Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border

Written by Mitali Perkins

Illustrated by Sara Palacios

*Age Range: 3 - 6 years

*Grade Level: 1 - 2

*Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

*ISBN-10: 0374303738

*ISBN-13: 978-0374303730

It's almost time for Christmas, and Maria is traveling with her mother and younger brother, Juan, to visit their grandmother on the border of California and Mexico.

For the few minutes they can share together along the fence, Maria and her brother plan to exchange stories and Christmas gifts with the grandmother they haven't seen in years. But when Juan's gift is too big to fit through the slats in the fence, Maria has a brilliant idea. 

Here is a heartwarming tale of families and the miracle of love.

Review

A Junior Library Guild Selection!

"A powerful picture book debut . . . Cartoon drawings emphasize the resilience of Abuela and her family as they navigate the border landscape, the impenetrable wall, and a situation that feels unfathomable―but is, unfortunately, all too based in reality." ―Publishers Weekly, starred review

"This touching contemporary story sensitively focuses on the U.S.–Mexican border and Mexico's cultural traditions in a heartwarming, informative, and hopeful way. Perkins gently voices some of the challenges families can experience when they are separated by a border . . . Maria’s inventive solution to that distance will make readers cheer, and Palacios’ warm illustrations in saturated colors make the scenes vibrant with feeling and quietly fold in informative visual details about the border and the family’s cultural traditions." ―Booklist

"An excellent prompt for discussion . . . a cliché-busting holiday book that could deepen a unit on celebration." ―BCCB

Mitali Perkins has written twelve novels for young readers including BAMBOO PEOPLE, TIGER BOY, RICKSHAW GIRL (film in 2019), and YOU BRING THE DISTANT NEAR (nominated for the National Book Award.) She lives and writes in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sara Palacios is the recipient of a Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor for Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match and the illustrator of several other picture books, including Henry Holton Takes the Ice. Sara graduated with a degree in graphic design and went on to earn BFA and MFA degrees in illustration from the Academy of Art in San Francisco. A native of Mexico, Sara now lives in San Francisco.