Carmela Full of Wishes

In one brilliant sequence, Mexican papel picado depicts what Carmela imagines, ending with “her dad getting his papers fixed so he could finally be home” and a cutout of a kneeling father embracing his daughter. It’s a bracing page, the best in the book, and just as sublime as the text. It’s another near-perfect slice of life from a duo that has found a way to spotlight underrepresented children without forgetting that they are children first.

Copyright 2018 Kirkus Reviews, LLC Used with permission.

It's Carmela's birthday, and she's finally old enough to accompany her big brother on his errands. On their way to the laundromat, Carmela finds a puffy white dandelion to blow. De la Peña captures with a fine ear the tone of their sibling dialogue: "Did you even make a wish?" her brother asks scornfully. With delicious inspiration, Robinson renders the wishes Carmela considers as papel picado decorations like those hung for her birthday. She wishes for a candy machine; she wishes her mother could sleep in one of the hotel beds she makes every day; she wishes her father could get his papers fixed "so he could finally be home." Carmela jingles her bracelets: "Why do you have to be so annoying?" her brother snaps. "It's a free country!" she retorts. But when she takes a tumble, crushing her dandelion, his impatience melts--"You okay?"--and they share a magical wish-making moment. The award-winning team behind Last Stop on Market Street portrays Carmela's Spanish-speaking community as a vibrant place of possibility, and Robinson's acrylic-and-cutout spreads introduce readers to street vendors, workers in the fields, and sweeping views of the sea. Sensitively conceived and exuberantly executed, Carmela's story shines. Ages 4-8. Author's and illustrator's agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Oct.)

Today is Carmela's birthday, the long-awaited milestone that means she may accompany her brother to town. To Carmela, this is a wonderful adventure despite the mundane nature of the trip—washing clothes at the laundromat. Naturally, her brother would rather go alone, and finds Carmela's enthusiasm exasperating. When she finds a dandelion, he stops her just before she blows the seeds away and tells her that she needs to make a wish first. The simple weed becomes a powerful talisman for the child, and she holds it tightly, helping one-handed with the laundry as she contemplates the perfect wish. Carmela's ideas about what to wish for realistically range from an endless supply of candy to, "Imagining her mom sleeping in one of those fancy hotel beds she spent all day making for fancy guests." And, "Imagining her dad getting his papers fixed so he could finally be home." Each of her dreams is cunningly portrayed as a papel picado flag. Robinson's textural cut paper and paint collages portray a busy neighborhood and make even the most prosaic settings sing with life and beauty. When a stumble causes Carmela to lose her dandelion and all the wishes that it represents, her brother comes to her aid and shows her, and readers, something truly beautiful. The ending is just open-ended enough to satisfy while leaving plenty of room for discussion. VERDICT Carmela's journey of wishing, waiting, and wanting resonates on many levels; an important addition to bookshelves everywhere.—Anna Haase Krueger, Ramsey County Library, MN

An Instant New York Times Bestseller

 "[A] beautiful book about the love of siblings and community. . . . A must read for everyone."—School Library Connection, starred review