A Gift from Abuela by Cecilia Ruiz (review)

From the day Niña was born in Mexico City, Abuela has been her loving companion, whether they're making papel picado banners together or just sitting in the park on Sundays to watch people go by. Abuela secretly decides to save twenty pesos a week "until she had enough money to buy Niña a truly special gift." As the years go by, Abuela's budget tightens until she can save no more pesos, Niña doesn't see her grandmother as often, and Mexico's currency changes. When Niña visits Abuela's house one day and finds it empty, she cleans it up for her grandmother and happens on the stash of now-worthless bank notes. Upon Abuela's arrival home, the two draw on their usual shared pleasures and turn the old money into "the most beautiful papel picado banners." The text is direct and simple, and the Mexico City setting gives some dimension to the tale (though a note to ground the event in the 1993 Mexican currency change would have been helpful), but the warm message transcends location. Mixed-media art resembles a digital reinterpretation of block printing, with geometric shapes and grainy textures in a limited palette dominated by soft slate blue and mustard; there's a deft balance of patterned elements and background rhythms that keeps the compositions airy but still concrete and homey. The point that time spent together may be the best gift of all could inspire audiences to relate their own experiences with their grandparents, and the papel picado will make them yearn to pick up a scissors—just keep them away from the U.S. currency.