Mami's Magic Words

Gibberish meets Alma and How She Got Her Name in a celebration of language and how the words we use connect us with the people we love most!

Words are like magia—magic!

When her Spanish teacher asks the class to share the words that spark the most magic for them, Karena knows exactly what’s at the top of her list:

¡Poloché!

But when she’s told that it’s not a real word, she’s thrown for a loop. Her mami said it just that morning, whispered under her breath like a spell to make every wrinkle in Karena’s shirt disappear. So begins her mission to prove that there is more to language than what can be found in a dictionary. After all, her mami’s words are full of love and memory—what could be more magical than that?

Kiara Valdez’s singular text and Richy Sánchez Ayala’s vibrant illustrations celebrate the different ways that families keep language alive by bringing their own history and traditions to the table.