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<\/p>\nMy 10-year-old daughter and her friends LOVED this book! They were immersed in it from beginning to end. It was interesting to see them relate to the story, be moved by the characters and smile with them also. It\u2019s a wonderful book to keep in your library, a helpful educational resource on how we can help a loved one suffering from Alzheimer\u2019s disease while also getting kids (and adults) practicing a little Spanish! \u2013 Amazon reader\u2019s review, Sept. 2<\/p>\n
Young Silvio and his siblings, Tomas and Patricia, are looking forward to traveling to Nicaragua to visit their grandparents.<\/p>\n
Before the journey, their parents explained to the children that they might notice their abuelitos having difficulty remembering important things, and with basic conversations and activities.<\/p>\n
This is the gist of Juntos: Living With Alzheimer\u2019s, a new children\u2019s book by St. Petersburg resident Silvio Delgado, with illustrations by Rachel Stotler, an artist and designer from Sarasota.<\/p>\n
Juntos is a Spanish word meaning \u201cclose together.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Rachel Stotler illustrated the story of Lito and Lita, young Silvio\u2019s Nicaraguan grandparents. Illustrations: St. Petersburg Press.<\/p>\n
Although it\u2019s not the first book for the very young to deal with the subject of Alzheimer\u2019s, it might be the first to approach it bilingually: Delgado\u2019s text transitions between English and Spanish seamlessly, making it easy to understand at once or in sections.<\/p>\n
And understanding is key to the lesson he\u2019s trying to impart, according to Delgado, who holds a Master\u2019s in Education.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up, I didn\u2019t have a lot of conversations with my family around big emotions, and heavy topics,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I wanted to provide space for families to engage in not just storytelling, but also sharing what they are personally feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
He considers Juntos (published by St. Petersburg Press) to be a form of bibliotherapy \u2013 described by Psychology Today as \u201ca therapeutic approach employing books and other forms of literature, typically alongside more traditional therapy modalities, to support a patient\u2019s mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although the story was inspired by real events in his family, Delgado made it universal, so that children confused by the realities of the devastating disease might find comfort in the words and actions of Silvio, Tomas, Patricia and their parents.<\/p>\n
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Said Stotler: \u201cWith a calming color pallet \u2013 very distinct and literal illustrations \u2013 our goal was to make it as digestible as possible for little ones who may not understand what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI also intentionally incorporated both languages because I wanted to makes sure kiddos like me, who learned Spanish as a first language, or kiddos who just want to be exposed to another language, can see that on these pages.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the end of the book are several blank pages, for \u201cunpacking\u201d feelings. \u201cThere are no lines,\u201d Delgado pointed out. \u201cI wanted kiddos to journal however they feel most comfortable. Even if it\u2019s with images instead of words.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSilvio\u2019s approach to his storytelling touched my heart,\u201d artist Stotler said. \u201cThe brilliance of using his characters to showcase how we can all help our loved ones who may be affected by this made for an easy translation into visuals.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot to mention, Silvio is one of the kindest human beings I\u2019ve had the pleasure of working with \u2013 his constant encouragement, thoughtful feedback and how he carries himself made for an effortless flow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Delgado is the Florida Program Director for iTeach, a national educator prep program, \u201csupporting folks who are passionate about becoming teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n
He has more than 17 years\u2019 experience in both classroom and administrative work, including a lengthy stint as a middle school math teacher in Phoenix (teaching in both English and Spanish).<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was a teacher, and when I was a school administrator, I used to do a lot of children\u2019s book readings to the little ones,\u201d he said. \u201cEven though I was a junior high teacher, we partnered with lower grades as book buddies. And so my junior high kiddos would teach little ones to read.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I\u2019ve always had a passion for children\u2019s literature, and literacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Juntos, the children \u2013 with understanding and love in their hearts \u2013 enjoy their Nicaraguan holiday with Lito and Lita, helping them with everyday tasks and routines. They cook together, dance, sing and go on walks together.<\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow will bring more stories with sonrisas (smiles) and maybe even tears,\u201d young Silvio, the narrator, says near the end of the book. \u201cI am SO excited to share those stories with you about what we teach our abuelitos to help them live with Alzheimer\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
Find Juntos: Living With Alzheimer\u2019s at Tombolo Books<\/a> and other retailers, on Amazon<\/a> or via St. Petersburg Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"My 10-year-old daughter and her friends LOVED this book! They were immersed in it from beginning to end.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6443,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[8347,2108,489,1061,156,8348,111,139,69,8349,8350,8351],"class_list":{"0":"post-6442","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-alzheimers","9":"tag-book","10":"tag-books","11":"tag-children","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-juntos","14":"tag-new-zealand","15":"tag-newzealand","16":"tag-nz","17":"tag-rachel-stotler","18":"tag-silvio-delgado","19":"tag-st-petersburg-press"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Juntos-St.-Petersburg-Press-1-300x300.jpg\")
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