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Join us in celebrating THE ENCHANTED LIFE OF VALENTINA MEJIA book birthday! We sat down with debut Musa Alexandra Alessandri to learn all about the inspiration behind this book. But first, a little bit about The Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejía: Twelve-year-old Valentina wants to focus on drawing the real world around her and hopefully get into art school in Bogotá one day, but Papi has spent his life studying Colombia’s legendary creatures and searching for proof of their existence. So when Papi hears that a patasola—a vampire woman with one leg—has been sighted in the Andes, Valentina and her younger brother Julián get dragged along on another magical creature hunt.While they’re in the Andes, a powerful earthquake hits. Valentina and Julián fall through the earth…and find an alternate Colombia where, to Valentina’s shock, all the legends are real. To get home, Valentina and Julián must make a treacherous journey to reach this land’s ruler: the madremonte, mother and protector of the earth. She controls the only portal back to the human world—but she absolutely hates humans, and she’ll do anything to defend her land.  Today, we're thrilled to reveal the cover for The Moonlit Vine and Claro de luna by Elizabeth Santiago, with cover art by Laylie Frazier and interior art by McKenzie Mayle. This young adult novel (pubbing on May 30, 2023 from Tu Books, an imprint of LEE & LOW BOOKS INC.) places Taíno people and culture into a living, modern-day story—the first of its kind for middle-grade and high school readers. A little bit about the book: Despite her name, Taína Perez doesn't know anything about her Taíno heritage, nor has she ever tried to learn. After all, how would ancient Puerto Rican history help with everything going on? There's constant trouble at school and in her neighborhood, her older brother was kicked out of the house, and with her mom at work, she's left alone to care for her little brother and aging grandmother. It's a lot for a 14-year-old to manage. But life takes a wild turn when her abuela tells her she is a direct descendant of Anacaona, the beloved Taíno leader, warrior, and poet, who was murdered by the Spanish in 1503. Abuela also gives her an amulet and a zemi and says that it's time for her to step into her power like the women who came before her. But is that even possible? People like her hardly make it out of their circumstances, and the problems in her home and community are way bigger than Taína can manage. Or are they? A modern tale with interstitial historical chapters, The Moonlit Vine brings readers a powerful story of the collective struggle, hope, and liberation of Puerto Rican and Taíno peoples.  Cover art by Laylie Frazier Elizabeth says: When I saw the cover, I gasped. What had been in my head all those months had been perfectly captured by Laylie Frazier, the artist. From the way Taína, my main character, looked, to the glare on her glasses, the blue nail polish, the vibrant background colors reminiscent of Borinquén/Puerto Rico, to the moon glowing majestically toward the reader. It is everything I had imagined and more. I am thrilled that The Moonlit Vine/Claro de Luna is making its debut and in awe of the beautiful artwork.  Elizabeth Santiago is a fiction writer, creative writing teacher and narrative coach. She obtained her PhD in Educational Studies from Lesley University, Master of Education from Harvard University, and Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Emerson College. Her first loves remain creative writing and teaching, never losing her desire to create characters based on her beloved community, or support students in leveraging storytelling to be better overall writers. She lives in Boston. Visit her online at theuntoldnarratives.com, or on GoodReads. Follow her on Twitter & Instagram at @LizNarratives.  Cover art by Laylie Frazier Pre-order The Moonlit Vine via the links below:
Pre-order Claro de luna via the links below: Add The Moonlit Vine to your Want-to-Read List on GoodReads! Add Claro de luna to your Want-to-Read List on GoodReads! Cover Reveal: Lourdes Heuer's translation of Martha Riva Palacio Obón's Secrets We Tell the Sea!2/13/2023
We are excited to share the stunning cover for Lourdes Heuer's translation of Martha Riva Palacio Obón's award-winning middle-grade novel about family, grief, and the sea. Secrets We Tell the Sea, published by Bloomsbury Children's Books, will be released on October 24, 2023. But first, a little bit about the book: The only good thing about Sofia's mom sending her to live with her abuela is that finally Sofia and the sea will meet face-to-face. The sea has always called to Sofia. That's how she knows she’s a mermaid—that, and the fact that the ocean and its creatures are much easier to understand than people. Sofia longs to meet another mermaid, someone who understands her and the sea completely. And when she meets Luisa, it seems like she's found just that—until the sea betrays them both in one irreversible moment. Soon their town is overtaken by hurricanes and floods and emotions and questions so big Sofia doesn't know what to do with them. Like, how do you make friends with the sea again? And how do you calm the rough waters within yourself?  Book cover designed by John Candell and illustrated by Dana SanMar.  Lourdes Heuer is a children's book author, poet, translator, and college professor. Her debut picture book, On this Airplane, illustrated by Pura Belpré Award Honoree Sara Palacios, was selected in 2023 for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. The first book in the Esme! early chapter book series, Esme's Birthday Conga Line, with art by #1 New York Times Bestselling illustrator Marissa Valdez, was named a 2022 Chicago Public Library Best Fiction Book for Younger Readers and one of Evanston Public Library's 101 Great Books for Kids of 2022. The daughter of Cuban immigrants, Lourdes was born in Spain and immigrated to the United States in 1984. She currently resides in South Florida. Find her on Instagram and Twitter. Pre-order Secrets We Tell the Sea today! Add Secrets We Tell the Sea to your Goodreads! |
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