We're Off to Carnaval!

A young Dominican girl is excited for her first Carnaval with her parents.

Flor, Papi, and Mami zip through the streets! They're off to Carnaval! When they arrive, the plaza is bursting with sights and sounds—people shouting and laughing, fried food sizzles, and the aroma of funnel cake wafts through the air. 

Flor's feet can hardly keep still as the music of tambores and trumpets thump out a rhythmic beat. Papi lifts Flor on his shoulders so she doesn't miss a thing. Below her, the Carnaval is a brilliant swirl of pinks, purples, oranges, and blues. There's so much to see!

From los lechones de Santiago, who spin in circles, dancing their African and Latin dances. They sway and shake like palmas in the wind. Flor throws her arms in the air and swings them left to right. When Los Taínos appear, their grass skirts swish in the wind, their painted bodies telling stories of the ancestors. Everything about them seems from some other time and place, but Flor knows they are apart of her.

Next comes Roba la gallina in his rainbow dress, singing and throwing candy to the crowd, telling Flor to keep her ancestors alive and strong by telling their stories. El Diablo Cojuelo is not far behind. He taunts and teases, but Flor stands tall and brave. She knows it's all just fun and games.

But then El Diablo invites her to join show! Finally! Flor, dances, whisked away by myth and magic, surrounded by Black and Brown beauty everywhere.

We're Off to Carnaval! is a joyous homage to a tradition that celebrates freedom, heritage and connection.

Jasminne Mendez is a best-selling Dominican American poet, translator, playwright and award winning author. Her middle grade novel in verse Aniana del Mar Jumps In received a Pura Belpré Honor Award, and her YA fiction debut The Story of My Anger received the 2026 Pura Belpré Honor Award. Her other books have received prizes from the Texas Institute of Letters, the Writer’s League of Texas and the International Latino Book Awards. She is an MFA graduate of the Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University and a University of Houston alumni.

Raissa Figueroa was born on the San Diego Naval Base to Puerto Rican-Colombian parents. A lifelong doodler she eventually went on to earn a B.S. in Communication Design at CSU Monterey Bay. Her vibrant, textured art appears in books such as the Oona series and We Wait for the Sun, which won her a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. Her work has been featured twice in the Society of Illustrators Original Art Show. Raissa blends digital and traditional media to create inclusive, imaginative worlds.

• Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
  
• Publish Date: January 05, 2027
  
• Pages: 40
  
• Language: English
  
• Type: Hardcover
  
• EAN/UPC: 9780593625606
  
• Dimensions: 10.0 X 8.0 X 0.0 inches | 1.3 pounds
  
• BISAC Categories: Kids