Tia Isa Wants a Car

by Meg Medina, Claudio Munoz (Illustrator)

Overview

“A pleasant selection about ambition, resourcefulness, and never letting go of one’s dreams.” — School Library Journal

While Tía Isa wants to save money for a car that will take the whole family to the beach, her niece does odd jobs for neighbors. But it’s hard to save enough when half the money is set aside to someday bring family members who live far away to join them. Meg Medina’s simple, genuine story about keeping in mind those who are far away is written in lovely, lyrical prose and brought to life through Claudio Muñoz’s charming characters.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763657529
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	02/23/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	149,206
Product dimensions:	9.13(w) x 10.63(h) x 0.14(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Meg Medina is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning book Merci Suárez Changes Gears, which was also a 2018 Kirkus Prize finalist. Her young adult novels include Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, which won the 2014 Pura Belpré Author Award; Burn Baby Burn, which was long-listed for the National Book Award; and The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind. She is also the author of picture books Mango, Abuela, and Me, illustrated by Angela Dominguez, which was a Pura Belpré Author Award Honor Book, and Tía Isa Wants a Car, illustrated by Claudio Muñoz, which won the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. The daughter of Cuban immigrants, she grew up in Queens, New York, and now lives in Richmond, Virginia.

Claudio Muñoz is an award-winning illustrator who has worked for many newspapers and magazines as well as illustrating several children’s books. Born in Chile, he now lives in England.

Editorial Reviews

The strength of family and the importance of pursuing one's dreams are the bedrock of middle-grade author Medina's (Milagros: Girl from Away) lyrical first picture book.
—Publishers Weekly

Besides the pleasant story, the interwoven Spanish and references to “Helping Money” and families divided by immigration may make the book particularly appealing to immigrant Latino children.
—Kirkus Reviews

The use of Spanish words throughout the book offers a learning tool, and the book can be used to show teamwork and determination. The watercolor illustrations reflect the fun, loving text in this appealing book.
—Library Media Connection

Always true to the child’s viewpoint, the story shows how hard it is to be separated from loved ones and how long it can take to reunite, and the lively, unframed illustrations in pencil, watercolor, and ink extend the sense of warmth and longing, first in the small room the girl shares with her aunt, then in the climax of everyone rushing into the waves, together at last.
—Booklist

The soft watercolor illustrations mirror rather than extend the text, a real strength for children more fluent in Spanish than English; they can visually follow the narrative told primarily in English but sprinkled with familiar phrases. Beginning readers will also find a satisfying story, with illustrations aiding their reading.
—Horn Book

A pleasant selection about ambition, resourcefulness, and never letting go of one’s dreams.
—School Library Journal

The picture of family life is easygoing but evocative, with Spanish words in dialogue effectively woven into the English text, and the close comradeship between the glamorous young aunt and the narrator is one that many youngsters will envy... Anybody who's felt trapped at home in a hot summer will recognize the lure of freedom and the glee of an open-air drive.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

This gentle story about the unbreakable bonds of family (and the joy of a sweet set of wheels) is as refreshing as a cool sea breeze on a summer day, and a lovely way to start a conversation with a youngster about their own family history.
—Virginian-Pilot

From the Publisher

The strength of family and the importance of pursuing one's dreams are the bedrock of middle-grade author Medina's (Milagros: Girl from Away) lyrical first picture book, drawn from memories of her own family. Tía Isa, with whom the young narrator lives in a city apartment, is saving for a car so they can visit the beach. That desire is inextricably tied to one of the girl's own—to be reunited with her parents, who still live on their native island and receive "helping money" from their family in the U.S. (Medina is commendably subtle about the exact details, letting them unfold naturally.) Emotionally invested in her aunt's goal, the girl finds odd jobs to help save money, and they finally buy a gorgeous 1950s-era convertible with tailfins and plenty of room for the girl's parents—pictured with her at the beach in a triumphant final spread. Muñoz's (Jake's Best Thumb) wispy, pastel-hued illustrations exude emotion, from frustration ("...soon is when our family is going to join us here, so I know soon can be a very long time") to sheer exuberance. Ages 3–7. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 1–3—Tía Isa has a dream. She wants a car, a green one like the sea in her homeland. A vehicle that can take her family to different places, maybe to the beach, which is far from their urban dwelling. The problem is that she has no extra money. Tía Isa works at the bakery, she helps support her young niece, who lives in this country, and her family back home, and her brother scoffs at her notions. Isa is determined, however, to save up and to prove her brother wrong. They will have a car soon she tells her niece, the narrator. Obtaining it becomes the child's dream as well. As she goes about her days, she finds that people are ready and willing to pay for her help and her Spanish-language skills. Before long, the two find the perfect sea-foam green car. It has no air-conditioning and a bad radio, but it's just what they need to take everyone to the beach. Done in pencil, ink, and frequently complementary watercolors, this story is a pleasant selection about ambition, resourcefulness, and never letting go of one's dreams.—Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA

School Library Journal

Tía Isa dreams of buying a big car, green like the ocean that surrounds the island that she, her brother Andrés and their niece left to move to the United States.

Since most of their extra money goes to help the family still on the island, Tía Isa and her niece know it will take time. The car will not only get them to the beach but will also be large enough for the rest of the family, once they start moving to the States, too. As the unnamed first-person narrator, the niece starts telling people around the neighborhood about her aunt's dream and begins earning money by helping the produce man at his store, an elderly woman with her kittens and the librarian with her Spanish. Soon, they have enough saved. The car they choose is shiny green with plenty of room for the whole family. The two drive back to their apartment to celebrate the purchase with Tío Andrés. The last two pages show the young girl, now reunited with her parents, on the beach. Muñoz captures all of the action in watercolors accented with ink and pencil. Besides the pleasant story, the interwoven Spanish and references to "Helping Money" and families divided by immigration may make the book particularly appealing to immigrant Latino children.

A pleasant tale of determination. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews

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