#eric velasquez

[blackchildrensbooksandauthors]

🌟Christmas Book🌟

Grandma’s Gift

Eric Velasquez

Bloomsbury (2013) 

This prequel to Eric Velasquez's biographical picture book Grandma's Records is the story of a Christmas holiday that young Eric spends with his grandmother. After they prepare their traditional Puerto Rican Christmas celebration, Eric and Grandma visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a school project, where he sees a painting by Diego Velasquez and realizes for the first time that he could be an artist when he grows up. Grandma witnesses his fascination, and presents Eric with the perfect Christmas gift-a set of paints-to use in his first steps toward becoming an artist. A heart-warming story of self-discovery, Grandma's Gift is a celebration of the special bond between a grandparent and grandchild.

Grades: Pre-K-up

Ages: 3 and up

Pages: 32

Available at👉🏿| Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound

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[blackchildrensbooksandauthors]

Octopus Stew 

Eric Velasquez

Holiday House, 2019

The octopus Grandma is cooking has grown to titanic proportions. "¡Tenga cuidado!" Ramsey shouts. "Be careful!" But it's too late. The octopus traps Grandma! Ramsey uses both art and intellect to free his beloved abuela. Then the story takes a surprising twist. And it can be read two ways. Open the fold-out pages to find Ramsey telling a story to his family. Keep the pages folded, and Ramsey's octopus adventure is real. This beautifully illustrated picture book, drawn from the author's childhood memories, celebrates creativity, heroism, family, grandmothers, grandsons, Puerto Rican food, Latinx culture and more. With an author's note and the Velasquez family recipe for Octopus Stew! Ages: 5 and up/Grades: Pre-K and up/Pages: 40

⭐”a story that is as fascinating and hilarious as it is absurd. The English text intertwines with Spanish phrases that provide a multicultural approach and validates the boy's family background. The vibrant paintings, done in oils, strike the eye with large and expressive characters. . . . A hilarious read-aloud that could be read during a storytime."-School Library Journal, Starred Review

Available at👉🏿|Amazon | IndieBound

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[blackchildrensbooksandauthors]

Black History Picture Books

Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library

Where is our historian to give us our side? Arturo asked.

Amid the scholars, poets, authors, and artists of the Harlem Renaissance stood an Afro–Puerto Rican named Arturo Schomburg. This law clerk’s life’s passion was to collect books, letters, music, and art from Africa and the African diaspora and bring to light the achievements of people of African descent through the ages. When Schomburg’s collection became so big it began to overflow his house (and his wife threatened to mutiny), he turned to the New York Public Library, where he created and curated a collection that was the cornerstone of a new Negro Division. A century later, his groundbreaking collection, known as the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, has become a beacon to scholars all over the world.

Carole Boston Weatherford | Eric Velasquez | Candlewick, 2017

Get It Here 👉🏿 Amazon | IndieBound

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[jewishbookworld]

Ruth Objects: The Life of Ruth Bad­er Ginsburg by Doreen Rap­pa­port

Ruth Objects: The Life of Ruth Bad­er Ginsburg by Doreen Rap­pa­port

Illustrator: Eric Velasquez

When Ruth was a young girl, her mother encouraged her to read, be independent, and stand up for what she thought was right. Ruth graduated first in her class at Cornell University and tied for top of her graduating class at Columbia Law School. But she faced prejudice as both a woman and a Jew, making it difficult to get a job. Ruth eventually found work as a law…

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[blackchildrensbooksandauthors]

April is Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM)!

The Sound that Jazz Makes

Author - Carole Boston Weatherford

Illustrator - Eric Velasquez

Two acclaimed picture book talents combine in this award-winning journey through the history and legacy of jazz. Carole Boston Weatherford’s poetic text is perfectly matched with Eric Velasquez’s powerful oil paintings.

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[blackchildrensbooksandauthors]

🎄📚Grandma’s Gift 

Author – Eric Velasquez  

After they prepare their traditional Puerto Rican Christmas celebration, Eric and Grandma visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a school project, where he sees a painting by Diego Velasquez and realizes for the first time that he could be an artist when he grows up. Grandma witnesses his fascination and presents Eric with the perfect Christmas gift, a set of paints to use in his first steps toward becoming an artist. A heart-warming story of self-discovery, Grandma's Gift is a celebration of the special bond between a grandparent and grandchild.

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[thebookwars]

Review: New Shoes by Susan Lynn Meyer and Eric Velasquez

Review: New Shoes by Susan Lynn Meyer and Eric Velasquez

Ella Mae’s shoes are always hand-me-downs from her cousin Charlotte. When the new-used pair from Charlotte don’t fit, Ella Mae and her mother go to Johnson’s for Ella Mae’s first ever new pair of shoes. But shoe-shopping isn’t the unmitigated pleasure Ella Mae had imagined.

“How can I help you now?” Mr. Johnson says to us.

I point to a display of saddle shoes. “I want to try those on, sir!” I…

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[blackchildrensbooksandauthors]

Holiday Reads

Grandma’s Gift - Eric Velasquez

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