Mami's Magic Words - by Kiara Valdez (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Gibberish meets Alma and How She Got Her Name in a celebration of language and how the words we use connect us with the people we love most!

Mami's words are her mother's words, and they are my words too. Our words are magic to me.

Words are like magia, Karena's Spanish teacher tells the class. But when Karena shares her favorite one, poloché, she's informed that's not a "real" Spanish word. Even though her mami used it just this morning, whispered under her breath like a spell to make every wrinkle in Karena's shirt disappear. So Karena doesn't back down. Instead, she remembers the bowls of conflé Mami prepares with sliced bananas on top, just how she likes it. And the soothing scent of the vaporu Mami rubs on her chest to help her fall asleep. Or how just thinking the word yipeta helps conjure the keys to her mother's jeep. The words that spark the most magic for her are the ones Mami tosses in a bit of Dominican spice to create something full of family history--and she might just find that sharing them with the rest of her class only breathes new life into them. Is that not magic?

About the Author

Kiara Valdez is an Afro-Dominican writer and graphic novel editor from New York City (shout out to Washington Heights). She graduated from Williams College with a double major in English literature and Japanese, and spends her free time reading, writing, and enjoying a long list of other hobbies she can't keep up with. She is currently an editor with First Second, where she has edited several award-winning and best-selling graphic novels.

Richy Sánchez Ayala was born in the Dominican Republic. He has learned to appreciate his beloved slice of paradise but also to seek out new horizons. He works in fine art, illustration, visual development and animation; regardless of what he's working on, the child in him always manages to sneak in. He currently lives in San Francisco.