Sendy Santamaria: Hi, my name is Sendy Santamaria, and I'm the author and illustrator of Yenebi's Drive to School. I'm going to share a bit about my journey with making this book, and I'm also going to read a page from it.

When I was in middle school, we moved to Tijuana while my sister and I were attending school in San Diego. Every day for a few years, we had crossed the border to get to school and drive back to our home in Tijuana. We would wait in the car for a few hours, and we tried our best to stay awake to keep our mom company.

I started sketching my surroundings to pass the time, families in their cars, vendors, and a whole lot of pigeons. I noticed that throughout the years, the line to cross would get longer and longer. This community was growing, and although people in border towns were familiar with it, people outside of them weren't.

It was important to me to share this story so that this community feels seen and, for those who are unfamiliar, to learn about it through our morning routine represented in my book.

Crossing every day definitely had its ups and downs. For this process, I closed my eyes and imagined the morning that went smoothly. I used the colors of a sunrise in the art throughout the book so that anybody who's reading feels like they're starting the day along with Yenebi.

Now I'm going to read a page or two from Yenebi's Drive to School.



"¡Se nos va a hacer tarde!" Mami shouts from the car. She always says we're going to be late to hurry us up.

"Hurry up, slowpoke," Melanie teases. She waddles out the door with her blanket and backpack, and I grab the keys from the entry table to lock up.

When we get on the road every morning, I confront my archenemy, La Línea.

Ahora voy a leer esa misma página en español y el libro en español se llama El viaje a la escuela de Yenebi.



"¡Se nos va a hacer tarde!" Grita Mami desde el carro. Ella siempre dice que se nos va a hacer tarde para que nos apuremos.

"Vamos, tortuga," bromea Melanie. Sale por la puerta caminando como un pato con su cobija y su mochila, y yo tomo las llaves que están en la mesa de la entrada para cerrar la puerta.

Todas las mañanas cuando partimos, me enfrento con mi archinémesis, La Línea.