Books about abuela and abuelo by Latino authors

The best picture books about abuela and abuelo are the ones where the grandparent is a real person with a history, a kitchen, a record collection and a sense of humor, not just a sweet lady in the background. The list below sticks to books by Latino authors and illustrators, each verified in a library catalog, and most of them recognized by the Pura Belpré Award. After the list there are a few ways to turn reading time into time with your own abuela or abuelo, including a free set of interview questions.

How we picked: the Pura Belpré shortcut

The American Library Association's Pura Belpré Award, named after the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library, has been given since 1996 to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience. Because the award is only given to Latino creators, its full list of winners and honor books is a reliable way to find books where the author or illustrator shares the culture on the page. Every author or illustrator below appears on that list, for this book or another one.

Picture books about abuela

Mango, Abuela, and Me by Meg Medina, illustrated by Angela Dominguez. Mia's abuela leaves her home to live with Mia's family in the city, and Mia discovers that Abuela cannot read the words in her favorite book. Mia helps her learn English while Mia learns Spanish, and a parrot from the pet shop helps them both. It won Pura Belpré honors for both its writing and its illustrations in 2016. Ages 3 to 7. If your kids speak more English than their grandparents, this is the one.

A Maleta Full of Treasures by Natalia Sylvester, illustrated by Juana Medina. When Abuela comes to visit from Peru, she brings a suitcase full of treasures, and her granddaughter learns that home is the love between family, whatever the distance. A 2025 Pura Belpré honor for illustration. Ages 3 to 7. Good for families whose abuela lives in another country.

Grandma's Records by Eric Velasquez. The author remembers boyhood summers at his grandmother's apartment in Spanish Harlem, where she introduced him to merengue and the conga and told him stories of Puerto Rico. Ages 4 to 8. Play some of the music while you read.

Grandma's Gift by Eric Velasquez. The companion book: Christmas at Grandma's apartment in Spanish Harlem, the year she took him to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and he saw a painting that stayed with him for life. It won the Pura Belpré Medal for illustration in 2011. Ages 5 to 8, and a natural lead-in to a museum trip with a grandparent.

Los Meros Meros Remateros by Juan Felipe Herrera. Juanito goes with his grandmother to a flea market in southern California, helps her and the other vendors, and sees old friends from their Mexican American community. Herrera has his own Belpré honors. Ages 4 to 8.

Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal. When Alma asks why she has so many names, she hears the story of her name and learns about her grandparents, one name at a time. Martinez-Neal won the Belpré illustration medal in 2018 for another book. Ages 3 to 7, and it leads straight into "who are you named after?"

Picture books about abuelo

Abuelo, the Sea, and Me by Ismée Williams, illustrated by Tatiana Gardel. A grandchild and her abuelo spend every season at the beach, and it is there that Abuelo opens up about his youth in Havana, Cuba. A 2025 Pura Belpré honor for illustration. Ages 4 to 8.

Where Are You From? by Yamile Saied Méndez. When a girl keeps being asked where she is really from, she turns to her abuelo for help, and he gives her an answer she does not expect. Méndez won the Belpré Medal for her novel Furia. Ages 4 to 8. We also recommend it in our guide to heritage coloring books.

Quick guide by age

Age	Start with	Why
2 to 3	Mango, Abuela, and Me, a few pages at a time	Bright pictures, a parrot, short scenes
3 to 5	A Maleta Full of Treasures, Alma	Simple stories about visits and names
5 to 8	Grandma's Records, Abuelo, the Sea, and Me, Where Are You From?	Longer memories and bigger questions

Every book above is in the Seattle Public Library catalog, so your own library can probably get it, and some come in Spanish editions too. And whatever the book says, use your family's own words. Abuela, abuelita, abuelo, abuelito or a family nickname: read it the way your kids will say it.

Turn the book into time with your own abuela

A book about someone else's grandmother works best as a warm-up for talking to your own.

• Ask the questions the book raises. StoryCorps publishes a free list of great questions, with a grandparents section that includes "Where did you grow up?", "What was your childhood like?" and "Do you remember any of the stories your grandparents used to tell you?" Let your child pick two, and record the answers on a phone.
• Copy the book. After Grandma's Records, ask Abuelo for the song he danced to. After A Maleta Full of Treasures, ask Abuela what she would pack.
• Draw it. Ask your child to draw Abuela doing the thing she does best: patting tortillas, playing dominoes, singing in the car. Write her answer to one question underneath. Kids color those pages far longer than any printable, and grandparents keep them. Our guide to gifts for grandparents from grandkids has more ways to turn that into a present.
• Read in two languages. If Abuela reads Spanish and your child reads English, swap pages. Our guide to bilingual coloring books has ideas for a family word book.

A story where your kids and their abuela are the stars

We are also making a few Latino family coloring storybooks of our own, including a Mexican American Sunday at Abuela's, a Cuban American afternoon of dominoes with Abuelo, and a Salvadoran American pupusa morning, each researched and reviewed before any art is drawn. None are on sale yet. Today, Colorkin can turn your own family photos, grandparents included, into a coloring storybook, drafted with AI illustration tools and finished by a person.

For picture books about grandparents in many other cultures, from nai nai to sitti, see grandmother books from every culture. For Día de los Muertos ideas that honor grandparents who have died, see our Día de los Muertos coloring pages, and browse the rest of our family and heritage guides.

Questions parents ask