Pockets of Love
by Yamile Saied Mendez (Author) Sara Palacios (Illustrator)
Yamile Saied Méndez, the acclaimed author of Where Are You From? and What Will You Be? delivers a stunning lyrical picture book about a brother and a sister who find a way to honor and remember their late grandmother by making empanadas—pockets of love. This heartwarming title also features a detailed recipe for readers to try to cook their own empanadas at home.
Sweet or savory.
Fried or baked.
Little pockets filled with love and a taste from home.
Grandma Monona always made the best empanadas for Mami’s birthday. But this year Monona is in heaven and Mami is sad. Her birthday won’t be the same without Monona.
Star and Sebi know they need a special birthday surprise to cheer up Mami. Maybe they can make Mami Monona’s empanadas themselves! But will they be able to capture the same magic as Monona’s empanadas if they don’t know her secret ingredient?
From Yamile Saied Méndez and Sara Palacios comes a moving and heartfelt picture book about the ways in which we carry those we’ve lost with us always—in pockets of love.
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Kirkus
A celebration of family, culture, and the healing power of homemade empanadas.
ALA/Booklist
In delicate, cheerful multimedia illustrations, Palacios (herself a Pura Belpré Honor Book winner) scatters musical notes, stars, hearts, and flowers, concretely illustrating the characters’ feelings and emotions.
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2-Following the death of a deeply loved family member, Argentinian author Mendez shows how preparing a favorite family recipe can provide healing. It is Mami's first birthday since the death of her mother, Monona. Even though her son Sebi, daughter Star, and husband bring her breakfast, cards, and flowers in bed on her birthday, they know Mami is still sad because her mother is in heaven. As a surprise, Sebi suggests that they make grandma Monona's empanada recipe for dinner while Mami is at work. Even though the grandmother's empanada recipe calls for a "generous shake of my secret ingredient," the three decide to prepare the recipe anyway. While at the market gathering supplies, Sebi and Star learn that empanadas are one of the "pockets of love" prepared around the world. From dumplings to turnovers, pasteles to egg rolls, "pockets of love" can be sweet or savory, fried or baked, but they always have a filling wrapped with dough as well as "love and a taste from home." Mami is delighted with the surprise dinner and informs her family that love is, and always was, the secret ingredient. From the cozy, colorful home to the bustling downtown market, the cheerful illustrations show a supportive, brown-skinned family that embraces their heritage. Spanish phrases are sprinkled throughout, and the end notes include the recipes for empanada dough and beef picadillo filling. VERDICT A heartwarming story reassuring readers that cooking cherished family recipes preserves precious memories while creating new ones.
Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Publishers Weekly
Palacios’s warm-hued illustrations-mustard yellow, avocado green, and terra cotta-portray cozy comfort throughout this story about love folded into a family’s favorite dish.
JUV013030 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Multigenerational
JUV050000 - Juvenile Fiction | Cooking & Food
JUV011030 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - Hispanic & Latino
