EL EMPACHO DE ISABEL / ISABEL’S TUMMY ACHE

By Julio Molinete

Illustrations by Claudia Navarro

 

ISBN: 978-1-55885-998-2

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 32

Imprint: Piñata Books

Ages: 5-9

 

This sweet bilingual picture book follows a girl who visits her grandmother and explores the food and customs of her Caribbean island.

 

“I went to Cuba to meet my grandma Macurí,” Isabel tells her classmates when asked about her summer. It was a long trip that involved two planes, a guagua—or bus, a train that carried everything from sugarcane to calves, and even a horse-drawn cart. Finally hugging her Abuelita was the most beautiful moment of her life!

 

Grandma made a cake to celebrate her birthday—and all the others she had missed—and Isabel ate three pieces! The party continued the next day with lots of delicious food, including a mango, oranges, watermelon and an entire pineapple! No wonder that by nightfall, Isabel’s tummy hurt! But her grandmother’s special jar of hugs and kisses, combined with a gentle massage, healed the girl’s aching belly.

 

Drawing on his own memories, Julio Molinete writes about traveling to a rural village in the mountains of Cuba and the natural healing methods practiced there.  Lively illustrations by Claudia Navarro depict the joy of reuniting with far-flung family. This bilingual book for children ages 5-9 will surely encourage them to write about their own summer adventures and time spent with family—while also serving as a cautionary tale against overeating!

 

 

JULIO ANTONIO MOLINETE was born in Manzanillo, Cuba. A poet, storyteller, editor, journalist, documentary filmmaker and researcher, he is the recipient of a Lone Star Emmy Award as a news producer (2019). His books include Mercy Is Named Delilah (Ediciones Laponia, 2020), Brújula quebrada (NEO Club Ediciones, 2017), La Piedad se llama Dalila (Ediciones Bayamo, 2002) and En coche por el Arcoíris (Editorial Sanlope, 2000). His work has been published in anthologies, literary magazines, tabloids, and newspapers in the United States, Chile, Spain, Ecuador, Argentina and Mexico. He teaches Spanish at Louisiana State University.

 

CLAUDIA NAVARRO was born in Mexico City and studied graphic design at the National School of Arts at UNAM. She illustrated El cumpleaños de mi hermana Dulce / My Sister Dulce’s Birthday (Piñata Books, 2022), La Divina Catrina / Oh, Divine Catrina (Piñata Books, 2020) and La Frontera: El viaje con papa / My Journey with Papá (Barefoot Books, 2018).