Marina is a girl with a great imagination who loves to dream about the faraway lands that her grandparents left to come to the U.S. Her mind is filled with the stories of Mexico told by her grandfather and the stories of Hawaii told by her grandmother. Through the stories and the pictures of the Hawaiian side of her family, Marina dreams of the beauty of the islands. She admires the dresses worn by her grandmother and her extended family, and she yearns for her very own, full of brilliant colors and dazzling images. Her muumuu must be one-of-a-kind, unlike any other, just like Marina herself.
Marina’s search for the perfect muumuu prompts an outing that she will never forget when her grandmother takes her to the bustling downtown in search of the unique fabric for her special dress. Marina’s Muumuu becomes not just the search for a beautiful dress of the islands, but also a joyful celebration of cultural heritage and family tradition that Marina and readers aged 3 to 7 will be able to share again and again.
“[This has} a smooth contemplative prose that calls up both the quiet of the island and the busy, anticipatory swirl of the marketplace.” – School Library Journal
EVANGELINA VIGIL-PIÑON, a native of San Antonio, Texas, is an award-winning poet who currently works as the producer and host of the program “Viva Houston” at ABC-KTRK Television in Houston, Texas. Her poetry collections include Thirty an’ Seen a Lot (Arte Público Press, 1983) and The Computer is Down (Arte Público Press, 1987). She is the editor of the first anthology of U.S. Hispanic women’s writings, Woman of Her Word: Hispanic Women Write (Arte Público Press, 1983) and the translator of Tomás Rivera’s seminal work, Y No se lo tragó la tierra/And the Earth Did Not Devour Him, (Arte Público Press, 1995). She has received many literary honors, including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for Creative Writers. This is her first bilingual picture book for children.
PABLO TORRECILLA, a native of Madrid, Spain, has illustrated numerous books, including The Bakery Lady / La señora de la panadería (Arte Público Press, 2001), by Pat Mora and Your Daydreams and Doodles Journal (Tangerine Press, 2001) by Laura Dower. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California.
