Description:

Esther paints a map and dreams of exploring the world.

Esther's daughter Isabel paints pictures and dreams of becoming an artist.

Isabel's daughter Monica paints with words and dreams of telling stories.

From the turquoise room in Peru, Esther, then Isabel, then Monica draws the strength to trust her imagination and fly into the world of dreams and possibilities. Over mountains and the sea, along rivers of paint, or among the swirl of words on a page, each girl, then woman, finds her creative path.

In this loving memoir, Monica Brown has created an homage to her grandmother and mother and a legacy for her daughters. Accompanied by luminous illustrations by Adriana M. Garcia, this warm, lyrical story invites you to close your eyes, open your mind, and imagine your life!

Esther pinta un mapa y sueña con explorar el mundo.

La hija de Esther, Isabel, pinta cuadros y sueña con ser artista.

La hija de Isabel, Monica, pinta con palabras y sueña con contar historias.

Desde el cuarto turquesa en Perú, Esther, luego Isabel, y después Monica sacan fuerza para confiar en su imaginación y volar al mundo de los sueños y las posibilidades. Sobre montañas y mares, junto a ríos de pinturas, o junto a olas de palabras en una página, cada niña, ahora mujer, encuentra su camino a la creatividad.

En esta adorable memoria, Monica Brown crea homenaje a su abuela, a su madre y al legado de sus hijas. Acompañada con luminosas ilustraciones por Adriana M. Garcia, invita esta encantadora, lírica historia a cerrar los ojos, a abrir su mente, y ¡imagina tu vida!

Reviews and Awards:

From the Kirkus 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)

"A love letter to Peru, dreams, and daughters everywhere, this intergenerational bilingual picture book is a good choice for most picture book collections."

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