Finding Home

by Estelí Meza, Estelí Meza (Illustrator)

Overview

A powerful social-emotional picture book about friendship and courage in the face of hardship.

When Conejo's house blows away in a storm, his friends and neighbors take turns helping him look for it. Though they do not find his house, they each send him on his way with good cheer and small gifts. Conejo is grateful for their support, but still finds himself sitting with sadness for some time. When the rain clears, Conejo finds the courage to rebuild. He fills his new home with the memories, love, and support he collected from his friends along the way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338648218
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	01/05/2021
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 9.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Estelí Meza is an illustrator living in Mexico City. She grew up surrounded by books, and her love for illustration began when she attended la Feria del Libro Infantile with her father. At an early age, she was fascinated with artwork found in the pages of books. She studied Design and Visual Communications with a specialization in Illustration at UNAM. Estelí especially enjoys stories that celebrate women and cultures around the world. These days Estelí spends her days drawing in her Mexico City neighborhood — she is always happiest with her notebook, pencil, chocolate pastry and cafecito.

Editorial Reviews

11/23/2020

When gray-furred, green-eyed rabbit Conejo’s house blows away in an autumn gale, he isn’t so much angry as dejected. After following “the trace of the wind,” he’s resting, exhausted, when his friend Lobo Lobito rides by on a scooter and offers help. Though they don’t find the missing house, the picnic they share cheers Conejo up. Newcomer Meza works in a striking, folk art–influenced style; plants and trees are flat geometric shapes in deeply saturated hues, and animal characters have masklike faces with big, expressive eyes. As the rabbit continues on, his friends’ offers of support and love sustain him: Perezoso the sloth gives Conejo a gift, and Buhíta the owl plays music and tells stories. After he leaves Buhíta, “Conejo sat with sadness for some time,” until a new breeze sends him in a new direction. An author’s note cites natural disasters in Puerto Rico and Mexico City as the story’s genesis for Meza’s reflection on homelessness and helping loved ones. Friends can’t fix everything when something bad happens, but generosity and warmth can often help until better times arrive. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly