Abuelo, the Sea, and Me

Over the course of four seasons, a child and their abuelo connect during visits in this loving intergenerational book that looks both forward and back. The child’s first-person narration offers sensory-rich descriptions of the pair’s trips to the beach. In summer, “the hot sand burns until we slip into the cool water,” and the child hears stories about Abuelo’s youth in Havana. In autumn, “geese chase the vanishing sun south, toward the island Abuelo fled,” and further seasons offer more about Abuelo’s life as a medal-winning swimmer in Cuba. Abuelo’s longing for home also reveals the speaker’s growing emotional awareness. Gardel’s delicate digital art has the feel of watercolors on textured paper; the pair’s strong bond becomes focal in images of the two holding hands and echoing one another in posture or expression. In English and Spanish, Williams’s narration portrays the power of place and memory in facilitating bonding. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Creator notes conclude. Ages 4–8. (May)