The River Is My Ocean

A grandmother and granddaughter share a magical trip to the Hudson River affirming intergenerational love and the power of water in this heart-song of a picture book.

Every day, Abuela misses the ocean in Puerto Rico. But on Saturdays, when the sun is high, Abuela takes her granddaughter on a walk down the hill in Harlem to Twelfth Avenue, to a place that is just as magical: the Hudson River.

There, they admire the iconic waterway that brought millions of new Americans to its shores, make offerings to Yemaya, the goddess portrayed as a mermaid in ancient religions, and celebrate familial love passed down through the generations, showing the vastness of expansive intergenerational love, memory and the childlike curiosity they each inspire.

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Hardcover, Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2024
32 p, 8.5 × 11 in