With Lots of Love

by Jenny Torres Sanchez, André Ceolin (Illustrator)

Overview

A beautiful, lyrical story about a girl who moves from her home in Central America to the United States, and everything she leaves behind and longs for—especially her Abuela—as she makes a new life.

Rocio has grown up in Central America, but now she and her family are moving to the United States. Rocio does her best to adjust to a new way of living, but there are many things she misses from her old life—Abuela’s cooking, Abuela’s pinata creations, Abuela’s warm hugs, and of course, Abuela herself most of all. But Abuela finds a way to send Rocio something special just in time for her birthday—a gift wrapped with lots of love—and that fills Rocio to the brim.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593205006
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	03/08/2022
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	180,836
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jenny Torres Sanchez (jennytorressanchez.com) is a full-time writer and former English teacher. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, but has lived on the border of two worlds her whole life. She is the author of Pura Belpré Author Honor Book We Are Not From Here; The Fall of Innocence; Because of the Sun; Death, Dickinson, and the Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia; and The Downside of Being Charlie. With Lots of Love is her first picture book. She lives in Orlando, Florida, with her husband and children. Follow her on Twitter @jetchez and on Instagram @jennytsanchez.

André Ceolin (andreceolin.com) is a self-taught illustrator from Brazil. He studied at the School of Visual Arts in NYC, Melies, and Escola Panamericana de Artes to develop a signature look and learn new illustration techniques. He has illustrated over twenty books for publishers in Brazil such as Roda & Cia, Saber e Ler, SM, Moderna, FTD, Editora do Brasil, and Editora Abril, as well as books with HarperCollins, Sleeping Bear Press, and Apples & Honey Press. When he is not illustrating, he creates toys and small sculptures. He also enjoys bike riding and playing his guitar. André lives in Brazil with his family.

Editorial Reviews

06/27/2022

In Torres Sanchez’s picture book debut, young Rocio moves from an unspecified Central American country to the U.S. There, she’s no longer able to appreciate her abuela’s tortillas and piñatas, nor visit the small grocery store “where her grandmother sold fresh fruits and/ vegetables, pan dulce, and ice pops.” In lyrical text, Rocio reminisces on all the things she misses, from Abuela’s honey-drizzled buñelos to gazing at the night sky to “the pretty song of her language.” When Rocio receives a package from Abuela, though, she learns how to send and receive love, even from afar (“Rocio blew Abuela a good-night kiss” that lands “back home, on Abuela’s cheek”). Ceolin’s striking, pattern-rich illustrations and vibrant color palette complement sensory-oriented text (“The smell of spicy peppers and burnt sugar danced in her nose. And Abuela’s gentle voice danced in her ears”), integrating details that visually join Rocio’s previous life to her new home in a touching story about intergenerational love and connection. Most characters are portrayed with light brown skin. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"Ceolin’s striking, pattern-rich illustrations and vibrant color palette complement sensory-oriented text...in a touching story about intergenerational love and connection." –Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

02/01/2022

PreS-Gr 2—Rocio is melancholy in her new home in the United States. She misses her grandmother, aunt, and cousins, with whom she used to live in Central America. With her birthday is approaching, Rocio remembers Abuela's small grocery store and the fresh fruit, pan dulce, and the colorful piñatas that Rocio loved so much. Most of all, she thinks of the extra sweet coffee and tortillas her grandmother used to make for her. The English narrative is interspersed with Spanish words that tell of family love and warm memories that help a young girl adapt to her home. The expressive digital illustrations are set in panels and full spreads, using curved lines and shades of red and blue to emphasize the essence of the lost home and the loved ones left behind. This picture book could be used in a social unit covering cultural traits and family migration. The subject matter, although intrinsically sad, is brightened by the skillfully lighthearted art, which complements the plot and leaves readers with the sense that there are more memories yet to be created. VERDICT An endearing picture book that could work well in a preschool story time or first grade school activity about family ties and migration.—Kathia Ibacache

School Library Journal

2022-01-14
A young girl living in the United States misses her old life in an unnamed Central American country, particularly her beloved grandmother.

Rocio misses visits to Abuela’s grocery store, with its enticing smells and the soft, rustling sounds of handmade piñatas hanging from the ceiling. She misses Abuela’s buñuelos (fried dough fritters), special coffee, and tortillas, and she fondly recalls how she and her grandmother used to gaze at the night sky at bedtime. On the morning of Rocio’s birthday, she is excited and moved to discover that Abuela has sent her a package containing “a dazzling star made of bright ruffled paper”; a stack of tortillas wrapped in a cloth with Rocio’s name stitched on it; and a picture of Abuela and other relatives holding a happy-birthday banner. “Con mucho amor. / With lots of love,” the writing on the package reads. That night, Rocio blows a kiss through her window that travels far across the night sky to eventually land on Abuela’s cheek “with lots of love.” The striking digital artwork incorporates dynamic patterns and flowing lines that add liveliness, balancing the rather bland, albeit sweet, text. All characters have straight black hair and terra-cotta–colored skin except for Rocio’s light-skinned mother. Visual cues suggest that Rocio lives in a suburban neighborhood, and may lead some readers to conclude her grandmother lives in Mexico. Some Spanish terms, like pan dulce and Las Mañanitas, are sprinkled throughout the story.

A celebration of the grandparent-grandchild bond and an immigration tale that any child missing home will relate to. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews