How to Eat a Mango

Abuelita teaches Carmencita that you can’t rush mango-eating: it takes five steps to appreciate the gift and feel the love.

Carmencita doesn’t want to help Abuelita pick mangoes; she doesn’t even like them! They’re messy, they get stuck in her teeth, and it’s a chore to throw out the rotten ones. 

But Abuelita adores mangoes, and patiently, she teaches Carmencita the right way to eat them. Together, they listen to the tree’s leaves, feel its branches and roots above and below, and smell and feel the sweet, smooth fruits. Each step is a meditation on everything Mamá Earth has given, and in the Earth’s love, Carmencita feels the love of her Mami, her Papi, her little brother Carlitos, and of course, Abuelita. 

When they finally bite in, the juice running down their arms, Carmencita understands. The mangoes are more than just mangoes… and she’s ready for another!  

Inspired by her own childhood in Venezuela, Paola Santos’s mango-sweet story is a grounding, life-affirming take on gratitude for nature’s gifts and connection with family and culture. Juliana Perdomo’s cheery artwork brings Carmencita, Abuelita, and their mango tree to life with all the warmth of golden fruit under the sun.

Simultaneously released in Spanish as Cómo se come un mango.

Paola Santos was born and raised in Venezuela, and holds a master’s degree in Children’s Literature and Reading Promotion from the Castilla-La Mancha University in Spain. She is a member of SCBWI and a graduate of the Children’s Book Academy. She was awarded the Las Musas-Hermanas Mentorship with author Alexandra Alessandri and the We Need Diverse Books Picture Book Mentorship with author Meg Medina. How to Eat a Mango is her debut book.

Juliana Perdomo was born in Bogotá, Colombia, surrounded by a huge loving family, friends, bright colors, music, weird fruits, sunshine, lots of rain, but also rainbows. With a background in psychology and art therapy, she is the illustrator of many books for children, and the author and illustrator of the picture book Sometimes All I Need is Me. She lives in Colombia with her partner, son, and dogs.