“Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt lonely.”
Children’s author Karla Arenas Valenti posed the question to students during recent visits to Franklin and Timpanogos Elementary Schools, where she shared her picture book María Mariposa as part of Operation Literacy’s Book Drop program. The program is organized by the nonprofit Operation Literacy that brings authors to Title I schools and provides students with books of their own.
Throughout the reading, Valenti occasionally spoke Spanish and paused to ask students questions about the story and its illustrations.
“What is she feeling in this picture?” she asked.
Illustrated by Ana Ramírez González, María Mariposa follows a young girl from México adjusting to her first day of school in the United States. A magical butterfly brings her memories of home, giving her confidence and a colorful pair of wings. But when María encounters an unfamiliar language and struggles to make friends, she begins to doubt herself.
The story's turning point comes when María realizes that the magic she associates with the butterfly has always belonged to her.
Valenti describes that magic through the colors of María's memories: bougainvillea pink, mango yellow, sunset golds, jacaranda purples, turquoise, and deep ocean blue. They are reminders of the home, family, and experiences that remain part of her, even in an unfamiliar place.
Through her questions, Valenti encouraged students to consider María's loneliness, recognize her feelings, and think about what helps people feel they belong.
Every student received a free copy of María Mariposa to take home. In the book, Valenti writes that María carries “sunset golds, jacaranda purples, turquoise, and deep ocean blue” within her.
At Franklin and Timpanogos, students chose their own colors and gave them wings.
