The Mango Tree (La Mata de Mango) - by Edel Rodriguez (Hardcover)

About the Book

Two small boys from an island village spend their days in a mango tree until one is swept away in a storm and wakes up in a new, unfamiliar land.

Book Synopsis

From internationally renowned, award-winning artist Edel Rodriguez comes The Mango Tree, an enchanting wordless picture book and a moving, fantastical take on his childhood experience as an immigrant.

In a quiet village on a small island, two boys spend their days in a mango tree. High above the rest of the world, they play, take naps in the shade, and eat mangoes together. But after a huge storm sweeps one boy out into unknown waters, he finds himself alone in a strange new land, where everything is different and unfamiliar.

In this poignant, personal story, internationally celebrated Cuban American artist Edel Rodriguez brings to life his childhood experience as an immigrant to the US. Taking readers on a fantastical journey into the unknown, The Mango Tree (La mata de mango) is a tale of new experiences, the bonds that connect us to home, and a friendship that endures across time and borders.

Review Quotes

"Rodriguez's vivid, woodblock-printing-style illustrations had me marveling... the absence of text gives the story a dreamlike, fairy-tale quality... In the absence of narration, readers of all ages will inhabit the child's journey on their own terms, making "The Mango Tree" an absorbingly personal experience."

--The New York Times Book Review

***STARRED REVIEW***
"Riveting illustrations...No words are needed, as the spreads convey emotions on every page. Readers can return to each page to find something new with each read. A powerful story conveying the strength of friendship and full of resilience, this lovely picture book is highly recommended."--School Library Journal

***STARRED REVIEW***
"Rodriguez's striking wood block and digital illustrations in a limited color palette are dynamic and well-balanced, with the sunset-glow of a mango guiding viewers through even the darkest spreads."--Horn Book Magazine

***STARRED REVIEW***
"Rodriguez's textured, vivid woodblock-printed artwork imbues these serene childhood scenarios with well-worn wistfulness...a touching tribute to the uplifting joys of friendship and the thrilling unknowns of adventures, told with acute detail from a child's perspective. Simply spellbinding."--Kirkus Reviews

"Wielding visual power in this wordless picture book, Rodriguez renders a story of a childhood friendship enacted in the branches of a mango tree."--Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Edel Rodriguez is a Cuban American artist and author who has exhibited internationally with shows in Los Angeles, Toronto, New York, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Spain. He has received the Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators and for many years was the art director of TIME magazine. Books he has illustrated include Song for Jimi: The Story of Guitar Legend Jimi Hendrix by Charles R. Smith Jr., Float Like a Butterfly by Ntozake Shange, Fascinating: The Life of Leonard Nimoy, and Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx/La juez que crecio en el Bronx by Jonah Winter. Throughout his career, Rodriguez has received commissions to create artwork for numerous clients, including the New York Times, TIME magazine, The New Yorker, and many other publications and book publishers. Rodriguez's artwork is in the collections of a variety of institutions, including the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC, as well as in numerous private collections. He lives with his wife and daughter in New Jersey.