What Gives Angela Quezada Padron Hope

More hope. From the kidlit community, to you.  

No matter where you are. No matter what’s going on around you. No matter what is pulling your attention or competing for space in your mind. May these next few minutes offer you rest, peace, and hope.

Hope - April 4, 2026

Angela Quezada Padron, author of Lucía's Goals / Los Goles de Lucía (Children's Book Press), illustrated by Christina Barragan Forshay, shares what is giving her hope today: looking for hope in the little things in life, the things that make her smile.

Listen along:

About the Book:  Lucía's Goals / Los Goles de Lucía by Angela Quezada Padron; illustrated by Christina Barragan Forshay. Published by Children's Book Press.

In Lucía's small hometown, girls weren't supposed to play soccer and they definitely weren't supposed to be good at it either. But Lucía was determined to prove everyone wrong!

En el pequeño pueblo natal de Lucía, se suponía que las niñas no jugaban al fútbol, y mucho menos se suponía que fueran buenas en él. ¡Pero Lucía estaba decidida a demostrarles a todos que estaban equivocados!

Whenever Lucía played soccer, she imagined herself as a professional futbolista. She sprinted and dribbled, headed and juggled, zigged and zagged, kicked her best kicks, and scored "Goal!" after "Goal!" After finally getting the chance to join an all-female soccer team, Lucía set her sights on becoming the best goal scorer anyone had ever seen.

Told in English and Spanish, Lucía's Goals / Los goles de Lucía is a rousing story about a young girl's determination to defy gender stereotypes and break through barriers. Lucía's story will inspire readers of all ages to take charge on and off the field to achieve their GOALS!

Siempre que Lucía jugaba al fútbol, se imaginaba como una futbolista profesional. Corría y regateaba, daba cabezazos y hacía malabares, zigzagueaba de acá para allá, daba sus mejores patadas y marcaba gol tras gol! Después de finalmente tener la oportunidad de unirse a un equipo de fútbol exclusivamente femenino, Lucía se propuso convertirse en la mejor goleadora que nadie jamás hubiera visto.

Narrada en inglés y español, Lucía's Goals / Los goles de Lucía es una historia conmovedora sobre la determinación de una joven para desafiar los estereotipos de género y romper barreras. ¡La historia de Lucía inspirará a lectores de todas las edades a tomar las riendas dentro y fuera del campo para alcanzar sus GOLS!

More:

Visit Angela Quezada Padron online at angelapadron.com 

Learn more about Boyds Mills and their upcoming programs by visiting boydsmills.org. 

Learn more about Lee & Low Books and their upcoming releases by visiting www.leeandlow.com.

Transcript:

Angela: "I called my company Dream Jar because no matter how hard life can be, no matter how chaotic the world can get, I keep dreaming.

I always look for hope in the little things in life, the things that make me smile. A bird's nest filled with chirping hatchlings, or a fawn gallivanting near its mother outside my lanai. When I see a monarch butterfly fluttering around my garden or dolphins frolicking in the bay, like Ferdinand the bull, I choose to sit and smell the flowers as I let the sun warm my face or the ocean breeze blow through my hair.

I enjoy the sound of children laughing outside and witnessing an older couple holding hands as they go for a walk around the block. When I see a community coming together to help one another after a destructive storm, I continue to have hope because we are resilient. We are strong, but we're stronger when we work together.

When we help each other and lift each other up, anything is possible. The late civil rights leader, Jesse Jackson, had a mantra of Keep hope alive. He once said, at the end of the day, we must go forward with hope and not backward by fear and division. So I choose to continue to dream so that my son and the younger generation can still dream, and I will always choose to move forward toward hope.

I hope you'll join me."