Review by Dora M. Guzmán

DESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK: As a girl in Mexico City and a boy in New York City ponder moving to each other’s locale, it becomes clear that the two cities — and the two children — are more alike than they might think.

But I’m not sure I want to leave my home.
I’m going to miss so much.

Moving to a new city can be exciting. But what if your new home isn’t anything like your old home? Will you make friends? What will you eat? Where will you play? In a cleverly combined voice — accompanied by wonderfully detailed illustrations depicting parallel urban scenes — a young boy conveys his fears about moving from New York City to Mexico City while, at the same time, a young girl expresses trepidation about leaving Mexico City to move to New York City. Tania de Regil offers a heartwarming story that reminds us that home may be found wherever life leads. Fascinating details about each city are featured at the end.

MY TWO CENTS: A New Home/ Un Nuevo Hogar is a friendly comparison of what home means for two, young characters. More importantly, it showcases the intricacies of each character’s home and the memories that make each city special. Each page has bold visuals that highlight each piece of home and what makes it unique to each child. One child lives with his family in New York City, while another child lives with her family in Mexico City. Now, the twist comes in when both of these children will be moving to a new home, which happens to be the location where the other child is currently living. So, think of it as a home location swap! While the text is simple, the reader deeply connects to each child’s life in the city, like their versions of food, concerts, museums, and sports events. The illustrations also hold details that are representative of landmarks from each city. More importantly, each set of pages illustrate what the child will miss the most from their home. The text is available in English and Spanish.

Overall, an addition that represents diverse cities and what makes each one a home. I highly recommend it as a read aloud, or as a part of a community and/or identity unit. At the end of the picture book, the author has also included information on each city’s landmark that is represented in the story. Great for more in-depth research and learning about what makes each major city memorable! Students can also create their own text while using this text as a writing mentor text. In the end, the reader embraces that our homes go beyond the physical location of where we live. Home is the history, the music, the people; in other words, it is everything around us.

TEACHING TIPS: Many of these teaching moments can be implemented in a grades K-5 setting, with a focus on the primary grades.

• Researching beyond the text
  • Illustrations leave ample room for readers to engage in looking for cultural artifacts, like landmarks, clothing, and traditions from each major city
    • Students can research these landmarks and why it is so important to the city and culture.
• Comparing and Contrasting focus
  • Compare and contrast major cities like New York City and Mexico City
  • Students can research more about each major city and compare it to their current location.
  • Students can compare major cities or locations, especially if they have experienced a move
  • Creating their own book, report, piece of art
• Students can create their own book or report on what they love about their home, city, region, and/or country. Students can then present or create written or artistic pieces that showcases all of our homes, and what we will miss if you were to move.

CHECK OUT THE BOOK TRAILERS:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR-ILLUSTRATOR: Tania de Regil studied fashion design at Parsons School of Design in New York City before moving back to her native Mexico City, where she finished her degree. A New Home is her U.S. publishing debut. She lives in Mexico City with her filmmaker husband and travels to the United States frequently.

Her art encompasses a diverse set of media like watercolor, gouache, color pencils, wax pastels, and ink. Both of her debut picture books are published by Candlewick Press. Check out her author page here!

For more information about Tania de Regil, click HERE for a short Q&A that is a part of our Spotlight on Latina Illustrators series.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER: Dora M. Guzmán is a bilingual reading specialist for grades K-5 and also teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Children’s Literature and Teaching Beginning Literacy. She is also a current doctoral student in NLU’s  EDD Teaching and Learning Program with an emphasis on Reading, Language, and Literacy.  When she is not sharing her love of reading with her students, you can find her in the nearest library, bookstore, or online, finding more great reads to add to her never-ending “to read” pile!