An engaging multigenerational homage to enchanting family adventures.
A family car trip enables magical memories, new and old, thanks to Ama’s magical purse.
“Thump! goes Ama’s purse as we start a new adventure.” Everyone piles in: parents in the front seats, Ama (Grandmother in various Chinese dialects) and the young narrator in the back. The quartet leave the city, making various stops; Ama’s purse releases charming surprises along the way. “A powder-white moon rabbit bounces merrily” across laps when Ama pulls out her compact. At the farmers market, Ama extracts her purse and “fragrant blooms begin to sprout from an island far away.” As the road swerves, Ama pulls out prayer beads wafting with “the smell of the smoky incense” to quell the protagonist’s motion sickness. The family stops at a gas station; when Ama stumbles and the purse tumbles, the child quickly retrieves and returns the precious treasures. Finally arriving at the beach, the family joyfully jumps into making new memories. Author and illustrator reunite after I Miss You Most (2024) with another adept collaboration. Yan enhances Cheng’s sweet prose with visual details: The narrator still requires a booster seat, the rising sun marks the family’s progress, and the loss of the child’s grandfather is fairly recent. Yan presents her spreads and scenes in soft, inviting hues, particularly highlighting the unconditionally nurturing relationship between grandparent and grandchild. The family is apparently of East Asian descent; the farmstand customers (the only other peripheral characters) are diverse.
An engaging multigenerational homage to enchanting family adventures. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2026
ISBN: 9780593696774
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Rocky Pond Books/Penguin
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren.
In talk-show host Fallon and illustrator Ordóñez’s latest picture-book collaboration, an elderly pooch waxes rhapsodic about a life well lived.
Observing Papa sitting in his chair watching TV all day, a young pup says, “I’m starting to think…you don’t do ANYTHING.” So Papa proceeds to list his accomplishments, both big and small, mundane and profound. Some are just a result of being older and physically bigger (being tall enough to reach a high shelf and strong enough to open jars); others include winning a race and performing in a band when he was younger. Eventually, the pup realizes that while Papa may have slowed down in his old age, he’s led a full life. The most satisfying thing about Papa’s life now? Watching his grandchild take center stage: “I can say lots of thoughts / but I choose to be quiet. / I’d rather you discover things and then try it.” Fallon’s straightforward text is sweetly upbeat, though it occasionally lacks flow, forcing incongruous situations together to fit the rhyme scheme (“I cook and I mow, / and I once flew a plane. // I play newspaper puzzles because it’s good for my brain”). Featuring uncluttered, colorful backgrounds, Ordóñez’s child-friendly digital art at times takes on sepia tones, evoking the sense of looking back at old photos or memories. Though the creators tread familiar ground, the love between Papa and his little one is palpable.
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9781250393975
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This warm family story is a splendid showcase for the combined talents of Medina, a Pura Belpré award winner, and Dominguez,...
Abuela is coming to stay with Mia and her parents. But how will they communicate if Mia speaks little Spanish and Abuela, little English? Could it be that a parrot named Mango is the solution?
The measured, evocative text describes how Mia’s español is not good enough to tell Abuela the things a grandmother should know. And Abuela’s English is too poquito to tell Mia all the stories a granddaughter wants to hear. Mia sets out to teach her Abuela English. A red feather Abuela has brought with her to remind her of a wild parrot that roosted in her mango trees back home gives Mia an idea. She and her mother buy a parrot they name Mango. And as Abuela and Mia teach Mango, and each other, to speak both Spanish and English, their “mouths [fill] with things to say.” The accompanying illustrations are charmingly executed in ink, gouache, and marker, “with a sprinkling of digital magic.” They depict a cheery urban neighborhood and a comfortable, small apartment. Readers from multigenerational immigrant families will recognize the all-too-familiar language barrier. They will also cheer for the warm and loving relationship between Abuela and Mia, which is evident in both text and illustrations even as the characters struggle to understand each other. A Spanish-language edition, Mango, Abuela, y yo, gracefully translated by Teresa Mlawer, publishes simultaneously.
This warm family story is a splendid showcase for the combined talents of Medina, a Pura Belpré award winner, and Dominguez, an honoree. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6900-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
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BOOK REVIEW
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