Where Love Begins Book Review by School Library Journal

School Library Journal – Book Review

April 11, 2017

Where Love Begins: Helen Nieto Phillips’s bilingual picture book is a sensitive tribute to home, family (specifically grandmothers), and tradition, based on the author’s childhood memories growing up in Bernalillo, NM. The poem revolves around the celebratory performance of Los Matachines during the feast of San Lorenzo. Each spread consists of a few stanzas and a full-page illustration by Susan Arena, rendered in acrylic on canvas. Arena’s artwork is saturated with color—one particular image beautifully recall’s Georgia O’Keeffe’s Sky Above Clouds IV. An author’s note and a bilingual glossary conclude the work. Consider for lessons on poetry and memoir.