Mamiachi & Me is a lyrical and empowering picture book written by Jolene and Dakota Gutiérrez and illustrated by Mirelle Ortega, winner of a Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor, about what it means to be a mariachi in an all‑female band.

Today’s the day! Rosa will take the stage next to her mami and play along with her popular mariachi band. But as they fasten the shiny botonaduras and tie the moños on their charra suits, Rosa begins to worry. What if the audience doesn’t like her? Is she ready to perform?

With her “mamiachi” and madrinas by her side, Rosa’s stage fright is soothed away by the sound of trumpets, guitars, and violins. Centering on the power of sisterhood, community, and music, the warm and lively text by mother-and-son writing duo Jolene and Dakota Gutiérrez—joined by Mirelle Ortega’s beautiful illustrations—provides a unique perspective to the male-dominated world of mariachi. Back matter includes additional context on the history of the beloved Mexican tradition and the rise of all-female mariachi groups, as well as a glossary, a bibliography, further reading, and a fun, detailed look at a mariachi’s signature charro suit!

From Mirelle Ortega, the author-illustrator of Magic: Once Upon a Faraway Land comes River of Mariposas, a vibrant, colorful picture book story of imagination and the determination of a child to bring back the butterflies—even if she has to make them herself.

Can you imagine a time when the land and the sky belonged to the mariposas? I can . . .

A young girl dreams of the land’s historic mariposas amarillas and is determined to re-create their glory, even if her butterflies are made of paper. But when nature thwarts her plans, life, magic, and yes, even the rain, bring something more beautiful than she ever could have crafted.

Based on the author’s own memories of a hurricane that diverted the migration of thousands of butterflies through her hometown near Veracruz, Mexico, this beautiful story captures the essence of imagination and the beauty of the unexpected.

In Magic: Once Upon a Faraway Land, her acclaimed debut as author and illustrator, Mirelle Ortega shares her own story of growing up near her family’s pineapple farm in Mexico, where she learned the true meaning of magic.

A 2023 Pura Belpré Youth Illustration Honor Book

Growing up on a pineapple farm in Mexico, a girl discovers the true meaning of the word magic in this truly magical picture book about change and transformation of all kinds—what we can’t control, such as natural disasters and loss, and what we can. Magic can transform dirt into pineapples, seeds into trees, wool into blankets, words into stories, blank pages into pictures and stories into book.