Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border

Américas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature Winner
Golden Poppy Award Winner
Charlotte Huck Honor Book
ALSC Notable Children's Book
NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book Pick
Junior Library Guild Selection
Northern California Book Award nominee

A timely debut picture book about love overcoming the border fences between Mexico and the United States.

It's almost time for Christmas, and Maria is traveling with her mother and younger brother, Juan, to visit their grandmother on the border of California and Mexico.

For the few minutes they can share together along the fence, Maria and her brother plan to exchange stories and Christmas gifts with the grandmother they haven't seen in years. But when Juan's gift is too big to fit through the slats in the fence, Maria has a brilliant idea. She makes it into a kite that soars over the top of the iron bars.

Here is a heartwarming tale of multi-cultural families, and the miracle of love.

Author: Mitali Perkins
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
Published: 09/10/2019
Pages: 40
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 8.60h x 11.20w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9780374303730
Audience: Ages 4-8

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 2.9
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 505454 / Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 05/27/2019
Booklist 08/01/2019 pg. 65
Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2019
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 10/01/2019
School Library Journal 10/01/2019 pg. 60
Horn Book Magazine 11/01/2019 pg. 33
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2019 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author

Mitali Perkins has written novels for young readers, including You Bring the Distant Near (a National Book Award Nominee, a Walter Honor Book, A South Asia Book Award Winner, A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, and a Shelf Awareness 2017 Best Book of the Year), Rickshaw Girl (a NYPL Top 100 Book) and Bamboo People (an ALA Top 10 YA novel). Mitali was born in India and currently resides in Northern California.

Sara Palacios is the recipient of the 2012 Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Award. A native of Mexico, Sara graduated from the National Institute of Fine Arts in Mexico City and went on to earn BFA and MFA degrees in Illustration from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Her books include How to Code a Sandcastle and How to Code a Rollercoaster.