Book Descriptions
for Carmela Full of Wishes by Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
On her birthday, Carmela is finally old enough to accompany her brother as he runs errands in town. Carmela rides her scooter and jingles her bracelets, annoying her brother as he pushes his cart to the laundromat, locksmith shop, and bodega. When Carmela picks up a fluffy white dandelion, her brother bossily informs her that she must make a wish before blowing on the seeds. Carmela imagines her mother being able to sleep in nice hotel beds instead of making them. She imagines her father returning home, “papers fixed.” Before she has a chance to decide on a wish, she falls, crushing her dandelion. Her brother guides her to the sea, encouraging her to wish among the thousands of dandelion seeds floating in the air. Earth-tone acrylic and collage illustrations show a Latinx community, and Carmela’s wishes are depicted in papel picado designs. A typical, contentious-but-loving sibling relationship unfolds through a narrative that makes excellent use of descriptive language and varied sentence structure and length. Highly Commended, 2019 Charlotte Zolotow Award (Ages 4–8)
CCBC Choices 2019. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2019. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
An Instant New York Times Bestseller!
In their first collaboration since the Newbery Medal- and Caldecott Honor-winning Last Stop on Market Street, Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson deliver a poignant and timely new picture book that's sure to be an instant classic.
When Carmela wakes up on her birthday, her wish has already come true--she's finally old enough to join her big brother as he does the family errands. Together, they travel through their neighborhood, past the crowded bus stop, the fenced-off repair shop, and the panadería, until they arrive at the Laundromat, where Carmela finds a lone dandelion growing in the pavement. But before she can blow its white fluff away, her brother tells her she has to make a wish. If only she can think of just the right wish to make . . .
With lyrical, stirring text and stunning, evocative artwork, Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson have crafted a moving ode to family, to dreamers, and to finding hope in the most unexpected places.
In their first collaboration since the Newbery Medal- and Caldecott Honor-winning Last Stop on Market Street, Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson deliver a poignant and timely new picture book that's sure to be an instant classic.
When Carmela wakes up on her birthday, her wish has already come true--she's finally old enough to join her big brother as he does the family errands. Together, they travel through their neighborhood, past the crowded bus stop, the fenced-off repair shop, and the panadería, until they arrive at the Laundromat, where Carmela finds a lone dandelion growing in the pavement. But before she can blow its white fluff away, her brother tells her she has to make a wish. If only she can think of just the right wish to make . . .
With lyrical, stirring text and stunning, evocative artwork, Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson have crafted a moving ode to family, to dreamers, and to finding hope in the most unexpected places.
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.
