Meg Medina shares EVELYN DEL REY IS MOVING AWAY, illustrated by Sonia Sanchez. Meg has written many, many beautiful books, but this latest picture book is one that really moved me in a way I wasn’t prepared for. In EVELYN DEL REY IS MOVING AWAY we meet two friends making the very most of their last playdate together. It’s every bit as wonderful as you could imagine, beautifully rendered in illustrations by Sonia Sanchez. The pang of falling in best friend love only to have to say goodbye is a feeling I hope not many of you have had to suffer, but it is one told with poetic honesty in the pages of this story. Meg also takes a moment to share a preview of MERCI SUAREZ CAN’T DANCE, the sequel to the Newbery award-winning MERCI SUAREZ CHANGES GEARS. All of these stories of moments and experiences that become part of who we become. Oh, I’m so excited for you to hear this conversation!
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ON TODAY'S EPISODE (#646):
From Newbery Medalist Meg Medina comes the bittersweet story of two girls who will always be each other's número uno, even though one is moving away.
A big truck with its mouth wide open is parked at the curb, ready to gobble up Evelyn's mirror with the stickers around the edge . . . and the sofa that we bounce on to get to the moon.
Evelyn Del Rey is Daniela's best friend. They do everything together and even live in twin apartments across the street from each other: Daniela with her mami and hamster, and Evelyn with her mami, papi, and cat. But not after today--not after Evelyn moves away. Until then, the girls play amid the moving boxes until it's time to say goodbye, making promises to keep in touch, because they know that their friendship will always be special. The tenderness of Meg Medina's beautifully written story about friendship and change is balanced by Sonia Sánchez's colorful and vibrant depictions of the girls' urban neighborhood.
Merci Suárez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different. For starters, as strong and thoughtful as Merci is, she has never been completely like the other kids at her private school in Florida, because she and her older brother, Roli, are scholarship students. They don't have a big house or a fancy boat, and they have to do extra community service to make up for their free tuition. So when bossy Edna Santos sets her sights on the new boy who happens to be Merci's school-assigned Sunshine Buddy, Merci becomes the target of Edna's jealousy. Things aren't going well at home, either: Merci's grandfather and most trusted ally, Lolo, has been acting strangely lately -- forgetting important things, falling from his bike, and getting angry over nothing. And Merci is left to her own worries, because no one in her family will tell her what's going on. Winner of the 2019 Newbery Medal, this coming-of-age tale by New York Times best-selling author Meg Medina gets to the heart of the confusion and constant change that defines middle school -- and the steadfast connection that defines family.
In Meg Medina's follow-up to her Newbery Medal-winning novel, Merci takes on seventh grade, with all its travails of friendship, family, love--and finding your rhythm.
Seventh grade is going to be a real trial for Merci Suárez. For science she's got no-nonsense Mr. Ellis, who expects her to be a smart as her brother, Roli. She's been assigned to co-manage the tiny school store with Wilson Bellevue, a boy she barely knows, but whom she might actually like. And she's tangling again with classmate Edna Santos, who is bossier and more obnoxious than ever now that she is in charge of the annual Heart Ball.
One thing is for sure, though: Merci Suárez can't dance--not at the Heart Ball or anywhere else. Dancing makes her almost as queasy as love does, especially now that Tía Inés, her merengue-teaching aunt, has a new man in her life. Unfortunately, Merci can't seem to avoid love or dance for very long. She used to talk about everything with her grandfather, Lolo, but with his Alzheimer's getting worse each day, whom can she trust to help her make sense of all the new things happening in her life? The Suárez family is back in a touching, funny story about growing up and discovering love's many forms, including how we learn to love and believe in ourselves.
SHOW NOTES:
Meg Medina (website)
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