Home Is a Heartbeat

From Pura Belpré Honor-winning author Laekan Zea Kemp comes a beautiful ode to family and multigenerational homes.

Everyone has their special place in the house. Abuela cooks in the kitchen. Mami reads by the window. Tía Imelda watches telenovelas in the living room. Abuelo tinkers around in his workshop. Even family members who have come and gone have had their special place. But what makes a house a home?

With lyrical prose and warm illustrations, this love letter to multigenerational and multifamily households will have readers listening for a heartbeat in their own homes.

Laekan Zea Kemp is the author of the picture book A Crown for Corina as well as middle grade and young adult novels, including the Pura Belpré Honor book Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet. She lives in Austin, Texas. Laekan invites you to visit her at laekanzeakemp.com or follow her on social media @LaekanZeaKemp.

Magdalena Mora is a Minneapolis-based illustrator and designer. She’s illustrated numerous award-winning books including Stephen Briseño’s The Notebook Keeper, Claudia Guadalupe Martínez’s Still Dreaming/Seguimos Soñando, and Elana K. Arnold’s The Fish of Small Wishes. Magdalena invites you to see more of her work at magdalenamora.com.