Juana Martinez-Neal is the daughter and granddaughter of painters. She started her story in Lima, Peru, and then moved to the United States. The winner of a 2018 Pura Belpre Illustrator Award for La Princesa and the Pea by Susan Middleton Elya, Juana Martinez-Neal is still writing the story of her life, with the help of her husband and three children, in Arizona.
Martinez-Neal brings her gentle story to life through beautiful
graphite and colored pencil artwork, set against cream-colored
backgrounds. Soft blue and red details pop against the charcoal
scenes, which perfectly reflect the snapshots of Alma's family.
While Alma feels enriched by learning her family's history, she is
also empowered by the knowledge that she will give her name, Alma,
its own story.
--Booklist (starred review)
Martinez-Neal's first outing as author is a winner--her velvety
and largely monochromatic pencil drawings, punctuated with cherry
red, teem with emotional intimacy. It's an origin story that
envelops readers like a hug.
--Publishers Weekly (starred review) The softly colored images and
curvilinear shapes that embrace the figures evoke a sense of warmth
and affection. At the story's end, the only tale readers have not
heard is Alma's. "You will make your own story," states her father.
A beautifully illustrated, tender story to be shared with all
children, sure to evoke conversations about their names.
--School Library Journal (starred review) Mostly monochromatic
against a cream background, the illustrations--print transfers with
graphite and colored pencils--are delightful, capturing the
distinctive essences of Alma's many namesakes...A celebration of
identity, family and belonging.
--Kirkus Reviews Throughout, grayscale print transfer illustrations
have a soft visual texture, and subtle colored-pencil highlights in
pinks and blues enliven each spread. The pictures end up stealing
the show in their depiction of the sweet closeness between Alma and
her father. They also convey a subtle, supernatural connection
between Alma and her ancestors, whose images in the family photos
make eye contact with her outside of her father's awareness.
--The Horn Book As artist, her mostly black-and-white graphite and
colored pencil drawings with splashes of red (suggesting now) and
blue (capturing then) provide an additional, enhancing narrative:
the family's Peruvian roots, Alma's avian and floral interests, her
bilingual drawings, her historically inspired style sense, even a
peek at Esperanza's worldly treasures...Names are so much more than
a collection of letters and sounds, Martinez-Neal reminds. The
book's final words, "What story would you like to tell?" become an
invitation for readers to share and claim each of their own,
distinctive stories, histories and identities.
--Shelf Awareness for Readers Every piece of Alma's name, she
discovers, comes to her from someone in her family, and, as she and
her father talk, Alma feels a new sense of connection...Touching on
cultural themes central to the recent Pixar movie "Coco," this is a
tender outing for children ages 4-8.
--The Wall Street Journal A great book for introducing family
history and the importance of our place within it.
--Story Monsters Ink
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