Sisters All the Time

Half-sisters Luz and Mari, both drawn with light brown skin and darker brown hair, cherish the time they spend together every Saturday, playing and giggling all dat at their Papi’s house. However, when Sunday rolls around, the girls are sad to part ways as they must return to their separate lives. One Sunday, Luz’s mom runs late, giving the sisters the unexpected gift of an extra two hours together. How will they make the most of this precious time? In this installment of the “Steamworks” series, Padron uses the story of Luz and Mari to demonstrate how to keep track of and tell time. The girls map out their ideas with estimated time needed for each activity—from setting up dominoes to making “the longest trail ever,” to playing “fashion show,” their excitement jumps off each page as they plan how to spend their extended time. Padron beautifully captures the bond between Luz and Mari through their joyfully illustrated expressions in her art and their lively dialogue from beginning to end. The girls check in with clocks digital and analog throughout, until Luz’s mother arrives; the special sisters shed a tear because they can’t be together “24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” but assure each other that they will be hermanitas (little sisters) 365 days a year.VERDICT A fun and heartwarming story that celebrates the special connection shared between sisters in blended families while reinforcing concepts related to learning about time.
—School Library Journal

Angela Quezada Padron is a Latina author-illustrator who spent childhood days doodling on garage walls of her New Jersey home and summers visiting family in the Dominican Republic. Angela writes and illustrates both fiction and nonfiction children’s books, including As the Seas Rise: Nicole Hernandez Hammer and the Fight for Climate Justice. When she’s not working on stories, Angela loves to create fine art and music, collect seashells, watch sports, and admire the natural world.

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