A moving tribute to family bonds that endure, even as memories begin to fade.
A child reflects on life with a beloved grandmother who shares the family home until living there is no longer possible.
Abuelita lives in the yellow room, where she spends happy days sewing, listening to the radio, and sharing stories with her grandchildren and friends. The room is filled with laughter until signs of memory loss begin to emerge. Through the child’s eyes, readers witness the gradual changes as Abuelita struggles to remember her well-loved stories. The youngster gently helps Abuelita recall the details of her stories with prompts. Warm, inviting illustrations shift to cooler tones, mirroring Abuelita’s cognitive changes. Eventually, Abuelita moves to a care facility. The child misses her deeply, and the family, which includes two moms, hopes that visits, favorite snacks, and photos will help spark her memory. While unpacking boxes, they discover a quilt made from colorful fabric scraps. As Abuelita traces each piece, she recalls the stories behind them, from a grandfather’s work shirt to curtains from a former home. These memories reassure the child that, despite her illness, Abuelita remains connected to the family’s shared history. Sensitively told, this poignant story explores the intergenerational experience of loving someone with memory loss with compassion. Expressive illustrations weave past and present together, capturing both the heartbreak and beauty of remembering. The family presents Latine, with varying skin tones.
A moving tribute to family bonds that endure, even as memories begin to fade. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9798765643440
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
This is an extraordinary book, one that can make the needed connection for young children to see human beings as more than...
Everyone is waking up to start the day. The children get ready for school. The old man must wake up, too. He’s sleeping rough on the streets and must leave before he’s shooed away.
Sparse text and quickly stroked illustrations allow readers to drift through with a sense of bewilderment similar to the one surrounding the old man at the center of the story. He is unseen by everyone unless they move him along from wherever he’s resting. A combination of embarrassment and trepidation keeps him away from crowds of people. When he goes to the shelter for food, being asked his name—“He doesn’t remember”—causes him to override his hunger to escape an awkward situation. “Easier to leave.” He drifts through the city, looking for a place to warm up, something to eat, until finally, at the end of the book, a little girl offers him her sandwich. She giggles, saying he looks like a teddy bear. This kindness, this acknowledgement by another human being, fills him with enough warmth that he returns to the shelter, and when asked his name, he says, “Teddy.” The softness of the pencil used to illustrate the story fits perfectly the tenderness of the little girl and of the old man himself, who responds to her kindness with unadulterated gratitude and happiness. The gorgeous sepia-and-gray tones of the illustrations reinforce the mood; all the characters seem to have pale skin.
This is an extraordinary book, one that can make the needed connection for young children to see human beings as more than their circumstances. (Picture book. 5-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-77657-191-8
Page Count: 72
Publisher: Gecko Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
An appealing and upbeat tale about fathers and sons.
A father praises his son in this picture book.
Using the refrain “I’m Proud of You Son,” a father recounts various milestones in his child’s life. They range from happenings in babyhood (“You cried your first cry / I dried your little eyes”) and childhood (“Your first day of school / you played it so cool”) to teenage rites of passage, such as learning to drive. Eventually, the story gives a glimpse into the future when the man’s son becomes a father himself. Spencer celebrates key moments in everyday life that readers will likely relate to. Although the somewhat sentimental story is written in the first person as a father speaking to his son, Hoit’s illustrations depict different people of various ethnicities. For example, the boy shown in the graduation image has dark skin and brown eyes while the boy playing ball has light skin and blond hair. The simple but effective pictures mostly reflect what is described in the positive text, offering depictions of a boy’s various activities, such as walking for the first time. Some illustrations include subtext. Accompanying the line “When new life has begun / with your own little one / my job will be done” is an image of a stork carrying a baby; the next illustration shows a blue bassinet.
An appealing and upbeat tale about fathers and sons.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 17
Publisher: Mojum
Review Posted Online: Aug. 14, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
