BELINDA LIFTS HER VOICE / BELINDA ELEVA SU VOZ

A young Latine American girl uses her voice to fight for her community in this children’s picture book.

Belinda, a young Latine girl in Washington, D.C., loves the music of the Latin diaspora, from Dominican bachata to Mexican ranchera. Her aunt Sofía, a second mother to her, was a beloved local singer who has died, and the memory makes Belinda too sad to sing (“When we lost her, I felt like I lost…everything”). Her grandmother lives in a lively community with a mural honoring Sofía, but the local government wants to tear it down to build a new restaurant. Belinda and her family stage a community party as protest, and when a representative of the new restaurant threatens the good time, Belinda realizes the impact her voice can have. This story was written in a collaboration between the publisher and three teen girls (Luisa Orellana-Castillo, Brizel Martinez Cruz, and Camila Melany De la Luz Villegas) at the D.C. Latin American Youth Center. The care they’ve taken with the project is evident in the diversity of the skin tones of the characters, the depictions of intergenerational families, and the appreciations of cultural staples such as food and music. Montero’s vibrant digital illustrations complement the themes of cultural pride and celebration and lend a fanciful quality to the more serious themes of grief and gentrification.

A joyful story about standing up for loved ones and the power of community.