Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends. I’m especially joyful when I feature a picture book by a debut author. The book JUST launched this week! And the lovely Gabriella Aldeman stopped by to share how the story came to be – plus, she’s offering a giveaway of a copy of the book…so please make sure you leave a comment and share the post on your social media.

PAULA’S PATCHES

Written by Gabriella Aldeman

Illustrated by Rocío Arreola Mendoza

Published by Free Spirit Publishing (July 11, 2023)

Ages: 5-9

Themes: Consumerism, problem-solving, friendship

Synopsis: From Amazon
Problem-solver Paula patches her pants—and encourages her class to be resourceful, mend, and reuse.
While at school, Paula’s pants catch on a bush that rips a large hole in her pants. She tries everything to hide the hole from her classmates, only to find out that they, too, have leaky lunchboxes, spaghetti stains, and hand-me-down backpacks. Nothing some colorful patches can’t3. fix! Children will follow Paula as she feels embarrassed about her torn pants, curious about patches, and excited for a possible solution that helps both her and her classmates.
 
Paula’s Patches can be used as a starting point for discussions of consumerism, throwaway culture, and fast fashion. At the back of the book, a section provides activities for children, including how to make their own patches, bookmarks, and no-sew fabric pouches.

Why I Love This Book:
1. I love the story and the writing! Great main character – readers will be cheering her on!
2. I love the illustrations! Engaging and relatable – and so beautifully diverse.
3. I love the message – turn your back on consumerism and embrace recycle, reuse, repurpose!

It’s always fun to learn a little bit about the path to publication, isn’t it? I’m grateful to Gaby for stopping by to chat with us.

Gaby: I’ll never forget the moment I saw Rocío Arreola’s cover. My first reaction to the cover was: there’s a penguin! Paula was inspired by my daughter whose pants used to tear all the time. She is also obsessed with penguins, which Rocío had no way of knowing. So the little penguin patch in the corner made the cover incredibly (and surprisingly) special. The penguin is now prominently featured in Paula’s Patches promotional materials.

The other thing I noted about the cover was Rocío’s prominent use of purple. For some reason, as I write a story, I sense a mood color that accompanies it. I cannot quite explain it, but I fully embrace it. Paula’s mood color was purple. When Paula was first acquired, I bought a purple pen and “heliotrope purple” nail polish to tackle revisions. Imagine the sense of magic and connection I felt with Rocío when I saw the exact same color in Paula’s jacket and throughout the illustrations.

WOW! That is amazing! Thank you so much for sharing this with us, Gaby. It makes the book more special for all of us!

I know it’s also fun to find out a little bit about debut authors. Here’s a little bit about Gaby:

Gabriella Aldeman is a Panamanian American author. She writes picture books in hopes that more children become readers and that all readers feel seen. She is also a professional translator of academic resources and children’s books. Gabriella holds degrees from Georgetown University and the College of William and Mary. Her books include Paula’s Patches (Free Spirit, 2023) and Squawk of Spanish (Charlesbridge, 2024). She lives in Fairfax, Virginia, with her husband and two children. Please visit her at www.writebetween.com or @write_between on Twitter or Instagram.

And here is a little bit about the illustrator:

Rocío Denisse Arreola Mendoza (aka Denarmen in the internet, she/her) is a mother and freelance illustrator from North Mexico.
Co-founder of Cúrcumas Creative Studio she has worked with Matamoros City’s Government making any kind of commercial illustration for social media and printed campaigns. Recently she’s been working as a children’s book illustrator.
When she’s not working as a bee, she can be seen playing in the garden with her kid, husband and cats or brewing some tea.

RELATED ACTIVITIES:

How about recycling, reusing, and repurposing to create awesome craft projects with your kids? Please check out all of the cool activities – perfect for hot summer days: https://upcyclemystuff.com/65-upcycling-projects-for-kids-super-fun-craft-ideas/

Thank you, dear friends, for spending your precious time with us. It only takes a few more minutes to leave a review on Goodreads or Amazon for a book that you love.

Also, please remember to leave a comment for a chance to win the giveaway – a shiny new copy of PAULA’S PATCHES!

I hope you all have a beautiful weekend.