A little girl travels each summer to California to visit her familia, including her abuelo. The little girl wants so much to see her abuelo’s orange groves because her family tells stories of the groves at meals: there’s magic, mischief, and monstruos in the groves! Still, Abuelo won’t take her because the dusty groves aren’t someplace to take a visitor.

Determined, the little girls sneaks into Abuelo’s truck to see the magical groves. There she spends the day with her Abuelo singing to the oranges, defending the grove against gophers, eating delicious tacos, listening to Abuelo tell of the difficulties he faced in coming to CA, and eating one of Abuelo’s spicy chiles. Returning from her adventure in the groves, the little girl finally has her story to share with the familia!

In the Grove is a beautiful, bilingual debut picture book by Floren that honors the importance of family and shared stories while gently exploring the hardships of the immigrant families who worked in California’s orange groves. Floren wrote this book with her own Abuelo in mind, and I have to believe he would be proud.

(Review originally published on Manhattan Book Review and book donated to Maltby Food Bank.)