The Quiet Place

K-Gr 3–Set in 1957, this epistolary story is told in 12 letters from a child to her Aunt Lupita. Isabel, her parents, and her older brother emigrate from Mexico to the United States, leaving her aunt behind. From her new home, Isabel writes about her struggle with learning English, starting school, helping her mother bake cakes for children’s parties, and building her “quiet place”–-a cardboard playhouse where she feels safe. Central to the story, the construction of Isabel’s project closely follows her gradual adjustment to her new life. Small gives glimpses at the process throughout the book, starting with very shy Isabel asking for a discarded birthday box and ending with her unveiling her completed project at her birthday party, attended by everyone in the neighborhood. Spread over a double-page foldout, the “quiet place” explodes with color, lavishly decorated with Isabel’s art. No longer merely a comfy space, it transforms into a place for connecting with new friends, a symbol for fitting in. Drawn in Small’s signature style, the delicate but vibrant illustrations, along with the pithy narrative vignettes, poignantly capture the emotional hardships and triumphs of the immigrant experience. Another gem from this dynamic team.–Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY