The Girl Who Wanted a Piano / La niña que quería un piano

By Diana García

Illustrations by Gabhor Utomo

Spanish translation by Gabriela Baeza Ventura

 

*ISBN: 979-8-89375-017-1

*Publication Date: October 31, 2025

*Format: Hardcover

*Pages: 32

*Imprint: Piñata Books

*Ages: 4-8

 

The joy of music and the satisfaction of helping others shines through in this bilingual picture book.

“Mami! Mami! I heard the most wonderful thing today.” Young Ofelia heard her teacher play the piano and thought it was the most beautiful sound in the world!

Ofelia wanted to learn how to play like her teacher and begged her mother for a piano, but they couldn’t afford one. That night in bed, longing for her very own, she pretended to press keys on her pillow. The next day—and throughout her childhood—the girl imagined herself playing the instrument and writing songs. She made up many, some of which reflected her love for her mom and dad and others that reminded her of the sound of rain on the roof and even galloping horses. She grew up and never learned to play the piano, though she never forgot about her dream.

Later, when she saw a piano for sale, she had an idea that would help other low-income children fulfill their wish to play a musical instrument. “Finally, my dream will come true!” Working with friends, Ofelia established a community center in Central Texas that to this day offers all kinds of enrichment programs for a nominal fee—or even for free! This inspiring bilingual picture book with imaginative illustrations by Gabhor Utomo shares the joy of music, as well as the fulfillment that helping others brings.

 

DIANA GARCÍA, a native of San Antonio, Texas, has been a bilingual educator for over 30 years. She has won numerous awards for her teaching, including the HEB Excellence in Education Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020 and a Humanities Texas Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities award in 2022. She lives and works in San Marcos, Texas.

 

GABHOR UTOMO was born in Indonesia and received his degree from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2003. He has illustrated several children’s books, including Arenas y trinos: Abecedario del río / Sand and Song: The ABCs of the River (Piñata Books, 2020), Lupita’s First Dance / El primer baile de Lupita (Piñata Books, 2013) and Kai’s Journey to Gold Mountain (East West Discovery Press, 2004). Gabhor’s work has won numerous awards from local and national art organizations, and his painting of Senator Milton Marks is part of a permanent collection at the California State Building in downtown San Francisco. He lives with his family in Portland, Oregon.

ARENAS Y TRINOS: ABECEDARIO DEL RÍO / SAND AND SONG: THE ABCS OF THE RIVER

By: Alma Flor Ada 

English version by: Rosalma Zubizarreta-Ada

Illustrations by: Gabhor Utomo

ISBN: 978-1-55885-899-2

Publication Date: May 31, 2020

Format: Hardcover

Trim: 8.5″ x 11″

Pages: 40

Imprint: Piñata Books

Ages: 5-10

A bilingual picture book introducing children to the wonders of nature and poetry.

“Still, silent water / starts to run / dancing over rocks, turning into song.” Acclaimed children’s book author Alma Flor Ada and her daughter Rosalma Zubizarreta-Ada share short poems for children about rivers and the life found along them. There are odes to cicadas, dragonflies, butterflies, fish, frogs and birds. “Dragonfly, / lovely fan of lace / wings fluttering / unceasingly, / above the river’s water.”

These poems brim with the beauty of the natural world and the joy found in the great outdoors. There are stars that bathe in the river, the sun that hides behind the mountain and a stream that wraps itself in shadows. In one verse, the authors note there’s only a short distance from the river to the freeway leading back to the crowded, noisy city, “yet those few kilometers / allow us to dwell / in a very different world.”

Reflecting time spent with family enjoying nature, these poems were conceived while Alma Flor Ada camped along the Yuba River with her daughter, Rosalma Zubizarreta-Ada, who created the English-language versions. With gorgeous illustrations by Gabhor Utomo depicting the countryside and kids playing at a river, this bilingual picture book introduces children to both the joy of poetry and spending time outside.

ALMA FLOR ADA, Professor Emerita at the University of San Francisco and an expert on multicultural and bilingual education, is an internationally acclaimed children’s book author. Her books include My Name Is María Isabel (Athenaeum, 1995), which was named to the National Council of Social Studies and Children’s Book Council’s Notable Books; The Gold Coin (Atheneum, 1991), winner of a Christopher Medal; Under the Royal Palms (Atheneum, 1998), winner of a Pura Belpré Award; and Gathering the Sun (Harper Collins, 2001), recipient of a Once Upon a World Children’s Book Award from the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance. She lives and works in San Rafael, California.

ROSALMA ZUBIZARRETA-ADA is a writer, organizational facilitator and author of From Conflict to Creative Collaboration. In the realm of children’s literature, she has co-authored The Woman Who Outshone the Sun (Children’s Book Press, 1991), created the English-language versions of the poems in Gathering the Sun (HarperCollins, 2001) and translated a number of other children’s books. She lives with her husband in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

GABHOR UTOMO was born in Indonesia, and received his degree from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2003. He has illustrated a number of children’s books, including Kai’s Journey to Gold Mountain (East West Discovery Press, 2004) and Lupita’s First Dance / El primer baile de Lupita (Piñata Books, 2013). Gabhor’s work has won numerous awards from local and national art organizations, and his painting of Senator Milton Marks is part of a permanent collection at the California State Building in downtown San Francisco. He lives with his family in Portland, Oregon.

Mayanito's New Friends/ Los Nuevos Amigos De Mayanito

Written by Tato Laviera

Illustrated by Gabhor Utomo

Translated by Gabriela Baeza Ventura

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Pinata Books; Bilingual edition (October 31, 2017)
• Language: English/ Spanish
• ISBN-10: 1558858555

A young Mayan prince goes on an exciting journey

through the rainforest in this bilingual picture book.

From his perch high up on a mountaintop, a young Mayan prince watched as raindrops formed in the clouds below him. Suddenly, within each drop, there was a child! The raindrop children landed gently on the ground and Mayanito raced down the mountainside to play with them. They were from Mexico, Brazil, Jamaica and other countries in the Americas, but as the sun warmed the land, they evaporated and turned into flowers!

Mayanito was sad to lose his friends, so he decided to go find them. Thankfully, the animals of the jungle including Pablito the snake, Teresa the crocodile and Rafael the jaguar helped him. In this adventurous romp through the rainforest, monkeys pulled him from quicksand and carried him over a waterfall in a hammock made of vines! Riding on a flamingo's back, he landed in the village far below his mountaintop home and finally found his new friends. Together, they rode an inchworm train back up the mountain. And when Mayanito was named king, he declared all the children of the hemisphere members of his tribe!

Gabhor Utomo's gorgeous illustrations of the lush rainforest, its flora and fauna complement the boy's fantastical journey in this bilingual picture book for children ages 5-10. Parents and teachers will find this beautiful book provides a good introduction to basic concepts of jungle creatures, geography and even musical instruments from different regions.

TATO LAVIERA (1952-2013) was a poet, playwright, novelist and community advocate. Born in Puerto Rico, he was raised in the Manhattan’s Lower East Side. His books include Mixturao and Other Poems; Mainstream Ethics; AmeRícan; Enclave, winner of the American Book Award; and La Carreta Made a U-Turn. His plays have been produced in Chicago and New York City, and have been staged at The New Federal Theater, The Public Theater, the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, Circle in the Square and Teatro Cuatro. He lived and worked in New York City until his death. Mayanito’s New Friends / Los amigos de Mayanito is his only children’s book.

GABHOR UTOMO was born in Indonesia, and received his degree from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2003. He has illustrated a number of children’s books, including Kai’s Journey to Gold Mountain (East West Discovery Press, 2004), a story about a young Chinese immigrant held on Angel Island. Gabhor’s works has won numerous awards from local and national art organizations. His painting of Senator Milton Marks is part of a permanent collection at the California State Building in downtown San Francisco. He lives with his family in Portland, Oregon.