The Coquíes Still Sing
by Karina Nicole González ; illus. by Krystal Quiles
Primary     Roaring Brook    40 pp.     g
8/22     978-1-250-78718-7     $18.99
Spanish ed.  978-1-250-78858-0    $18.99

González’s debut picture book follows Elena and her family in Puerto Rico before, during, and after Hurricane María, which devastated the archipelago in 2017. Elena loves picking ripe mangoes from her family’s tree and singing along with the coquíes, Puerto Rico’s beloved tree frogs, in the evening. When the hurricane strikes, Elena and her family take shelter in a closet and remain safe even after the roof is torn off their house. After the storm, Elena is heartbroken by the now-bare mango tree and the silence of the coquíes. She is comforted by her family and community members; Papi assures her that both the coquíes and their neighborhood will “come back.” A hopeful yellow permeates Quiles’s textured gouache and acrylic, digitally finished illustrations, visible in the flesh of a mango, candlelight during the storm, glowing seeds of “gold,” and finally the returning coquíes. González’s sensory text captures Elena’s complex feelings, the lingering damage in the aftermath of the hurricane, and the ways she finds optimism and strength in her community and nature. A glossary, information about coquíes and rebuilding efforts post-María, and personal notes from the author and illustrator are appended. Concurrently published in Spanish as Los coquíes aún cantan.

From the September/October 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.