NoNieqa Ramos

What is beauty? Who is Beauty? A puzzled young Boricua wants to know.

Is it true what the media says? Are her people “DANGEROUS / DIRTY / LAZY”? What about the blood of her African ancestors that runs through her veins and that Abuela describes as “onyx”? Doesn’t the pride of her Taíno heritage mean anything? Beauty sees her people marching proudly in parades. She hears Abuela teaching her the truth of her identity, but the reality of the outside world weighs her down, and she show more runs. Embarrassed, she doubts her worth and wonders why she can’t be like everyone else, even rejecting her gold hoops and her durags adorned with the Puerto Rican flag: “¡QUÉ EMBARAZOSO!” Her family knows that Beauty is lost and that her “eyes were open, / but she was sleepwalkin’.” Her Mami rallies the family for an emergency schooling session. Under the powerful hands of la bisabuela, vecinos, and familia, “Beauty was WOKE.” Ramos’ poetic ode to identity and validation winds itself through evocative imagery in both English and Spanish, connecting the strength of community with self-acceptance. From one-word stanzas echoing with a mother’s heartbeat to flowing anthems of pride, each page exudes energy and passion. Escobar’s powerful panorama of diversity is a blazing exclamation point to Beauty’s triumphant journey.

This bold manifesto of cultural awareness reaches out to awaken the sleepwalkers among us. (Picture book. 6-10)

-Kirkus Review show less

Alyrical, spirited picture book that takes the old “yo’ mama” joke and cracks, snaps, and pops it into an ode to motherhood.

Using a vibrant tattoo motif, colorful, joy-infused artwork, and playful, melodic words, Ramos and Alcántara’s winning picture book celebrates motherhood at its most inspirational. A child and a mother—both with brown skin, long, wavy black hair, and long, bold limbs—spend their days baking and playing, picnicking and protesting, going to the library and show more taking road trips. It starts with a honeyed bang: “Your Mama So Sweet, She Could Be a Bakery,” spelled out on a ribbon that could adorn a sailor’s arm as narration in regular type expands on this. Each subsequent double-page spread echoes these words (“Your Mama…”), highlighting how this mom’s “so strong,” “so forgiving,” and “so woke.” Notably, readers see a mom that stands alone, strong and defiant, as she walks into her child’s Parent Night at school and strolls through a neighborhood full of friends and passersby. Ramos conjures jubilant scene after scene with deft language and sprinkles of Spanish, and this tale’s more sublime moments (“Your Mama a Brainiac—mo’ betta than any app”) simply shine. Similarly, Alcántara’s art represents motherhood as a model of ideals and mind spun for modern times, both indebted to and limited by the specific type of mother of color depicted here. Overall, it’s a celebration that’s invaluable and needed. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Perfectly dazzling. (Picture book. 4-10)

-Kirkus Review show less

"Hate stands in it's own category. Its own genus. Hate is not an inverse of love. It's an absence."

The Truth Is by Nonieqa Ramos took me on a roller coaster ride. There was so much cultural authenticity in this one that there were moments that just felt too real. It brought back memories I didn't want to think about but it is also made me see that not much has changed as far as diversity, equity and inclusion.

Verdad, whose name translates to truth, was accurate to her moniker. Verdad's show more character was a great depiction of Puerto Rican teenager trying to overcome so much in life while navigating a world that wants to negate their existence. This story is overflowing with tough social issues but Ramos does a great job with the character development of Verdad and allows us to see their struggles with mental health and PTSD, their exploration of gender and sexuality, dealing with daily microaggressions and trying to pave their own road for the future. I really appreciated that Verdad made lots of mistakes and was allowed to take accountability and change.

This book is so important because it addresses so many relevant issues that affect teens. It gives voice to unique experiences that are often silenced. This book also offers so much representation that the recent onslaught of banning it is disheartening. This book includes:
✍ LGBTQIA+ rep
✍ Puerto Rican rep
✍ mental health & trichotillomania & PTSD
✍ school shootings, deaths & aftermath
✍ trans & homophobia
✍ exploration of sexuality & gender
✍ culture clash
✍ racism
✍divorce
✍ found family

Please support this author and the book. Buy it, share it and have the conversations it evokes. Diverse voices should be amplified not cancelled. This book is one that will definitely save a life and make someone feel seen. show less

This book turns the “yo mama” joke into a celebration of mothers with bouncy, playful text brought to life by the joyful colorful artwork of Jacqueline Alcántara.

Each double-page spread begins with “Your mama” - as in, “Your mama so sweet she could be a bakery: all frosting, powdered sugar, and pastries. The author then explains: “Leaves love notes in your almuerzo, homemade. She’s the cinnamon to your tembleque, and trest leches to your cake.” Or this: “Your mama so show more strong, she like a marine. Up three flights of stairs, carries the groceries. When you both had that fever, carried you to emergency.”

Subsequent verses tell of your mama being a braniac, being forgiving, and being “woke.”

But the focus at the end is what mama’s child - you - are to her. “You’re her wish, her hope, her prayer, her push, her pull, her miracle.”

This lovely and fun tribute to moms, especially those coping on their own, is sure to appeal to intended ages 4-7. show less