Abuela's Super Capa

by Ana Siqueira, Elisa Chavarri (Illustrator)

Overview

A heartwarming bilingual picture book about a young boy who learns to accept that Abuela needs to retire her super capa. 

Saturdays are superhero days. Equipped with their milkshakes and capas, Luis and his abuela can turn anything into an adventure.

But when Abuela gets sick, Luis has to learn a new way to be a hero. With some help from his sister, Luis learns that change isn’t all that bad and there are many new adventures to have, even if they look a little different.

Perfect for families experiencing sickness and loss, this engaging multigenerational story will help young children find the language to express their feelings and adjust to change. 

Simultaneously published in Spanish: La supercapa de Abuela

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063113657
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/17/2023
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	493,743
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Ana Siqueira is a Spanish-language elementary teacher and an award-winning children's book author based in Tampa, FL. She is the author of Bella's Recipe for Success and If Your Babysitter Is a Bruja. Ana has published children's books in Portuguese in Brazil and in Spanish for the foreign language educational markets. She is also a global educator, a PBS Media innovator, and an SCBWI member. You can follow Ana on Twitter @SraSiqueira1307 or on her website, www.anafiction.com.

Elisa Chavarri is an illustrator and animator who has loved drawing and coloring since before she can remember. This love turned into a passion for comics and animation, both of which she studied at Savannah College of Art and Design. She has previously illustrated Taylor Swift: A Little Golden Book Biography by Wendy Loggia, Santa Goes Green by Anne Margaret Lewis, and Fairly Fairy Tales by Esme Raji Codell. Elisa lives with her husband in Northville, Michigan.

Editorial Reviews

05/01/2023

Rainbow hearts, stars, and lightning bolts punctuate this tale of a grandchild’s evolving relationship with their grandmother. On Saturdays, cape-wearing superhéroe Luis and sidekick Abuela have their routine: “Super hugs! Check.... Super capas? Ready.” They perform rescues and capture criminals (both involving the family canine) while being dogged by “tiny intruders”—the cat and Luis’s sister. One Saturday, Luis builds a blanket fort for adventures as usual, “But Abuela never comes.” Instead, the family visits her in the hospital, where Luis delivers “a super hug and powerful kisses.” When she heads home, requiring rest, Luis wonders “When can I have my sidekick back?” and reprises their loving rituals as well as possible. Siqueira’s play-by-play narrative movingly articulates Luis’s arc from frustration to acceptance, and a slow warming toward taking on a new sidekick from the Latinx-cued family. Chavarri’s hand-painted acrylic gouache and cut-paper illustrations pop with crisp vibrancy. A glossary concludes. English and Spanish versions publishing simultaneously. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"Beautiful and full of life, this picture book is an excellent choice for gently discussing the illness of a loved one as well as sharing the magical relationship between children and their grandparents. Highly recommended for picture book collections." — School Library Journal (starred review)

"A sweet ode to superhéroe abuelas everywhere." — Kirkus Reviews

“Rainbow hearts, stars, and lightning bolts punctuate this tale of a grandchild’s evolving relationship with their grandmother.” — Publishers Weekly

"Abuela's illness is no match for super hugs and a great sidekick in Abuela's Super Capa. The story's emotion-filled bilingual text and vibrant art will be both comforting and affirming for child readers who need to believe in their own superpowers. Good for everyone but, most especially, for kids worried about a sick family member." — Heidi E.Y. Stemple, author of I Am the Storm

From the Publisher

★ 01/01/2023

K-Gr 2—Saturdays are special for Luis and his abuela. That's when they don their capes and become superhéroes, enjoying their super milkshakes and catching cupcake thieves. When Abuela doesn't arrive one Saturday, Luis and his little sister Isabel learn that Abuela is not well. When she comes to live with them, Luis tries to give Abuela her cape, but what Abuela really needs is rest. Luis is sure this is goodbye to their superhero identities, until he realizes that there is someone who could be his sidekick. As Luis passes on his special cape to little Isabel, Abuela gifts hers to Luis, and together Luis and Isabel take their abuela on adventures. Bursting with color, this vibrant picture book conveys the special and fun relationship between a grandmother and her grandson, with a darkness falling over the family as Abuela falls ill, and an explosion of color returning as Luis realizes that although things may be different, they can still have fun. Lively text is sprinkled with Spanish words and phrases and reflects the love the family has for Abuela and the uncertainty Luis feels. An extra spread depicts Abuela, Luis, and Isabel together, along with a glossary of Spanish words. VERDICT Beautiful and full of life, this picture book is an excellent choice for gently discussing the illness of a loved one as well as sharing the magical relationship between children and their grandparents. Highly recommended for picture book collections.—Selenia Paz

School Library Journal

2022-10-26
When a Latine child’s superabuela falls sick and hangs up her capa, a young superhéroe springs into action.

On Saturdays, Super Luis and Sidekick Abuela get their superhéroe on, saving “citizens from danger” (keeping a vase from being knocked over by a tail-wagging dog), keeping cupcakes safe from household pets, and keeping lost capas out of the hands of “tiny intruders” like Luis’ younger sister, Isabel. But when Saturday finally comes again, Luis and Isabel’s parents reveal that Abuela is in the hospital. Despite Luis’ (and Isabel’s) superhugs and powerful kisses, Abuela returns home still “not superhéroe ready.” Momentarily taken aback, Luis tries to speed up Abuela’s recovery with even more superhugs, sips from a supershake, and smooches of “power-boosting kisses.” Yet Abuela still quite doesn’t return to her superself. What will Super Luis do without Sidekick Abuela? Though Siqueira and Chavarri’s collaboration navigates rather serious subject matter, this slice-of-life tale concludes on a hopeful note as Isabel steps into the role of sidekick (Abuela does stick around until the end, thankfully). Often direct and playful, Siqueira’s text, sprinkled with unitalicized Spanish words, assumes Luis’ point of view, which works marvelously to render Abuela’s physical decline in broad strokes. Chavarri’s kaleidoscopic artwork dazzles thanks to a focus on comiclike visual flourishes and expressive characters, depicted as brown-skinned and dark-haired (Abuela is gray-haired). (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A sweet ode to superhéroe abuelas everywhere. (glossary of Spanish words) (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews