Inspired by author and illustrator Jacqueline Alcántara’s childhood visits to Honduras, her father’s birthplace, this charming picture book, replete with vivacious illustrations and a buoyant narrative, portrays for young children the pleasures and difficulties of straddling two cultures, and it reveals a family’s love that transcends national boundaries.
When Papa and his young daughter arrive at the airport in his homeland, she wonders if her tios and tias and primos and primas—her cousins and her aunts and uncles—will understand her because she knows only a few Spanish words. Papa assures her that because they are her family, of course they will understand her.
As Papa and the girl travel from one place to the next, they meet one relative after the other. The girl is amazed at how large her father’s family—and hers—is. Still, it’s not easy for her in this strange land because she can’t understand what her father and his relatives are talking about and why they are laughing.
Finally, their travels bring them to the house of someone who is very important—the girl’s Abuela. Though the grandmother and granddaughter communicate through hugs and a mixture of Spanish and English words, the girl is sad. So she goes outside and talks to Abuela’s horse: “How can I be close to someone if I can’t speak their language? … You understand me, right?”
When the girl participates in a large family reunion at Abuela’s house, she is delighted as she begins to realize that there are many ways besides speaking the same language to get to know her family. (Nancy Paulsen Books)