Mango Moon

April 15, 2019
A realistic portrayal of a family torn apart. Ten-year-old Maricela's mama picks her up from school on the day everything changes. She tells Maricela and her younger brother that their "papi won't be coming home for a while." Readers learn through simple prose that Maricela's undocumented father is being held in a detention center while he awaits deportation to an unnamed but "dangerous" country. Every aspect of Maricela's young life is affected, from her now-coachless soccer practice to her after-school routine. She narrates the story with a sense of grief and honesty true to a child's understanding of a complicated and devastating situation. Cornelison's soft, impressionistic illustrations depict the all-Latinx family with light brown skin and straight, black hair and convey the overwhelming loss and sadness felt by a child longing for an absent parent. The unsmiling characters in the story feel authentic to the heaviness of this experience. Despite their separation, Maricela focuses on ways she can stay connected to her papi, through handwritten notes and especially looking up at their same mango moon. Author de Anda honors the real challenge that many children face when a parent is deported and reminds them that it's "all right...to cry." Available in both Spanish and English, this story validates a heartbreaking experience. (Picture book. 7-10)

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January 24, 2020

Gr 2-4-Nothing was the same since Papi was taken from his work. He had not done anything wrong, he just did not have papers. Siblings Maricela and Manuel try to adjust. However, life starts to change. Mom has to find another job that pays better, the family of three moves in with relatives to lower their cost of living, and the children switch schools. One thing returns: the full orange moon that Maricela and her dad saw the last night they were together. The author, a third-generation Latina and UCLA's Emeritus Professor of the Department of Social Welfare, knows too well the sociopolitical hardships surrounding Latino families. The picture book's mature theme is conveyed with unsophisticated first-person prose set in small black font. The Spanish edition of this picture book flows colloquially but leaves aside any vestige of the expressive narrative seen in native Spanish-speaking writers. The plot structure, appropriate for primary grade children, captures the situation of a family relying on predictability. The illustrations emulate the genuine nature of this narrative, using misty secondary colors that move naturally and support the prose beyond its words. One element persists over the pages: an orange pillow, an orange shirt, an orange pencil, and the full orange moon that comes back at the end of the story. VERDICT With simple vocabulary and prose, this picture book uses an age-appropriate narrative to introduce readers to the heartbreaking reality of many children. Ideal for public libraries and elementary school educators who can use this book as a read-along in a social studies unit.-Kathia Ibacache, Simi Valley Public Library, CA

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