Papi's Gift - Hardcover

Stanton, Karen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1590784227 ISBN 13: 9781590784228

Publisher: Boyds Mills Press, 2007

Synopsis

In this heartwarming picture book for young readers that highlights the special, unbreakable bond between a daughter and father, a young Latina girl named Graciela struggles to overcome her disappointment when she does not receive the birthday present her father promised to send her by thinking about what he might need from her instead.

Graciela lives in a Central American country south of Mexico. Because of a drought, her father, "Papi", must leave their home to travel to the United States and work on a farm in California. Graciela is sad that Papi can't be with her at their home to celebrate her seventh birthday. But, Papi has promised to send Graciela a special birthday present tied in red string in the mail. On the front of the package will be her name: Graciela Maria Reyes Rivera. Each day, Graciela checks the mail, and each day, she does not find a present. Graciela is angry and disappointed. Then she has a thought: maybe Papi could use a gift himself. Author Karen Stanton's moving story – selected as an IRA Notable Book for a Global Society – features warm illustrations by Rene Moreno. This picture book celebrates the special relationship and bond between a father and daughter, despite a separation, and highlights a child's selfless act of love.

School Library Journal says: "Touching. . . . A few Spanish words and phrases add authenticity to the engaging text. . . . A strong addition to the growing body of picture books with Hispanic themes and characters."

About this title

About the Author

Karen Stanton is the author and illustrator of Mr. K and Yudi. She teaches children's picture book writing, illustration, and publishing at City College of San Francisco. She lives in Piedmont, California.

René King Moreno was born in North Carolina and received a degree in fine arts from the Rhode Island School of Design. She is the illustrator of Under the Lemon Moon by Edith Hope Fine, and Fiesta! and Siesta, both by Ginger Foglesong Guy. She lives in Chicago.

Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 3—Told in an authentic child's voice, Papi's Gift is the touching story of Graciela's separation from her father, who is earning a living in the U.S. due to a drought at home. He has been gone so long that the girl is "forgetting his face." Every Sunday, the family communicates by telephone, and one day Papi mentions that he sent Graciela a surprise package for her seventh birthday. The child imagines what must be in the box, and she waits and waits. When Papi says it must be lost, she becomes angry and doubts whether she will ever see the rain—or him—again. With time, Graciela sends Papi her own special package and learns to hope again. A few Spanish words and phrases add authenticity to the engaging text. Moreno uses pastels to render soothing, warm illustrations that have a Latin American flavor and elements of folk art. In almost all of the pictures, the central theme is family, and readers experience the close-knit group from varying perspectives. This is a strong addition to the growing body of picture books with Hispanic themes and characters. Oddly enough, Stanton never names the country where Graciela lives; many will assume that it is Mexico. Pair this picture book with Jacqueline Woodson's Coming on Home Soon (Putnam, 2004) to provide two views on separation from a beloved parent.—Barbara Katz, Parish Episcopal School, Dallas, TX
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

True to a small Latina girl's experience, this moving picture book tells the migrant labor story from the viewpoint of the child left behind. When drought dries up the crops, Papi must leave the family's village to pick fruit in faraway California, and Graciela misses him all the time. The warm pastel pictures show her close with her mother and siblings on their hot, dry farm south of the border (the story doesn't indicate a specific setting). In a moving scene, they make the Sunday call on the village pay phone, and Papi tells her he is sending a gift for her seventh birthday. She waits and waits, and when the box is lost, Papi cries on the phone, while the girl is furious; Mami consoles her by making a beautiful doll from dried cornhusks and fabric scraps. The realistic story has suspense and hope--and surprise--but no false comfort, as the girl waits and waits for Papi's return. With occasional Spanish expressions, the particulars root the experience in one child's yearning, even while they speak of universals. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Boyds Mills Press
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1590784227
• ISBN 13: 9781590784228
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Moreno Rene King
• Number of pages: 32