By:Sara Echenique / Illustrated by: Ashley Vargas

Me haces un cuento?

Esta emotiva historia de resiliencia sigue a dos hermanos en su proceso de recuperacin luego de que el huracn Maria destruyera su casa en Puerto Rico.

Antes de que un fuerte huracn daara su casa en Puerto Rico, todas las noches Antonio contaba a su hermana animadas historias. Durante la tormenta, se acurrucaron con sus padres en un clset desde donde escucharon como la tormenta hizo volar el techo de su hogar. Luego de la tormenta, la familia utiliza un toldo azul provisorio como techo, y Antonio deja de hablar. Poco a poco, los hermanos comienzan a pensar en su techo azul de maneras divertidas: imaginan que es el ocano sobre sus cabezas o un paracadas para lanzarse desde el cielo. A medida que la narradora ayuda al hermanito a recuperar su seguridad y luego de que la familia y la comunidad construyen un nuevo techo el pequeito comienza a hablar otra vez.

This heartfelt story of resilience follows two siblings as they work to recover and rebuild after Hurricane Maria destroys their home in Puerto Rico

Before an intense hurricane hits their home in Puerto Rico, Antonio told his sister vibrant stories each night. During the storm, they huddled with their parents in a closet and hear the storm blow the roof right off their home. After the storm, their family uses a temporary blue tarp for a roof, and Antonio stops speaking. Gradually the siblings imagine their blue roof playfullyas the ocean above them or a parachute helping them fall from the sky. As the narrator helps her little brother feel safe once moreand after the family and community build a new roofAntonio finds his voice again

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Downloadables

Download the Cover (English)Download the Cover (Spanish)

Author & Illustrator

Sara E. Echenique, author

Sara E. Echenique grew up preparing for and surviving hurricanes in Puerto Rico. This is her first picture book.

Read more about Sara.

Ashley Vargas, illustrator

Ashley Vargas is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Illustration BFA program. This is her first picture book.

Read more about Ashley.

Awards & Honors

• ANew York Public Library Best Book of 2023
• Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Book of the Year in Spanish 2024

Editorial Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

A Puerto Rican girl and her storytelling brother, Antonio, survive a powerful hurricane that rips the roof off of their home.

The trauma of the storm silences Antonio, and he is no longer able to share his gift of stories. A blue tarp covers the house until they can replace it with a new roofa daily reminder of the storm and the damage it caused. Still, the siblings find joy in the situation, imagining that the blue hue cast by sunlight through the tarp is the water of the ocean or envisioning the shadows as macaws and herons in the jungle. The protagonist promises to help Antonio find his voice. Eventually, the roof is replaced, and Antonio regains his speech, ready to share his stories once again. In their newly mended home, the family finds a creative way to honor the blue tarp that sheltered them. The story and a note from the author bring an important focus to the continued recovery of Puerto Rico after devastating hurricanes such as 2017s Irma and Maria and the challenges that Puerto Ricans continue to face as they rebuild. Vargas art has a scribbly, childlike feeling that makes the tale relatable despite its potentially scary subject. The siblings and their parents have brown skin and curly brown hair.

Healing, both physical and emotional, is eased through the power of story. (hurricane and climate change information, ways children can help)

Details

Spanish Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-62354-422-5

Ages: 5-8
Page count: 32
9 x 9

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