Overview
It’s Carmela’s birthday, and she’s finally old enough to accompany her big brother on his errands. On their way to the laundromat, past fields of what her Mamí calls “flores de cempazuchitl”, Carmela finds a puffy white dandelion to blow, but her brother asks “Did you even make a wish?”
The Newbery award-winning team behind Last Stop on Market Street portrays Carmela’s migrant community as a vibrant place of possibility. Full of touching and funny fantasies, Carmela must decide what her deepest wish is and she must do it before her birthday is over.
Casting & Production
Casting:
2M, 2F (doubling)
CARMELA: Latina
BIG BROTHER: Latino
MAMI: Latina
PAPI: Latino
SEÑOR LOPEZ: played by PAPI
FLOWER BOY: played by PAPI
BEJEWELED GRANDMA: played by MAMI
LA PALETA LADY: played by MAMI
BODEGA OWNER: played by MAMI
ANATOLI: bodega cat; can be played by MAMI or puppet
Production Notes:
Setting: A community of hardworking people; near a large body of water.
Music: Original song lyrics for “Carme Carmela” written by Dinorah Márquez.
Note: “Las Mañanitas” is a folk song.
Author Credits:
Adapted by Alvaro Saar Rios
From the book by Matt de la Peña, Illustrated by Christian Robinson.
Published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Reader
