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PICTURE BOOKS
Belt, Gabriela Orozco

Only for a Little While

32 pp. | HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray | June, 2023 | Trade ISBN 9780063206632 $19.99
(3) K-3 Illustrated by Richy Sánchez Ayala. Maribel, a young girl with Costa Rican and Mexican heritage, narrates the story of her family’s experience with housing insecurity due to parental job loss. Although grateful to be sojourning at an aunt’s house where there are scads of sportive cousins and exuberant family dinners, crowded quarters have their inconveniences, and Maribel and her older sister inevitably pine for their old life. Visions of a new home, and their papi’s reminders that their displacement is temporary, help them look to the future with optimism. The decision to leave the frequent Spanish words unglossed is a smart choice for a story that avoids "othering" people experiencing homelessness. Upbeat digital illustrations temper the poignancy. A bittersweet tale about the triumph of family and faith in the face of uncertainty.
Reviewer: Summer Edward

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