Tag Archives: Courage

Happy Book Birthday: MAMIACHI AND ME!

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Hello everyone!!! One of my favorite posts to create…a Book Birthday post for a dear friend!!! So please, tune up your instruments and get ready to sing along for MAMIACHI AND ME! MY MAMI’S MARIACHI BAND, written by Jolene Gutiérrez and Dakota Gutiérrez and illustrated by Mirelle Ortega and published by Abrams Books for Young Readers…launching TODAY!!!

First of all, look at that cover! The joy and energy EXPLODE off the page! The illustrator did a fantastic job choosing the color palette…and her art is amazing – we feel the emotional connection between the two characters…and we become emotionally connected as well!

I was lucky enough to read the book – and the quality of the illustrations continues throughout every page. And the emotional connection comes not just from the pictures…THE TEXT hooks you from the very beginning – and pulls you into the story with every page turn!

Here is a little bit about the book from the Amazon sales page:
Mamiachi & Me is a lyrical and empowering picture book written by Jolene and Dakota Gutiérrez and illustrated by Mirelle Ortega, winner of a Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor, about what it means to be a mariachi in an all‑female band.

Today’s the day! Rosa will take the stage next to her mami and play along with her popular mariachi band. But as they fasten the shiny botonaduras and tie the moños on their charra suits, Rosa begins to worry. What if the audience doesn’t like her? Is she ready to perform?

With her mamiachi and madrinas by her side, Rosa’s stage fright is soothed away by the sound of trumpets, guitars, and violins. Centering on the power of sisterhood, community, and music, the warm and lively text by mother-and-son writing duo Jolene and Dakota Gutiérrez—joined by Mirelle Ortega’s beautiful illustrations—provides a unique perspective to the male-dominated world of mariachi.

Back matter includes additional context on the history of the beloved Mexican tradition and the rise of all-female mariachi groups, as well as a glossary, a bibliography, further reading, and a fun, detailed look at a mariachi’s signature charro suit!

BELIEVE ME…if you are a teacher, you will want this book for your classroom! If you are a parent, please don’t miss this heartwarming and empowering story that your kids will want to hear over and over again!

And we are so lucky because Jolene stopped by to chat with us and share the story behind the story. WELCOME, JOLENE! It was wonderful seeing you at the NCTE conference a couple of months ago in Boston. And I’ve got my fingers crossed that we will meet up again this coming November in Denver.

Jolene and her son, Dakota, at a launch event at Second Star to the Right Bookstore in Denver

JOLENE: Hello Vivian! Yes, it was great seeing you in Boston. Let’s put our positivity hats on for Denver. Thank you for helping celebrate MAMIACHI AND ME! The way Mamiachi & Me: My Mami’s Mariachi Band came about is that during the pandemic, my husband watched an NPR interview with Mariachi Flor de Toloache and when he was telling me about it, he said, “I just watched this great piece with an all-female mariachi band.” 

What I *heard* was, “I just watched this great piece with an all-female mamiachi band.” 

So I said, “Did you just call them mamiachis?” 

And he said, “Um, no…” 

But my brain was already racing with a story idea. During that same time, my son was learning from home and missing out on all of the performing arts programs he used to participate in, including the mariachi program he’d planned to join his senior year. My daughter and I had just finished co-writing a manuscript (it was The Ofrenda That We Built), so I was eager to create something with my other child. Luckily, Dakota said yes and we co-wrote Mamiachi & Me.

Oh Jolene…I love that! And that just shows us that story ideas are EVERYWHERE and we need to be open and alert! Thanks so much for stopping by…and Happy Book Birthday!!!

Jolene Gutiérrez is an award-winning neurodivergent teacher librarian who has been working with neurodivergent learners at Denver Academy since 1995. Jolene writes for young readers and hopes her books will help some readers feel seen and will help others learn and grow in compassion. Her books have been printed in 10 countries and 9 languages. Jolene is an active member of SCBWI, part of the KidLitCollective group, and a co-creator of #KidlitZombieWeek and Picture Book Gold. Jolene is represented by agent Kaitlyn Sanchez and is the author of Unbreakable: A Japanese American Family in an American Incarceration Camp (Abrams Childrens, 2026, co-authored with Minoru Tonai), Mamiachi and Me: My Mami’s Mariachi Band (Abrams/Appleseed, 2025, co-authored with her son Dakota), The Ofrenda That We Built (Chronicle, 2024, co-authored with her daughter Shaian), Too Much! An Overwhelming Day (Abrams/Appleseed, 2023), the Stars of Latin Pop series (Rourke, 2021), Bionic Beasts: Saving Animal Lives with Artificial Flippers, Legs, and Beaks (Lerner, 2020), and Mac and Cheese and the Personal Space Invader (Clear Fork/Spork, 2020). Find her online at www.jolenegutierrez.com or on Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, or Threads @writerjolene.

Dakota Gutiérrez is a college student with a passion for music and writing. His family has roots in Jalostotitlan, Jalisco, Mexico, where some of his favorite memories are of visiting the plaza to watch the mariachi bands perform on the weekends. Dakota is a student at the Colorado School of Mines where he is majoring in Civil Engineering and is active in the Kappa Sigma Fraternity and intramural sports. He will graduate with a Master’s Degree in May 2026.

Mirelle Ortega is an award-winning Mexican artist and writer for kidlit and animation based in Los Angeles, California. She is the author-illustrator of River of Mariposas and IMagic: Once Upon a Faraway Land, for which she received a 2023 Pura Belpré Award Illustration Honor and an International Latino Book Award bronze medal.

New books need our help, dear friends. We can:
Buy the book
Review the book
Put the book on our Goodreads Want to Read Shelf
Tell friends about the book (Please share on social media)
Ask our local library to purchase copies for their collection

I hope you all have a WONDERFUL WEEK!

Perfect Picture Book Friday: THE LAST DAY JULIAN WAS MY BEST FRIEND Plus Giveaway

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Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends. Friendship is so very important – and being a good friend is one of the most important skills we can help children master. And whether we are 8 or 80, having good friends just makes life so much better! Huge thanks to author Jody Jensen Shaffer and illustrator Joanne Lew-Vriethoff for creating THE LAST DAY JULIAN WAS MY FRIEND.

THE LAST DAY JULIAN WAS MY BEST FRIEND

Written by Jody Jensen Shaffer

Illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff

Published by Two Lions (June 4, 2024)

Ages: 5-8

Themes: Friendship, Honesty, Forgiveness

Synopsis: From the Amazon Sales Page:
A touching story of true friendship and the power of forgiveness.

Best friends and neighbors Anthony and Julian are having the summer of their lives. Making pancakes, riding bikes to the beach, playing in the sand and surf…They have everything they need for an epic summer vacation. But Anthony is worried. He has a secret―a secret about Julian’s missing marble. And he knows that once Julian finds out about it, he’ll be mad. He may not even want to be Anthony’s best friend anymore. So Anthony is determined to have the best last day as Julian’s best friend…until he can’t hold in his secret any longer. But maybe Julian has a surprise of his own to share with Anthony…

Why I Love This Book:
1. Grab your tissues…you will need them to wipe away the tears – the story captured my heart – a perfect story about the power of forgiveness!
2. The text is so perfect – with the rhythm, sets of three, and sparse language that keeps us engaged from beginning to end!
3. The illustrations are lovely – and we feel the emotions of both characters from the expressions on their faces – masterful!

ME: Author Jody stopped by to share a little bit of the story behind the story. Welcome, Jody! Thanks for spending some time with us.

JODY: Thanks so much for inviting me, Vivian.
When I tell kids at my author visits that some stories take two years or five years or maybe even ten years to go from idea to book, they’re stunned. Wait ’til they hear about the timeline for The Last Day Julian was My Best Friend! I wrote my first draft in 2008, when I was just learning how to write picture books. By my count, that’s 16 years from idea to book! But, boy, was it worth the effort and wait. I just love how it turned out, thanks to my editor, Marilyn Brigham, and the whole team at Two Lions, and to Joanne Lew-Vriethoff and her gorgeous illustrations. I hope readers will love it, too.

We are so glad you never gave up, Jody! The book is amazing!
Friends, here’s a little info about both the author and illustrator and how you can connect with them.

Jody Jensen Shaffer is an award-winning poet and the author of more than 80 books for children, including Creep, Leap, Crunch! A Food Chain Story, named an NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book and nominated for Oklahoma’s 2025 Donna Norvell Award, Prudence the Part-Time Cow, finalist for Missouri’s Show Me Award and Missouri’s choice for the National Book Festival, A Chip Off the Old Block, nominee for Iowa’s Goldfinch Award, It’s Your First Day of School, Busy Bus!, Amazon best seller, and more! Jody’s newest books include Sometimes I am Hot Lava and Porcupine Had a Fuzzy Sweater, which release in April and September, respectively.
Website:
Twitter

From Joanne’s website:
I am an illustrator of picture, chapter, middle grade and educational books. I was born in Malaysia, grew up in Los Angeles and New York, currently living between Malaysia and Amsterdam. I studied illustration at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. And for a short stint,  I worked in the television industry as a character and concept illustrator for clients pitching children’s television shows. And then one day I decided to take a big leap and moved to New York where I worked as a graphic designer/Art Director at an AD Agency. Four years later, I found myself moving to Europe where I began my journey as a full time children’s book illustrator.
Website
Twitter

Here’s a lovely review from Kirkus:
“The tale delivers an important message about forgiveness and the importance of taking responsibility for wrongdoings… A touching exploration of the complicated dynamics of friendship.”

And here’s a Preorder link: 
https://rb.gy/s2spa0

And our kind and generous guest is offering a fabulous Giveaway…a winner’s choice of a signed book, an Ask-Me-Anything Zoom chat, or a picture book critique. WOW! Please make sure you leave a comment, letting us know what you’d choose if you are the lucky winner…and please SHARE this post on social media, add the book to your Goodreads WANT TO READ shelf, review the book on Amazon, and ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection.

RELATED ACTIVITIES:

Kids love making and wearing friendship bracelets! Give it a try with your little ones!
More fun friendship activities – details at: https://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/friendship/

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I’m still immersed in distributing prizes…and this coming week, I’m excited to see the 50-word stories for #50PreciousWordsforKids. If you are a parent or teacher, please encourage your children to participate. It’s always a joy to see what these natural storytellers have to say.

Make sure you leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway…and guess what? Two Lions is doing a Goodreads giveaway of 20 physical copies of The Last Day Julian was My Best Friend. It begins on Monday, May 6 and goes until June 3. If you want to enter, here’s the link: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/388808-the-last-day-julian-was-my-best-friend

Cover Reveal: DIVYA FAR FROM HOME

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Every summer when I was a kid, my favorite thing to do was go to the library and take out a stack of books and sit in the backyard or on the stoop (what’s a stoop, you ask? If you grew up in NYC, you’d know. It’s the front steps to a house) and read, read, read. One chapter book after another. All of Louisa May Alcott’s stories. And Nancy Drew. And the Hardy Boys. And Walter Farley’s Black Stallion series. I was a lover of chapter books. And I know that if Sita Jit’s upcoming DIVYA FAR FROM HOME had been available, that would have been in my stack, too. That’s why, when Sita told me about her new book, I knew I’d want to share it with all of you.
GET READY! GET SET! COVER REVEAL!!!

Oh yes…I love this cover…and I can really identify with it…girl with notebook and pencil, wearing glasses…that was ME as a kid…and I’m sure lots of young readers will feel the same way.

Here’s a little bit about the book from the Amazon sales page:
Nine-year-old Divya’s life is turned upside down when her family moves from Delhi, India, to a new city halfway across the world. Divya goes from living as an only child with her own quiet bedroom to sharing a room with her cousin in a crowded home with extended family. Plus, everything is different at her new school too. Everyone keeps saying change is good–but not if you didn’t want to leave home in the first place!

WOW! And now I’m feeling even more connected to the main character in this book. When I turned 10, my family moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn. But that’s only a distance of a few miles and they are both boroughs of New York City, you might say. True. But WORLDS apart in flavor. Living in the projects and going to school on the Lower East Side was like Baskin Robbins ice cream…remember the 31 flavors tagline (now there are over 1400!). And living in the Midwood section of Brooklyn and attending school there was like…vanilla.

But there is nothing vanilla about Sita’s fabulous book…and here’s a bit about how the book came to be:

ME: Welcome, Sita! Congratulations on your upcoming book We are so excited. Thank you so much for stopping by to share a little about the story behind the story.

SITA: A few years ago, my eldest son became interested in chapter books.  We spent a lot of time at the library and book stores looking for the next series for our bedtime read aloud. I found myself enjoying chapter books as much as he did and it was then that I began plotting out my first book and to my surprise, it came to me fairly quickly.  I was really inspired to write a story about a family like mine.  Similar to Divya, I lived in an Indian first-generation multi-family home that was always busy and full of love. My parents also made sure we were close to our extended family in India who we would visit every few years.  Looking back, I really cherish these memories with my family, extended family and cousins who lived both near and far and thank them for inspiring this story.

ME: I love books that are based on the author’s own experiences!
And here’s a bit about Sita and the illustrator, Abhilasha Khatri , and their contact information so that you can connect with them and find out more about their books.

Sita Jit is a children’s book author and elementary school teacher. Just like Divya, she grew up close with her extended family in Canada and India. In her free time, Sita loves to read, listen to music, and play board games. She lives in Ontario with her husband and three children.

Abhilasha Khatri is a children’s book illustrator based in India. She transitioned into the whimsical world of children’s books after working as an architect for over a decade. She loves to work on multicultural, inclusive, and diverse children’s books. In her free time, Abhilasha loves gardening, traveling, DIY, cooking and baking, and playing with her daughter and her cats.

Social Media Links:
Sita:
Instagram: @sitajit
Website: www.storiesbysita.ca
X: @storiesbysita

Abhilasha:
Website: www.abhilashakhatri.com
Instagram: @abhilashakhatri0603

The book launches from Stone Arch Books on August 1, 2024
Pre-order links:
Barnes & Noble
Amazon

And I love that Sita provides us with a handy pronunciation guide for her name:
Sita Jit   (hear name)

Please help upcoming books like this one become a success. We can:
Preorder it – see links above
Review it – same links as for preorder
Put it on your Goodreads WANT TO READ SHELF
Tell friends about it (please share on your social media)
Ask your local library to purchase copies for their collection

Thank you so much, dear friends, for spending your precious time with us.
I hope you all have a wonderful week – and please come back for Perfect Picture Book Friday!