The story of Efrén is that of many latino children. After he finds himself having his mother taken away from him due to deportation, tween Efrén must deal with the reality of taking care of his younger siblings and keeping his home together as he helps his father, while still trying to maintain a normal life in school and with his peers. It was beautiful, and painful, and touched home in more ways than one.

Process:

First I read the story! I was given full artistic license to imagine what the cover could look like, so I set to work. I really wanted to hone in on the idea of separation, of worlds divided and a kid who’s sort of stumbling around lost while really just wishing he had his mother around. Efrén is so relatable because he is so human, and the chaos surrounding that humanity often jumps off the page. Rough ideation and thumbnails sent. I chose three out of dozens:

Between the writer, publisher, my art director and myself, we went back and forth until we decided on what we liked best. So a cleaner sketch followed, along with edits as we decided on what to do.

We finally landed on the third, and went ahead to colors! I was thankful to only have very tiny edits to the color scheme (Efren’s shirt was originally red) and avocados on the tree instead of oranges. And this was the final image. The color palette was inspired by, and giving a nod to, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, which features in Efren’s journey and growth.

And that is how Efren Divided’s cover was born!

“Nos quisieron enterrar, pero no sabían que éramos semilla.”
- Efrén Divided