Today we are very excited to share an interview with Author Mariana Ríos Ramírez (Abuelita’s Gift: A Día de Muertos Story)!
Meet the Author: Mariana Ríos Ramírez
Mariana Ríos Ramírez is a Mexican children’s book author who loves sharing elements of her culture, language, and traditions through her stories. She’s the author of Santiago’s Dinosaurios (Albert Whitman & Co. – 2022), Abuelita’s Gift: A Día de Muertos Story (Knopf Books for Young Readers – 2024) and its Spanish edition El regalo de abuelita: Un cuento de Día de Muertos. She’s a member of SCBWI, Las Musas, and Rate Your Story.
Besides writing, Mariana loves photography, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. She currently resides in Anderson, South Carolina with her husband, two kids, and a Chihuahua dog named Rogers.
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About the Book: Abuelita’s Gift: A Día de Muertos Story
Julieta is excited for Abuelita’s spirit to visit on Día de Muertos. She is determined to find the perfect gift to honor Abuelita and to show how much she misses her. However, her ideas fail one by one and Julieta grows worried. It is only when Julieta embraces the memories she once shared with her abuelita, that she realizes the perfect gift comes from the heart. An uplifting story about both life and death, family, and the threads that connect us, long after we are gone.
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~Author Chat~
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
I wrote Abuelita’s Gift: A Día de Muertos Story because I wanted to share a piece of México with kids around the world. Día de Muertos is a beloved tradition in my country and what I love most is that it’s a time to celebrate the life of our ancestors and to honor their memories, by being joyful instead of sad.
When my family moved to the USA in 2016, my children were faced with new traditions that we were not used to before. Since then, we have adapted and embraced them. However, for my husband and I it was also important that my kids had their own Mexican traditions. In this particular case, Día de Muertos allows us to feel connected to México, but also to our family and our ancestors. It’s the perfect opportunity to share the memories my husband and I have of our grandparents and other dear relatives. I hope my kids will keep on celebrating as they grow up.
For these reasons, I was inspired to write Abuelita’s Gift. I wanted to share, as I did with my kids, a glimpse of this beautiful tradition; and in doing so, it became such a personal story in many ways. It doesn’t only remind me of my own family, but also of those feelings of love and connection that are always there with loved ones, even if they are not around us anymore, at least not physically.
YABC: Who is your favorite character in the book?
My favorite character in the story is Julieta. She’s such a loving, caring, and thoughtful girl, who is truly committed to show her beloved Abuelita how much she misses her. I like that as the story progresses readers are able to see glimpses of the close and special relationship they both shared. I admire Julieta’s creativity and determination, because even when she gets discouraged when her ideas don’t work, she doesn’t give up and keeps on trying to find the perfect gift by embracing her memories with Abuelita. In the end, I love Julieta’s realization that true gifts come from the heart and how she figures out her unique way to honor Abuelita.
YABC: What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?
My favorite scene is when Julieta figures out the perfect gift to honor Abuelita and she presents at the ofrenda. I love how Julieta realizes that the gift she’s honoring Abuelita with is also a gift for herself. She understands that it’s okay to enjoy doing what they used to do together again, even if Abuelita is no longer physically by her side. Julieta now knows that the love and connection with Abuelita will live on forever. That spread in the book is full of joy, it makes me smile and tear up a bit. Sara Palacios did an amazing job on capturing the emotion of the scene. She’s so talented! That moment right there for me it’s the heart of the story, and what I want children to remember. That the love we have for our family never ends, even when our loved ones pass away. We just need to find a way to keep them alive in our hearts.
YABC: What came first, the concept, landscape, characters, or something else?
For this book, the setting came first. I always knew I wanted the story to be set up in México during Día de Muertos, and that in the story I would show how a family celebrates and honors its ancestors.
YABC: If you could only write one genre for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
I hope that won’t be the case because I really would like to explore other genres in the future, but so far writing picture books has brought me a lot of joy. I love how my stories have come to life with the talent of amazing illustrators and how rewarding it has been to share my language, culture, and traditions through my stories so that children with Latin heritage get to see themselves in my books and in the stories my characters experience.
I also like writing for children because I enjoy interacting with them at schools and libraries. Watching their faces as they listen to me reading my books and being delighted with their creative and unexpected questions/comments is so much fun!
YABC: How do you keep your ‘voice’ true to the age category you are writing within?
This is something that I’ve struggled with before. There have been occasions in which my characters in a story seem a bit older than what they need to be for picture book audience, either in the dialogue or the experiences they go through. Thankfully, I have great critique partners and also my agent who have been able to point it out for me, so that I can go back and adjust.
However, there are some manuscripts in which the adjustment is harder to do, and I realize that perhaps that particular story would work better as a chapter book or middle grade. This is why I’m open to explore other genres for which those “voices” and stories could be more appropriate.
YABC: What is your favorite snack when writing?
I don’t usually snack when writing, because it distracts me, but I enjoy drinking coffee or sweet tea.
YABC: If you were able to meet them, would you be friends with your main character?
Yes, definitely! As I mentioned before, Julieta is my favorite character in the book. I think she’s a very thoughtful, kind, and family oriented little girl. I would have enjoyed being friends with her growing up, and she’s the type of child that I would like my daughter to be besties with. I think it would’ve been fun to dance and twirl together.
YABC: What’s up next for you?
I’m currently working on a new book with my editor, which hasn’t been announced yet. However, I can share that I’m very excited about the story, the characters, and the setting. I can’t wait for the news about this story to come out. Meanwhile, I keep on writing.
YABC: What is your favorite holiday or tradition and why?
My favorite holiday has always been Christmas. I love just how magical everything feels during this season. I really get excited when it starts to look like Christmas around our town. I love decorating our home, preparing gifts for our loved ones, getting a family picture with Santa and watching a lot of Christmas movies with hot cocoa and cookies. I also enjoy listening to non-stop Christmas music on the radio, wearing an ugly sweater, having fun with friends and our Christmas Zoom call with my family in México. Christmas makes me so happy and I’m so glad it’s coming soon.
Title: Abuelita’s Gift: A Día de Muertos Story
Author: Mariana Ríos Ramírez
Illustrator: Sara Palacios
Release Date: September 10, 2024
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Genre: Picture Book
Age Range: 4-8
