GRANDMOTHER HAVE THE ANGELS COME? by Denise Vega (Little, Brown 2009)
From Booklist
"Grandmother, Grandmother have the angels come and painted your hair? Yes, my darling granddaughter. / They have painted it white / so I may become more like the clouds. So begins this beautifully illustrated picture book about a loving family relationship. With each question a young girl asks, her grandmother answers, lyrically reframing signs of aging, such as dimming sight, hearing, and bent fingers. Vibrant folk-art illustrations fill the pages and portray the brown-skinned characters in embroidered clothing and lush natural settings."
From School Library Journal
"Grade 12A grandmother and her granddaughter share a dialogue about aging in which the woman answers the child's questions with reassurances about the physical changes that come with time. Kono's acrylic and pencil folk art evokes a rural Latin American setting and features monarch butterflies, smiling suns, and iconic swirling backgrounds. Vega's Hispanic characters are depicted in traditional dress and she manages to convey an acceptance of a stage in life that many Americans are loathe to embrace."
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