Adriana's Angels

Two angels, Milagros (Miracles) and Alegría (Joy), wield their protective power surreptitiously and sometimes with a hint of humor, listening constantly for God’s direction as they watch over a little girl named Adriana. Adriana and her family are forced to flee their home in Colombia and start a new life in Chicago. Throughout difficult times, big transitions, and the ordinary moments of childhood, Adriana’s angels whisper messages of God’s love and presence.

Adriana’s Angels encourages faith, wonder, and compassion. Many children who read or hear this story will grow in empathy toward refugee and other immigrant peers. Their sense of God’s attentive care will deepen, particularly as they witness the angels’ ministry to Adriana while she sleeps. Children who have experienced trauma often relive it unconsciously at night—which is why the Spirit’s mysterious healing work in sleep is so important.

Los ángeles de Adriana (the Spanish version of Adriana's Angels) is a 2017 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards winner—a contest intended to bring increased recognition to exemplary children's books and their creators, and to support childhood literacy and life-long reading.

Ruth Goring grew up in a large, lively missionary family in Colombia. In recent years she has provided accompaniment and advocacy to peace communities in that country. Currently she serves on the board of Colombia Vive Chicago. She has published two books of poetry, Soap Is Political (Glass Lyre) and Yellow Doors (WordFarm), and several Bible study guides, including Heart Renewal (WaterBrook) and Singleness (InterVarsity Press). Ruth is a senior manuscript editor at University of Chicago Press and teaches in the Graham School’s editing certificate program.

Born in 1986 in Morelia, Michoacán, México, Erika Meza is a self-taught Illustrator living in England. She creates utopias and detailed dreams strongly influenced by her enthusiasm for color, her fascination for animation, and the nostalgia of children’s books. Her themes are born out of the exploration of her migrant essence, her bittersweet relationship with change, and her attachment to innocence and curiosity. In her spare time, she enjoys sketching people, overhearing conversations, drinking coffee, and tweeting about it.

Adriana’s Angels is available in both English and in Spanish as Los ángeles de Adriana.

Learn more about Ruth and her books at www.RuthGoringBooks.com.

In stock
Quantity discount
- # of Items Price
- 1 to 9$16.99
- 10 or more$12.74

$16.99

Samples

Interior pages

Publisher Sparkhouse Family
Format Picture Book
ISBN 9781506418322
Age/Grade Range PreK-K; Grades 1-2; Grades 3-4
Dimensions 10 x 10
Pages 32
Language/Translation English; Spanish
Publication Date September 12, 2017

Endorsements

"With winsome narrative and evocative images, Adriana's Angels shows God's tender care for children among the millions of refugees in today's world. Accessible even to the very young, this real-life story will be instructive and heartwarming for all ages."

—J Nelson Kraybill, President, Mennonite World Conference

"A gentle story that any child in a new or strange place will find comforting."

—Dave & Neta Jackson, authors of Trailblazer books, The Yada Yada Prayer Group, and Windy City Neighbors series

"Adriana's Angels gives immigrant children words to express their experiences, and other children compassion for what their peers are going through. Having this book when I moved into an English-speaking reality would have helped me through a traumatic transition. This book captures the excitement and dissonance of a bicultural experience while incorporating the deep faith of a community."

—Rev. Sandra Maria Van Opstal, author The Next Worship, Executive Pastor of Grace and Peace Community in Chicao, and daughter of a Colombian.

"Adriana's Angels is an engaging narrative with mesmerizing visuals. It tells a faith story, from a young child's vantage point, of a journey from Latin America to asylum in Chicago, which has long been a destination for those seeking opportunity. Yet Adriana discovers that the place of escape also has challenges. This book offers comfort and confidence for children and adults alike, reminding them that God is always present in life's difficult journeys."

—Curtiss Paul DeYoung, Executive Director, Community Renewal Society, Chicago

"What a beautiful book! In these few glorious pages, children--and adults--get an amazing picture of our God's protection and provision as well as a story that's sure to prompt important conversations about facing fears, welcoming strangers, loving others, and being held by our good God."

—Caryn Rivadeneira, author of Grit and Grace: Heroic Women of the Bible

Reviews

"Two guardian angels keep watch over a young girl both in her native Colombia and in her new home in Chicago.The 1990s saw the South American country of Colombia reach a level of insecurity that forced many of its rural citizens to flee to safety either to the major cities or abroad. One such family found refuge in the U.S. city of Chicago. It is this family, and more specifically their young daughter, Adriana, that inspired this book. The story does not give much information on Colombia or on Adriana's family, though, choosing instead to focus on the religious aspect of a loving God and the guardian angels sent to act on his behalf. In vibrant, warm colors the illustrations depict a brown-skinned girl with beautiful long black hair going about her life in Colombia, always under the watchful eye of two guardian angels with exuberantly colored wings. Later, as the family moves to Chicago and the color palette changes to a drab gray-and-tan one, the two guardian angels are still there to help her overcome the sadness she feels. The result is sweet, but the device of the angels keeps the story from connecting today's readers with the very real children like Adriana. This book is also available in Spanish as Los Ángeles de Adriana. A missed opportunity to address the important, and very current, topic of refugees and asylum seekers. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-8)"
—Kirkus Reviews

"Meza's vivid cartoon illustrations, particularly the statuesque angels and their resplendent wings, provide welcome brightness in a story that doesn't sugarcoat the difficulties of adjusting to a new country and culture."
—Publishers Weekly Online

"Children are growing up in bilingual homes, attending multicultural schools, and it can often be overwhelming. This tender loving tale breathes comfort across it all."
—Story Monsters

"Today for children's time at Hope Fellowship, I read aloud Adriana's Angels, by Ruth Goring. I have never seen the children so transfixed. Not a word, not a fidget, except when a child asked why Adriana's family had to leave Colombia. It was especially wonderful because we had visitors from Mexico and from Valle Nuevo in El Salvador. While I read to the children in English, visitors read Los angeles de Adriana in Spanish. Your book is a miracle, Ruth. Estamos agradecidos."

"The story also adds to the diversity of the lexicon that is children's literature."
—Chicago Tribune