Starred review from January 1, 2024
A child mourns the loss of a beloved grandmother. For the young child who narrates this story, Tatita looms large. She was there when the child was born and then accompanied the little one everywhere--until she went somewhere, far away, where the child could not go. Now that Tatita is gone, the narrator cannot see, smell, hear, or touch her. Grieving, the child looks for her everywhere. Finally, "I look into my heart, and I can see you again. I listen to my heart, I can hear you again. I can hug you again. I can smell you again." With this newfound understanding, the child learns to love Tatita in a new way. Imapla's simple yet deeply moving work evokes love and loss with language and images to which young readers will relate. Her mixed-media illustrations use a palette of fewer than 10 tones applied in flat, monochrome fields and incorporate elements of children's drawings--facial expressions rendered in single strokes of black crayon, oversized hands--to reinforce the sense that a youngster is telling the story. This highly effective combination of words and illustration makes for an intimate reading experience; this is a stirring mentor text for children navigating grief. Characters are light-skinned. Publishes simultaneously in Spanish. A subtle yet powerful tale about love and loss. (Picture book. 3-8)
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March 1, 2024
PreS-K-This short and sweet story is an homage to grandmothers ("Tata, Tatita, and Tata") and a very simple exploration of grief. Although death is not explicitly mentioned, the young girl's grandmother is said to be "very far away"-too far to see, touch, kiss, hear, or smell. Imapla (Lola Loves Animals) uses simple art and few colors on a white background, with illustrations that mainly include the young narrator and her grandmother in various tender situations; the text is broken up into brief one-line sentences per spread. The final spread will leave children with hope about a hard topic: "Now I know that I carry you with me everywhere," the girl says with a contented expression and her hand over her heart. Small children will surely need an explanation from a caregiver, but the book is tailor-made for this difficult conversation. VERDICT While death will always be an uncomfortable, painful topic, Imapla's book provides a path to discussion, perhaps through story hours that help move its deliberate understatement to more concrete ideas.-Carrie Voliva
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