The turquoise room El cuarto turquesa

Monica Brown, 1969-

Book - 2022

"A bilingual story based on the lives, dreams, and accomplishments of three generations of creative, imaginative, artistic girls as they grew up in the author's family. Un cuento bilingüe basada en la vida, los sueños y los logros de tres generaciones de niñas artísticas, creativas e imaginativas a medida que crecían en la familia de la autora"--

Saved in:

Children's Room Show me where

j468.6/Brown
1 / 1 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
Children's Room j468.6/Brown Checked In
Subjects
Genres
Picture books
Published
New York : Children's Book Press, an imprint of Lee & Low Books, Inc [2022]
Language
English
Spanish
Main Author
Monica Brown, 1969- (author, -)
Other Authors
Adriana M. Garcia (illustrator), Cinthya Miranda-McIntosh (translator)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 26 x 27 cm
Audience
Ages 5-9.
Grades 2-3.
ISBN
9780892394357
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Prolific children's book writer Brown brings a personal, intergenerational story to readers in this moving picture book about family, culture, art, and imagination. Using bilingual text (Spanish and English) complemented Garcia's dreamy purple-and-turquoise illustrations, Brown blends fact and fantasy as she recounts the legacies of her grandmother Esther and mother, Isabel. As a child, Esther dreamed about exploring the world beyond her native country of Peru and found her escape in drawing and painting. Later, Esther painted her daughter's room a beautiful turquoise and whispered fantastic stories of adventure to her baby, Isabel. Isabel inherited her mother's talents and far-reaching ambitions, eventually moving to the U.S. and becoming an artist. And when Isabel had her daughter Monica, she also wove incredible tales "of butterflies and flight, of color and art, and of her grandmother Esther" and encouraged Monica to "fly away and explore." In this very book, Brown keeps alive her family's tradition of carrying and sharing one's history, culture, and customs with younger generations. The beautifully translated Spanish further enhances the story's message.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 2--Four generations are inspired by the beauty of Peru, the endless possibilities of the world around them, and a very special turquoise room. Esther is a young girl who lives in Peru, where she spends her time drawing and dreaming of exploring the world. She paints a special map of South America, and when she grows up, she hangs this map in a turquoise room where she now cares for her daughter Isabel. Esther shares with Isabel stories of her travels. When Isabel grows up, she moves to the United States and her passion for painting flourishes. Soon, she shares her love for Peru and the secrets of traveling in her dreams with her own daughter, Monica. This love for Peru and its magic is passed on through words and stories to Monica's own daughters--Esther's great-granddaughters--and to readers. Shades of purple and turquoise create a mysterious and magical atmosphere within the pages that beckons to readers and invites them to dream. A love for Peru and for family is shared in each spread, and the text, presented in English and Spanish, lovingly and patiently shares the story of these four women and of the power of following dreams. VERDICT A love letter to Peru, dreams, and daughters everywhere, this intergenerational bilingual picture book is a good choice for most picture book collections.--Selenia Paz

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

"The dreams of girls turn into the lives of women." A little girl named Esther, who lives in the Peru of a century ago, paints a map of South America that features her favorite color, turquoise, which she uses for "the color of rivers and lakes and the blue morpho butterflies that lived in the rain forest." When she grows up and has a daughter of her own, Isabel, Esther paints the girl's room turquoise, inspiring her to dream of flying across the world. Isabel finds a home in the United States and becomes an artist. The urge to dream big is passed on again, this time to Monica, Isabel's daughter and the book's author, who grows up to write stories for children and to raise two daughters of her own. This autobiographical, multigenerational tale is proof that a loving parent can encourage a child not only to embrace art, but also to view the world as a place of limitless opportunities. The book is bilingual, with Spanish first, English second, though some Spanish words and phrases such as mantas (blankets) and linda (beautiful) are retained in the English text. With illustrations that place realistic images of characters' faces against deeply saturated greens and purples and the titular turquoise, the book feels like a whirlwind journey through 100 years of family history. In fact, it could stand to be a little longer; as beautiful as it is, it's over as quickly as an elusive dream. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A rich portrayal of the passage of a family's artistic talents across generations. (author's note, map, photo) (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.