Xalapa, Mexico, Yuyi Morales lived for many years in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a storyteller, dancer, choreographer, puppeteer, and artist, who has won the prestigious Pura Belpré Award for Illustration five times and has also been awarded the Caldecott Honor.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"The digital photographs of Morales’s unique polymer-clay sculptures, surrounded by elements and colors distinctive of traditional Mexican crafts, create a surrealistic atmosphere that transforms the locations where this story take place—a humble home and a school—into fantastic places. Children and adults, especially those who love listening and telling stories, will be thrilled to discover Abuelita’s enchanting profession."—Kirkus Reviews

"A young boy narrates an affectionate ode to his beloved grandmother in this fanciful picture book . . . the many Spanish terms are well defined within the boy’s engaging and poetic narrative, in which he conveys his admiration and affection for his appealingly peppy grandmother . . . the eye-catching, mixed-media illustrations, sparked with bright patterns, textures, and color, will help reinforce the meaning in the words. A charming tribute to family and the joys and inspiration that storytelling can bring."—Booklist

"The vignettes seamlessly knit together realism and fantasy, giving every spread a dreamy physicality "—Publishers Weekly

"It seems a touch unfair that any one person should have as much talent in her bones as Yuyi Morales."—Betsy Bird, Fuse #8 - SLJ blog

Editorial Reviews

"The digital photographs of Morales’s unique polymer-clay sculptures, surrounded by elements and colors distinctive of traditional Mexican crafts, create a surrealistic atmosphere that transforms the locations where this story take place—a humble home and a school—into fantastic places. Children and adults, especially those who love listening and telling stories, will be thrilled to discover Abuelita’s enchanting profession."—Kirkus Reviews

"A young boy narrates an affectionate ode to his beloved grandmother in this fanciful picture book . . . the many Spanish terms are well defined within the boy’s engaging and poetic narrative, in which he conveys his admiration and affection for his appealingly peppy grandmother . . . the eye-catching, mixed-media illustrations, sparked with bright patterns, textures, and color, will help reinforce the meaning in the words. A charming tribute to family and the joys and inspiration that storytelling can bring."—Booklist

"The vignettes seamlessly knit together realism and fantasy, giving every spread a dreamy physicality "—Publishers Weekly

"It seems a touch unfair that any one person should have as much talent in her bones as Yuyi Morales."—Betsy Bird, Fuse #8 - SLJ blog

—

From the Publisher

Morales (Just in Case), winner of this year's Pura Belpré Award, does some wonderful work with handmade puppets and digitally enhanced photography. In fact, the images are so vivid that Johnston's (Voice from Afar: Poems of Peace) text is almost superfluous. The story follows the boy narrator as he helps his adored grandmother, a professional storyteller, get ready for a performance at a local school. Johnston conjures up a senior citizen of enormous creativity and indomitable spirit—Abuelita exercises her voice with “deep, boggy, froggy notes” and wraps herself in a striped towel that makes her look and hum like “a great big bee.” But Morales is already conveying all that through her impishly expressive puppets (in a scene where the rotund grandmother describes herself as being round “like a calabaza,” her reflection in the mirror envisions her as a pumpkin), unpredictable perspectives (including a bird's-eye view of a bathroom) and a glowing palette drawn from Mexican folk art. The vignettes seamlessly knit together realism and fantasy, giving every spread a dreamy physicality. Ages 3–7. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

PreS-Gr 1—A boy describes the morning routine he shares with his grandmother as she prepares for work. Flights of fancy enliven the tasks of bathing, eating breakfast, and dressing. When the pair arrive at her workplace, readers discover that Abuelita is a storyteller—a calling that her grandson shares. Spanish words are sprinkled throughout, often followed by brief definitions. For example, the boy says, "I live with my grandma…I call her Abuelita." Johnston effectively engages young readers' interest by mentioning the woman's work, but not revealing what she does until the final page. Morales's bold, innovative illustrations brilliantly reinforce the text. On one spread, Johnston writes that Abuelita is "robust…like a calabaza. A pumpkin." On the left, children see a cheerful, round person, while a mirror on the right shows a pumpkin with Abuelita's smiling face. The illustrations represent a fresh new direction for Morales. Characters molded from polymer clay are dressed in brightly patterned fabrics and placed among images that evoke Mexican art. Abuelita's mirror is framed by traditional metalwork, and her storytelling props include a winged serpent and a Day of the Dead skeleton. While the story is firmly placed in a Mexican context, children of all ethnic and racial backgrounds will be drawn to the eye-catching illustrations and the universal story of a loving intergenerational relationship.—Mary Landrum, Lexington Public Library, KY

School Library Journal

A Mexican-flavored story of a small child who lives with a lovely and extravagant grandmother. He calls her "Abuelita," the affectionate word that Spanish-speaking children and children of Hispanic origin use to name their grandmas. The attentive child expresses a genuine admiration for his Abuelita's job, describing her daily rituals to get ready to work: The child and Abuelita's cat (Frida Kahlo) follow her while she takes a shower, prepares breakfast, exercises her voice and dons (after a reminder) a special gown. Then, after besitos for Frida Kahlo, they leave in an old car, a "carcacha," full of the unusual objects she needs to perform her work: a sun, a moon, a skeleton, a king and a queen. The digital photographs of Morales's unique polymer-clay sculptures, surrounded by elements and colors distinctive of traditional Mexican crafts, create a surrealistic atmosphere that transforms the locations where this story take place-a humble home and a school-into fantastic places. Children and adults, especially those who love listening and telling stories, will be thrilled to discover Abuelita's enchanting profession. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews