The following unabridged reviews are made available under license from their respective rights holders and publishers. Reviews may be used for educational purposes consistent with the fair use doctrine in your jurisdiction, and may not be reproduced or repurposed without permission from the rights holders.

Note: This section may include reviews for related titles (e.g., same author, series, or related edition).

From Horn Book

November 1, 2022
This book's bilingual text tells the story of a young child and his parents as they leave the United States for Mexico during the repatriation process in the 1930s -- an overlooked part of U.S. history. The child's family -- mother and son were born in the United States; Papa was born in Mexico -- harvests pecans in Texas until new immigration policies and the threat of deportation force them to move to Mexico to keep their family together. Martinez's straightforward prose centers the boy's feelings of sadness, uncertainty, and hope as he leaves his home behind for a place he and Mama only know about from Papa's stories. The cool colors of Mora's dreamlike gouache, ink, and digital illustrations offer reassurance as the family drives toward their future. An appended author's note details a difficult history of forced migration shared by many, while the story emphasizes the importance of family and ultimately feels optimistic. Butterflies -- a contemporary symbol of the immigrants' rights movement -- are included on most pages. This motif and the author's note contextualize the historically set narrative within the continued struggle for immigrants' rights. Monica de los Reyes

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)