Seven Pablos
Seven Pablos
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Written by Jorge Luján
Illustrated by Chiara Carrer
Translated from Spanish by Mara Faye Lethem
A Fall 2018 Junior Library Guild Selection
Pablo lives in Chile with his hardworking father. But Pablo also lives in Ecuador, deep in the Amazon rainforest. There is another Pablo living with his family in Mexico, after fleeing the dictatorship in Argentina. And in New York, Pablo shares an overcrowded apartment in the Bronx, where he’s only allowed home for twelve hours at a time. Pablo is the son of a rural schoolteacher in Peru, and another Pablo picks through garbage to survive in Rio de Janiero, while yet another Pablo has big plans to get from Guatemala to Los Angeles. Poet Jorge Luján tells the powerful story of seven different Pablos living seven different lives in this world we all call home.
ISBN: 978-1-59270-253-4
8.2" (W) x 11" (H) • 40 pages • HC
AWARDS AND REVIEWS
A Fall 2018 Junior Library Guild Selection
A CBC “Hot Off The Press” Selection of May 2018
Selected for the Society of Illustrators 2018 Original Art Show
"…a necessary reminder of young lives often unseen." —Kirkus Reviews
”Seven young boys living in seven different countries around the world and each one is named Pablo. Each Pablo is struggling with poverty and oppression. With a turn of the page we travel to another country, to another moment in time, another family and we are privileged to stand in their shoes and feel their hopes, fears, love and dreams. Maybe we can begin to understand that we are Pablo, too. That each of these children is connected to each of us and our choices and compassion can reach farther than we know.” —Barb Langridge, A Book and A Hug
”…Carrer does arresting things with color and graphite pencil.” —Travis Jonker, 100 Scope Notes
"Compelling and moving, Seven Pablos is unlike any other picture book you’ll see this year." ―Julie Danielson, Kirkus Reviews
"Thought provoking [...] The book effectively shows that, despite their different countries of origin, the Pablos share the same humanity." ―Stephanie Tournas, Youth Services Book Review
”…one of the most powerful picture books of the year.” —Miranda Rosbach, My Bookbloom
”’There are many Pablos in the world, yet they are all one. Inside each of them is a heart that beats to the same rhythm as the ocean’s waves and the rotations of the planet.’ I wish that line from Seven Pablos could be written everywhere and understood by those at the highest levels of power. This is a book that meditates on the universal human experiences of children around the world, touching on issues like migration, poverty, and bullying. It is a necessary book for the time we live in–one of those Pablos could very well be one of the 12,800 detained children at the United States border.” —Hannah DeCamp, Children’s Buyer, Avid Bookshop (Athens, GA)
”Luján’s simple tale, translated by Mara Faye Lethem, provides a powerful message in the final paragraph – “There are many Pablos in the world, yet they all are one”. It offers a snapshot of the harshness and uncertainty of life experienced from poverty, being a refugee and fleeing conflict. Each Pablo has his own life to lead and yet they are connected in their search for their own place in the world. The child-like simplicity of the striking crayon graphite artwork by Italian illustrator Chiara Carrer, with a burst of yellow and dash of red amidst a sea of grey, are the perfect accompaniment to this unusual picture book.” —Outside in World
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