FROM NORTH TO SOUTH/DEL NORTE AL SUR

After his mother is deported by U.S. immigration officials, José and his father go to visit her at Centro Madres Assunta in Tijuana, where she will stay with other women and children until she gets her papers and can return. Frankly a plea for sympathy for families torn apart by immigration rules, this tender story is gently told in Spanish and English texts, together or on opposing pages. Young José recalls his day: the border traffic jam, the joy of seeing his mother, gardening and a seed game with other children in the shelter missing their parents and a final bedtime story told in the car’s backseat. The author, a Salvadoran immigrant, teaches in a bilingual school where his students often experience family separations. Cepeda’s oil paintings, full-bleed single- and double-page spreads, use bright colors and a variety of perspectives to reinforce the joyfulness of the day. A road map of the area between San Diego and Tijuana serves as endpapers. The child’s perspective makes this a particularly moving glimpse of an increasingly common experience. (Picture book. 5-9)