Pockets of Love

Yamile Saied Méndez, the acclaimed author of Where Are You From? and What Will You Be? delivers a stunning lyrical picture book about a brother and a sister who find a way to honor and remember their late grandmother by making empanadas—pockets of love. This heartwarming title also features a detailed recipe for readers to try to cook their own empanadas at home.

Sweet or savory.

Fried or baked.

Little pockets filled with love and a taste from home.

Grandma Monona always made the best empanadas for Mami’s birthday. But this year Monona is in heaven and Mami is sad. Her birthday won’t be the same without Monona.

Star and Sebi know they need a special birthday surprise to cheer up Mami. Maybe they can make Mami Monona’s empanadas themselves! But will they be able to capture the same magic as Monona’s empanadas if they don’t know her secret ingredient?

From Yamile Saied Méndez and Sara Palacios comes a moving and heartfelt picture book about the ways in which we carry those we’ve lost with us always—in pockets of love. 

Yamile Saied Méndez is the author of many books for young readers and adults, including the award-winning picture books Where Are You From? and What Will You Be? She was born and raised in Rosario, Argentina, and now lives in a lovely valley surrounded by mountains in Utah with her husband, five children, two dogs, and a majestic cat. She’s a graduate of Voices of Our Nations and the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA writing for children and young adults program. She’s always trying new empanada recipes.

Sara Palacios is the recipient of the 2012 Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor for her work on Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match/Marisol McDonald no combina. A native of Mexico, Sara earned BFA and MFA degrees in illustration from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She works with a variety of media such as collage, ink, and digital artwork.