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Vendor
Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories

MAMA'S PANZA

Iliana Galvez Isabel Quintero

A body-positive picture book about a young boy's love for his mother and his mother's belly.
Everyone has a panza - it can be big and round, soft and small, or somewhere in between. But a young boy's favorite panza of all is Mamá's. Her panza is capable of remarkable things, and she loves it as an important part of herself. Her panza was also his first home. Even before he was born, it cradled and held him.

When he's feeling shy and needs a place to hide or when he wants somewhere to rest during a bedtime story, Mamá's panza is always there. With affirming text by Isabel Quintero and vivid art by Iliana Galvez, Mamá's Panza is a young boy's love letter to his mother, along with a celebration of our bodies and our bellies.

Isabel Quintero is an award-winning writer and the daughter of Mexican immigrants. Gabi, A Girl in Pieces, her first YA novel, was the recipient of multiple awards, including the Tomás Rivera Award, the California Book Award Gold Medal, and the Morris Award for Debut YA Novel. She is also the author of chapter books and a non-fiction YA graphic biography, Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide, which was awarded the Boston Globe Horn Book Award. Most recently, My Papi Has a Motorcycle, earned the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association Award, the Pura Belpré Illustration Honor Award, the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award, and many other recognitions.

Iliana Galvez is a queer Latinx illustrator, mother, and pug whisperer born and raised in the San Fernando Valley who is currently based in Houston. She started her Instagram page @GrowMija as a love letter to her baby sister, Chachis, to show her art that looked like her and to let her know how amazing she is.
Available products
Book

Published 2024-03-26 by Kokila

Book

Published 2024-03-26 by Kokila

Comments

This body-positive book celebrates the wonder, love, and strength our bodies allow us to express. Radiant flowers, hearts, and little berries throughout the book add whimsy and convey happy playfulness... The mother's and son's facial expressions successfully convey love and tenderness.

A child expresses appreciation for a favorite belly - their Mamá's panza - in this tender, body-neutral telling. Though panzas can be "big, round, soft, or small and hard, or somewhere in between," everyone has one, and the child narrator's loves their mother's best... Galvez's uncomplicated digital illustrations render the duo amid blooming flower motifs in largely domestic scenes that underline the book's comfortable interpersonal feel.

Inviting illustrations depict a warm, sturdy mother using the strength and size of her curvy body to grow and raise a child. Her brown skin and black hair glow with health and affection... This affirming ode to bellies shows readers the strength of a woman's love for her child and the wonderful things a body can do. A sweet, body-positive celebration of motherhood and its physical expression.