A Gift from Abuela

by Cecilia Ruiz

In her first book for children, Cecilia Ruiz illuminates how things can change -- and the importance of holding on to our dearest relationships when they do.

The first time Abuela holds Nina, her heart overflows with tenderness. And as Nina grows up, she and Abuela spend plenty of time together. Abuela can't help thinking how much she'd like to give Nina a very special treat, so she saves a little bit of her money every week -- a few pesos here, a few pesos there. When the world turns upside down, Abuela's dream of a surprise for Nina seems impossible. Luckily, time spent together -- and the love Abuela and Nina have for each other -- could turn out to be the very best gift of all. With a soft and subtle hand, author-illustrator Cecilia Ruiz draws from her own history to share a deeply personal tale about remembering what's most important when life starts to get in the way.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Latinx, Love, Childrens, Fiction, Cultural

32 pages, Hardcover

Published August 7, 2018

About the author

Cecilia Ruiz is an illustrator and graphic designer living and working in New York. She obtained a BFA in Graphic Design from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and a MFA in Illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. The Book of Memory Gaps is her first book.

Reviews

[Skip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes the most important thing to hold on to is each other.

Nominated by Goodreads as a best children's book of 2018, this is a story of intergenerational family love. Abuela falls in love with her granddaughter, Niña, at birth, and they love spending time together playing, cavorting, and visiting the local park to eat pan dulce. Abuela starts to save her money to buy a special gift, but economic times become difficult in Mexico City, and her savings appear to become worthless, but aren't. Nice illustrations too. 3.5 stars.

[Laura Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this one! A very special 2018 release.

[Westminster Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the great joys in life for grandparents is to see their children become parents themselves. This picture book shows the close relationship between Abuela and her granddaughter Niña who are very close and manage to stay that way despite life's challenges. Sometimes physical gifts pale in comparison to intangible ones. Spending time with loved ones and eating pan dulce -quality time indeed.

Find A Gift from Abuela at the Westminster Public Library!

[KM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely made me cry happy tears! Now I want to go hug my grandparents and go spend the afternoon with them like I did in my childhood. This is a new favorite of mine that I would recommend to anyone.

[KC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable story between an again grandmother and her granddaughter.

[Lin Lin]

Abuela and Nina share great moments by doing simply things together. Abuela wants to save money to buy Nina a special gift, but economic changes breaks her dream. Their relationship is as strong. It's a good book to share with children that things could change, but the loving relationship persists.

[Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED. A book about the grandparent relationship, and #ownvoices story, a girl and an abuela who both grow older, the importance of keeping in touch with our families. It's all here in a beautiful, heart-warming book.

[TaNera Rodriguez · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was ok. I didn't care for it too much and neither did my daughter. I think it was sweet and what it was trying to teach was nice and I think maybe it was just because she's too young right now that it was lost on her. I'd read it to preschoolers.

[Mike Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Gift from Abuela is a short story of the love between Abuela and a girl named Niña. The story starts off speaking about the love that Abuela had for Niña the moment she was born. They spent all of their time together bonding and having fun. The two had a tradition that every Sunday they would go to the park and buy pan dulce, which cost ten pesos at the time. At some point, Abuela decided that she would save up pesos every week in order to buy something special for Niña that she would love or to even take a trip. Then time passed, people grew older and times became tougher in Mexico. The pan dulce went up to 100 pesos and around this time Abuela also had no money to put away for the gift for Niña. The government then changed to newer pesos, meaning that the old pesos became worthless. More time passed and Niña got older and started to spend more time with her friends, which meant less time with Abuela. Niña noticed that it been a while since she had seen Abuela so she chose to go clean her house as a kind gesture; she then found Abuela’s stash of old pesos which would’ve been used for the special gift. The book ends with the two turning the worthless pesos into a project that is similar to something they would’ve done when Niña was younger.

Some of the main things seem to be kindness and love. Kindness is displayed specifically when Niña chose to clean Abuela’s home, which she really appreciated. Multiple acts of love were portrayed between Abuela and Niña from the time of her birth until the end of the book.

I like this book a lot because it shows the lighter side of life/tough times that a lot of people may or may not experience. The book included financial hardship, troubles of growing up, and the relationship between family.

I would recommend this book to about any age group but specifically lower elementary school. This book can serve as both a window and a mirror since it holds many things that readers may relate to. The book seems a bit rushed, but outside of that, it’s a very nice and soft-hearted read that’ll make any reader have a warm smile.

[Meganhelipad Helling Crandall · Rating 4 out of 5]

In A Gift From Abuela, Abuela and Nina spend a lot of time together. Abuela decides to save some money each week so she can buy a gift for Nina. After time goes by, Abuela and Nina spend less time together and life in Mexico gets harder. Abuela's money becomes worthless, but in the end Abuela and Nina are reminded of the true gift of their relationship.

One of the major themes in this story is the love shared between people is greater than any monetary gift.

I enjoyed this book because it did not have the ending I thought it would. A Gift From Abuela has a realistic ending and reminds the reader that life does not always go the way we plan it to. I loved the relationship between Abuela and Nina, because it depicts a real life relationship where the people may eventually grow apart but never stop loving each other. I also loved how the pictures helped emphasize some of the text.

I would recommend this book, because it shows a culture that is different from our American culture. It also shows how life does not always go as expected, but there are many ways to make the best of it. A Gift From Abuela also touches on a historical point for Mexico which could be interesting to some young readers and inspire their research into that history.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartwarming. Books like this make me miss my grandma.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a such a sweet story that I had to read through it twice. The book takes place in Mexico City and tells the story of Abuela and her beloved granddaughter Niña. The two love each other and do everything together from making banners and eating pan dulce. Abuela decides to save her pesos to buy a special gift for Niña. Then hard times hit. This text exudes warmth as with such words as "Abuela's heart overflowed with the tenderness the moment she held Niña for the first time." and descriptions about how Niña feels "cozy and loved". The illustrations really support the text and set the scene. They are full of details that show the Mexican setting, eventual tough times, and the importance and love of family. This story is a beautiful celebration of love between a grandmother and grandchild as well as making the best in tough times.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Niña and her Abuela have had a special relationship every since Niña was born. They spend lots of time together, but their favorite time is sitting quietly in the park, eating pan dulce. Abuela decides to save a little money every week in order to get Niña a special gift later. Unfortunately, things don't go well for her. The kind of money changes through government rules and hers becomes worthless and she forgets to do the proper exchange. The sweetest thing is that through the love between them, Niña, returning after a rather long absence, already knows to do one thing special for her Abuela, and the ending is just right, back to their favorite bench in the park, savoring pan dulce. The story uses such few words that it feels as if some parts are left unsaid that are needed. The illustrations are pretty and connect to the story.

[Cathy Mealey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fab illos

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely picture book that celebrates the special love shared between a little girl and her grandmother in Mexico City. From the time the little girl was born, her grandmother and she had a wonderful relationship and spent time together playing, working, and eating special treats. Her grandmother had been saving her money to get her granddaughter a special gift, but as the years passed, financial times became tough and an expensive present was out of the question. Young readers will appreciate that the real gift was the love and quality time spent together. This book has an awesome message for kids and would be a great one to share during story time.

[FM Family · Rating 5 out of 5]

My two and a half year old couldn't get enough of this book. She has a great relationship with her grandmother and so whenever we'd read the title "A gift from Abuela" she would add "and also Omi!"

A sweet story about the relationship between a young girl and her grandmother, which changes as the country around them undergoes change as well. Sad moment where the grandmother loses track of the money she's been hiding, but a positive ending for both characters. Like Harry and Walter by Kathy Stinson, this is a great story for showing relationships with an older person where there is some change, but nothing tragic happens.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book both for children of Mexican descent and to show other kids a glimpse of their culture. It tells of how relationships evolve over the years, but caring for one another doesn't stop. A universal theme, for sure. You might have to give background on how money can become worthless and explain papel picado along with some other vocabulary. It is a lovely, beautifully illustrated book. I'm very happy to say that there is a happy ending. (I was afraid of what might happen to abuela.)

(I received this in a goodreads giveaway.)

[Dest · Rating 5 out of 5]

This reminded me a bit of O Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" because it's about wanting to buy something nice for someone you love, but it doesn't work out the way you plan.

I thought this story was so sweet and full of love, so I was baffled by negative reviews from Kirkus and SLJ. Another recent picture book, I REALLY WANT TO SEE YOU GRANDMA by Taro Gomi, also depicts a strong bond between grandmother and grandchild, leaving the parents out of the picture, but it's clear the grandmother is not the primary caregiver.

[Loriann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abuela saves a few pesos every week to do something nice for Nina because they love to spend time together. Abuela saves until it is no longer feasible to do so, so how will Abuela do something nice for Nina, if she doesn't have any money to do it with?

This is an absolutely touching story of what is really important in the big scheme of things.

[Libraryworker14gmail.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heart warming story about a little girl named, Nina, and Abuela. In the beginning of the story they spend a lot of time together, but gradually as time goes by they do not get to see each other as much. It also touches on the hardships of life and changes happening in Mexico City. Nina's and Abuela's relationship is full of love and kindness.

[RACHEL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations accompany this sweet story of grandmother and granddaughter and the bound between them. There is also a glimpse of life in Mexico.

My copy was a gift through Goodreads First Reads.

[Mary Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grandmother, granddaughter, life gets in the way, they work it out.

[Lanie Tankard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's my review at The Woven Tale Press:

https://bit.ly/2vJstkf

[Pita-eater · Rating 3 out of 5]

Times change, but the love between Abuela and Nina stays the same.

[Beronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great reminder that there is more to life that just money.

[Maija · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a very sweet story and it also gave you a bit of historical context about Mexico's money system that I would have otherwise not known without further inquiry.

[Karrie Chajkowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Touching story of an Abuela who wants nothing more than the best for her granddaughter. Beautiful relationship and phenomenal illustrations.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abuela and Nina have a very special bond and love to do things for each other.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, sweet book about an abuela and her granddaughter. I loved the illustration style, and the story will make you feel warm inside. A gem of a book.

[Cecelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve spent the last few weeks in upstate New York, and it’s been a gift to be able to see my grandmother (now 101 years old!). For many months she couldn’t have visitors because of COVID-19, and we’re all very aware that that could happen again—so any time together is precious beyond measure. Thinking of how much I value my grandmother’s presence and appreciate her support as an adult made Cecilia Ruiz’s picture book A Gift from Abuela feel even more poignant.

In this Mexico City-set picture book, a child and grandmother are fast friends. However, as the child grows up, life gets in the way of visiting, and slowly they grow apart. One day, the child learns that their grandmother was saving money for a special gift, but because of political/economic upheaval, those savings became worthless. Together, grandmother and grandchild decide to make banners out of the old paper currency, and bond anew.

A Gift from Abuela is a heartfelt and bittersweet story notable for its unique setting and its celebration of the small habits and special moments spent together that make relationships memorable. Children who have seen the film Coco will find much to identify with in this story, as the same threads of family, remembrance, and art are woven through out. The narrative itself is simple and universal, and while it could be set anywhere in the world, the Mexico City setting is uniquely lovely. The papel picado (cut paper art used in celebratory banners in Mexico) border design on the cover, textures used throughout the book, and varying colors all add to that sense of setting and place.

The highlight, as it often (always?) is with picture books, is the art. Ruiz’s designs are symmetrical and almost architectural—and the page spreads often rely on these idealistic outlines of the grandmother’s kitchen/building/city for structure. In addition, Ruiz uses lots of patterns in primary colors, with a screen-printed effect. The art will appeal to adults just as much as the children.

This book would make a wonderful gift for a grandparent to share with their grandchild (no guarantees that the grandparent won’t cry, though!). It’s also a good candidate for cultural learning units that include Day of the Dead traditions (without a specific reference to that holiday). It’s a must for libraries that are looking to add to or feature diverse voices and experiences in their collections.

In all, A Gift from Abuela is a meticulously-illustrated and poignant look at the relationships between grandparents and grandchildren.

Recommended for: fans of culturally diverse picture books, parents, grandparents, and libraries looking for stories featuring Latinx characters, and anyone who enjoyed Dreamers, Juana & Lucas, and Duncan Tonatiuh’s picture books.