MEDINA, Meg

When her “far-away grandmother” arrives, Mia worries. Her grandmother doesn’t speak English, and Mia’s “español is not good enough to tell her the things an abuela should know.” Mia can’t talk about herself or about what happens at school; her abuela can’t share with Mia stories of her grandfather and their house nestled between two rivers. What Mia knows of her grandmother comes from the items she unpacks from her suitcase, among them the red feather of a parrot that lived in her mango trees. Mia engages her grandmother in games of Hear and Say, Oye y Di, and they begin to understand each other. But it isn’t until Mia spies a parrot in a pet-store window and persuades her mother to buy it, naming it Mango for its brightly colored feathers, that Mia and her abuela truly connect. With Mango, they learn each other’s languages until their “mouths are full of things to say.” Medina (Tía Isa Wants a Car, rev. 7/11) tells a heartwarming story about intergenerational relationships, finding common ground, and adapting to change. Dominguez’s (Maria Had a Little Llama, rev. 11/13) digitally adjusted ink, gouache, and marker illustrations capture the various emotions and moods of the characters, from shyness to frustration to happiness. The subtle tones of the wintry city, complemented by splashes of bright tropical colors throughout, convey the feeling of clashing worlds. Young readers will enjoy seeing the relationship between Mia and her grandmother develop