When my son was five years old and becoming more aware of family traditions, he asked, “Can we stay home for Xmas this year?” For the first five years of his life we had woken up at my parents’ house in Puerto Rico on Xmas Day, and though we loved being there and we all made sure Santa had remember where he was every year, he said he wanted to have a big tree like at Abi’s house (that is my mom) but at our house in California. “I want Santa to come to MY house,” he emphasized. It was kind of cute the way he said it, but it resonated. For the next twelve years, Xmas was spent in the home where he and his sister were born with friends that had become like family and our summers were then spent with our Puerto Rican family instead. To my son, in the summer, Puerto Rico was his home.
In her new bilingual children’s book “Home/Casa, author Sandra Elaine Scott reminds readers of all ages that home is where the heart is. Little Mia, is excited that her grandmother Lita Sofia is going to be moving in with her family. She was hoping that her grandma would be as excited too. But, she finds Lita Sofia sad about having left her home and she doesn’t understand why, until, she comes up an idea that lit up her grandma’s day. She invites Lita Sofia to visit the ranch, where her friend Coco, a mischievous Alpaca excitedly awaits.
For ages 3-7, Home/Casa is a colorful, beautifully written and illustrated book that change at any age is difficult and that it takes time and patience and a little bit of imagination. Leaving everything behind to start over somewhere else can be a struggle, but it can also be a time to embrace new opportunities. And, as long as we are brave enough to accept the new, home will be anywhere that fills our hearts with love.
The biggest lesson the author wanted us to learn from the book? “Home is where the heart is,” said Scott.
Like for Lita Sofia, my son was able to find the happy part of his home in California without compromising his love for his Puerto Rican heritage.
Home/Casa, a must add book to your family library.
Bai, Bai
Maritere
