★ 06/10/2024
It’s a special day: Ana’s abuela is moving in with Ana and Mami, and will take care of Ana while Mami works. Until now, neighbor señora Mimí—along with her baby, Nelson, and dog, Pancho—has been taking Ana to school every morning and picking her up each afternoon. “Now anda, little one,” señora Mimí prompts, “Vamos.... We’re almost out of time.” Not until a classmate’s chance remark—“No more señora Mimí to tell you what to do every day!”—does Ana realize that in gaining Abuela, she will lose the babysitter’s daily presence. In conversational prose (“I hadn’t really thought about that”), Medina (Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away), observes Ana as she begins to grasp the complexity of the transition: “I won’t be able to tell señora Mimí the best parts of my day or the things I’d do over.” Via digitally created spreads, Cicchese (The Kitten Story) peers into the faces of Ana and señora Mimí as they acknowledge the change. In this compassionate work, a relationship whose nuances Ana hadn’t truly considered holds the key to her consolation as the two make new plans together. Protagonists cue as Latinx; background characters are portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. Ages 5–7. Agent (for author and illustrator): Jennifer Rofé, Andrea Brown Literary. (Sept.)