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Veo, Veo, I See You

Illustrated by Lulu Delacre

About The Book

From a New York Times bestselling and Pura Belpré Honor–winning creator comes a heartwarming picture book celebrating essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic that’s also a lively, bilingual game of Veo, Veo (I Spy).

Marisol’s mami is the best cook at Rosita’s Cafe! But now, the restaurant is closed. A bad virus—too easy to catch in small, crowded places—is going around.

Marisol, Pepito, and Mami still need to go out to bring Mami’s arroz con pollo to housebound Tía Olga and Cousin Johnny. As Marisol and Pepito watch the people working around the neighborhood, who their mother explains have essential work, Marisol thinks of the perfect game to play:
Veo, veo…
¿Qué ves, Marisol?
I spy…a trash collector. Essential work. Those bins were full!

By the time they get home, Marisol has another idea: a way to show the people in her neighborhood that she sees them!

About The Author

Photograph © Lulu Delacre

Lulu Delacre, a New York Times bestselling artist and three-time Pura Belpré Award honoree, has been writing and illustrating children’s books since 1980. She was born and raised in Puerto Rico to Argentinean parents, and her Latino heritage and her life experiences inform her work. Her titles include Arroz con Leche: Popular Songs and Rhymes from Latin America; the art for Turning Pages by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor; her author-illustrator picture books Luci Soars; Olinguito, from A to Z!; and Veo, Veo, I See You; and her middle grade story collection Us, in Progress: Short Stories About Young Latinos. Delacre has lectured internationally and served as a juror for the National Book Awards. She has exhibited at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, The Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators in New York, the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico, and the Zimmerli Art Museum among other venues. Reading is Fundamental honored her with a Champion of Children’s Literacy Award. Visit her at LuluDelacre.com.

About The Illustrator

Photograph © Lulu Delacre

Lulu Delacre, a New York Times bestselling artist and three-time Pura Belpré Award honoree, has been writing and illustrating children’s books since 1980. She was born and raised in Puerto Rico to Argentinean parents, and her Latino heritage and her life experiences inform her work. Her titles include Arroz con Leche: Popular Songs and Rhymes from Latin America; the art for Turning Pages by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor; her author-illustrator picture books Luci Soars; Olinguito, from A to Z!; and Veo, Veo, I See You; and her middle grade story collection Us, in Progress: Short Stories About Young Latinos. Delacre has lectured internationally and served as a juror for the National Book Awards. She has exhibited at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, The Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators in New York, the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico, and the Zimmerli Art Museum among other venues. Reading is Fundamental honored her with a Champion of Children’s Literacy Award. Visit her at LuluDelacre.com.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (September 5, 2023)
  • Length: 40 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781665911924
  • Ages: 4 - 8

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Raves and Reviews

"In Veo, Veo, I See You, Lulú Delacre offers a heartfelt tribute to essential workers. Throughout the book, Marisol and her family gently guides us through their beautiful neighborhood, as pharmacists, bus drivers, plant workers, caregivers, and more unsung heroes of the frontlines are acknowledged in tender ways that show us—no matter how small we are—we all have the power to create change within our communities. After the difficult years we’ve endured, this book will elicit meaningful conversation to help us heal."

– Juana Medina, Pura Belpré Award-winning author of Juana and Lucas 

"Readers join Marisol, younger brother Pepito, and their mother in a game of 'I Spy' around the neighborhood in this charming story. . . . Recommended for those building their collection of titles covering the COVID-19 pandemic, but this is also a wonderful choice for expanding bilingual titles on offer."

– School Library Journal

"Lulu Delacre's palette, as always, is rich and vibrant. And how can cityscape perspectives be both lighthearted, cheerful, urban, colorful and dizzying…all at the same time? My eyes kept moving around each page: lots to see!”

– Henry Cole, award-winning author and illustrator of 150 books

"Delacre ingeniously sets up the game of Veo, Veo as a conversation between the siblings and Mami that alternates between English and Spanish, leveraging that back and forth to acknowledge the importance of each worker during the unprecedented pandemic lockdown."

– Kirkus Reviews

“Collage-style art adds depth and texture to vibrant pages that portray a busy, largely brown-skinned community, offering readers much to find throughout. Alongside the gamified plot, the family’s own errands—taking food and medicine to loved ones, queuing at a food pantry for themselves and for others—underline themes of essential community care.”

– Publishers Weekly

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