FRENPTES
Roots and Wings
← Children’s books Picture book

Roots and Wings

Finding Home in Faraway Lands

Available in English, French (Racines et ailes) and Portuguese (Raízes e Asas)

Buy the bookLook inside

The book

Valentina, a young Mexican girl, faces the challenges of adapting after moving to Canada: a new language, a new school, unfamiliar faces, and missing what she left behind.

Guided by the example of the monarch butterflies — which travel thousands of kilometres every year between Mexico and Canada — she finds the strength to embrace change while staying rooted in her own story. A story about resilience, cultural diversity and the power of family love, written for children who are living through a migration and for the adults who accompany them.

Three threads

01Migrating and adaptingChanging countries means losing familiar landmarks and building new ones. The book puts words on the longing, fear and curiosity of that passage.
02Roots and wingsLike the monarchs, we can travel far without forgetting where we come from: keeping our language, memories and family while opening up to a new world.
03For families and classroomsA resource for talking about cultural diversity at school, and for immigrant families who want to name what their children feel.

A glimpse inside

“Valentina has always been a Mexican girl full of dreams! Nicknamed Vavá, she flew high on the wings of intelligence and the roots of her family’s love.” (translated from the French edition)
Page 1 “Valentina has always been a Mexican girl full of dreams! Nicknamed Vavá, she flew high on the wings of intelligence and the roots of her family’s love.” (translated from the French edition)
“In the chrysalis, the caterpillar transforms and grows stronger. In the same way, our moments of introspection prepare us to overcome challenges,” the teacher explained. (translated from the French edition)
Page 22 “In the chrysalis, the caterpillar transforms and grows stronger. In the same way, our moments of introspection prepare us to overcome challenges,” the teacher explained. (translated from the French edition)
“Vavá understood that, like the monarch butterfly, she needed time to adapt and to colour her new life.” (translated from the French edition)
Page 24 “Vavá understood that, like the monarch butterfly, she needed time to adapt and to colour her new life.” (translated from the French edition)

« Transforming is magic. »

Vavá, Roots and Wings (translated)

How to use this book with children

This book can be read as a family, in a welcome class or in session. During or after reading, you can:

  • ask the child what they miss most from “there” and what they are discovering “here”;
  • draw together their roots (what they keep) and their wings (what they are learning);
  • talk about moments of feeling different, and what helps them feel at home;
  • follow the monarchs’ journey and compare it with their own.

There are no right or wrong answers: what matters is the space for dialogue that opens up.

Where to buy Printed book. Choose your edition, then the store closest to you:
French editionAmazon USAAmazon Canada
English editionAmazon USAAmazon Canada
Portuguese editionAmazon USAAmazon CanadaUICLAP (Brazil)

Also on other Amazon stores (UK, France, Brazil, etc.): search the title or the code — French edition : B0DPN172DR · English edition : B0F94JKY26 · Portuguese edition : B0DCZ65QQQ

For group orders (schools, clinics, libraries) or a signed copy, write to us. Contact us
Helena Pinheiro Jucá-Vasconcelos

The author

Helena Pinheiro Jucá-Vasconcelos is a psychologist and Gestalt therapist (OPQ #15704-25, Quebec; CRP 05/34161, Brazil) and the founder of the Gestalt Therapy Institute of Sherbrooke. She is also co-author and editor of the book Educação Emocional Positiva and the author of other picture books, born from the same sensitive listening and the desire to translate human experiences into language accessible to children.

Born in Brazil and settled in Quebec, Helena knows the path of migration from the inside, and accompanies it in her clinical work with immigrant children and families.

Spread the word

Share on WhatsApp

Other books by the author

When Friendship Grows WingsA picture book about encounter, intense interests and a friendship that takes flightDiscover the bookOrder on Amazon.caFrench editionEnglish editionPortuguese edition
Luiza: A Story of CourageWhen the fear of making mistakes takes over at schoolDiscover the bookOrder on Amazon.caEnglish editionPortuguese edition
When Daddy is AwayLiving through absence, waiting and reunionDiscover the bookOrder on Amazon.caFrench editionEnglish editionPortuguese edition
The Brilliant Light of Thomas EdisonCuriosity, perseverance and creativity: the childhood of an inventorDiscover the bookOrder on Amazon.caFrench editionEnglish editionPortuguese editionSpanish edition