Believe it or not, the children’s book Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away—also available in Spanish as Evelyn Del Rey se muda—left me with a knot in my throat. I’m not kidding or even exaggerating. Never mind that the beautifully illustrated book is written for beginning readers ages 5 to 7 and I’m way past that age. It resonated with my inner child because I moved a lot when I was a child and leaving friends was always hard, but I never really thought about what it was like for the friends I left until reading this touching tale.
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The book was written by Newbery Medalist and New York Times best-selling author Meg Medina and illustrated by Sonia Sánchez. I was familiar with Medina’s work because I had the pleasure of reading her middle schoolers novel Merci Suárez Plays It Cool, but Sánchez’s stunning digital artwork is new to me and it does such a great job of illustrating the emotions that kids go through when they are separated from a friend because of a move. Oh, no, I’m getting a nudo in my garganta again. Before I start crying, in a good way, let me tell you about this beautiful book and why I think it’s great for young children.
What’s it about?
The story is told by Daniela in the present tense. “Evelyn Del Rey is my mejor amiga, my número uno best friend. ‘Come play, Daniela,’ she says, just like she always does. Just like today is any other day,” Daniela explains. But it’s not just like any other day because it is the day that Evelyn is moving away.
For me it was about the perspective.
The fact that Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away is told from the perspective of the child that isn’t moving was really touching to me because as a child I was always the one moving and never considered that a friend who was staying put could be as deeply affected as the child moving away.
It validates big emotions that many children experience.
It’s been quite some time since I was a child who moved a lot, but when I read this book, those feelings of loss felt so fresh and tangible. I wish I would have had a book like this to help me understand that my feelings were normal and that my sense of loss was real and not something to be brushed off.
It’s not all sad, it’s also empowering.
The ending got to me because it shows an older Daniela sitting on the floor in front of a box of letters that Evelyn has written her throughout the years, showing that a friendship can continue even when you are no longer neighbors.
Even though it’s for young readers, the book has so much depth.
I highly recommend this simple book that deals with such complex feelings for the beginning readers in your life. Whether they are learning to read in Spanish, English, or both. Whether they are a boy or girl, as well. And especially if they are Latino because it’s so nice to be represented. You can find Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away at retailers everywhere including Amazon, Target, Bookshop.org, and Barnes & Noble.
