Synopses & Reviews
People don't just up and die in the middle of the kitchen ... in the middle of lunch ... in the middle of their lives, do they? Sierra's father does, and suddenly life is blurred and unreal. Her five-year-old brother seems more concerned about what he's having for breakfast, and though Mama's trying hard, she's lost in her own sorrow. No amount of sympathy from Aunt Rose, Tia Claudia, or the. rest of Sierra's well-meaning Jewish Cuban extended family can bring the focus back.
But there is the junk-shop portrait of Abraham Lincoln--Sierra's historical idol--that had been one of Papa's "finds." With A. L.'s kind eyes and craggy, melancholy face staring out from the frame, it's as if he is Sierra's confidant, listening to what she longs to say so she can let Papa go ... and let her family back in.
Books for the Teen Age 2001 (NYPL)
Children's Books 2000-NY Public Lib.
Synopsis
Grieving for her beloved father who recently died, 11-year-old Sierra remembers special moments in their lives, including their interest in the life of Abraham Lincoln. Confiding to a portrait of her historical idol seems to offer Sierra the kind of solace her wacky but well-meaning Jewish-Cuban extended family can't quite give her.