Abuela

by Arthur Dorros 

illustrated by Eliza Kleven

©1991. Puffin Books. 
510L
Picture Book. Bilingual. 

Abuela takes you on a journey as young girl imagines herself and her grandmother flying over the streets of Manhatten.

I would give this book a 30/32. This is a beautiful book that takes you on a journey with a girl and her grandmother who she adores very much, who came to America from another country. What I like most about this book is it celebrates her grandmother and her grandmother's culture. Too often we give students and children the impression that they should leave their family's culture behind in order to be a "worthy citizen" and I think that this book celebrates their own family culture, while also celebrating being in America. The main characters are diverse and the storyline is well-constructed. There isn't a ton of character development through out the story, however, there are really positive messages about family. I think that this book is really culturally relevant for children, as there are children within our classroom whose family may have come to America within the past couple of generations. I really like that the author decided to do this book in Spanglish,  showing a mixture of cultures.