Maribel's Year in Society of Illustrators The Original Art Annual Exhibition 2023

Maribel's Year in the Society of Illustrator's The Original Art annual exhibition in 2023.

🌟Congratulations to Sarah Gonzales whose art from Maribel’s Year is in this year’s Society of Illustrators The Original Art annual exhibition! 🌟

From Sarah Gonzales —

“Maribel’s Year has been selected to be part of @soi128 The Original Art 43rd Annual Exhibition!!!

Here’s some process behind this starry parol* scene. Pencil sketches, digital colour processing, line art and a bit of inspiration.

*parols are Filipino ornamental star lanterns.

The photos are from my last trip to the Philippines back in 2016. A lot of time was spent travelling by car so most of my photos were snapped through the window. Along the roads the nature was vast and life was in layers.

A home with caged windows and all its tiny details caught my eye — pots, bottles and containers were reused and stacked with plants. From the archives I pulled up one of my studies and redrew it in this spread.

Big thanks to Art Director Dana Fritts and Editor @hellomabel 💛”

Click here to get a behind-the-scenes at Sarah’s creative process for the illustrations in Maribel’s Year.

Maribel's Year

Maribel’s Year is out today!

Follow Maribel’s first year in America with her mother as she adjusts to a new life, new school, new everything, all while she’s waiting for her father to join them from the Philippines.  It’s a story about finding home in a new, strange place and family bonds that are strengthened through time and distance.

Thank you to all of the amazing individuals who played a part in bringing this story to life, including wonderful illustrator Sarah Gonzales. Maribel’s Year was published by HarperCollins.

Happy #bookbirthday to Maribel’s Year! So much gratitude to those who preordered and shared!

Maribel's Kalamansi Blondies

Calamansi blondies made for Filipino picture book Maribel's Year.
A Filipino American dessert inspired by Filipino children's book Maribel's Year.
Calamansi blondies, an American dessert with Filipino flavors, inspired by Filipino kids' book Maribel's Year.

To celebrate the upcoming release of Maribel’s Year on May 9, I’m sharing something special — it’s a recipe inspired by the story.

Kalamansi blondies are one of Maribel’s favorite after-school snacks.  They combine Filipino and American food traditions to create something wholly unique.  Maribel loves them because chocolate chip blondies are like a warm hug after a cold, wintry day at school, and the bright, refreshing notes of kalamansi remind her of the Philippines.

In order to create them, we used America’s Test Kitchen’s recipe for chocolate chip blondies reprinted on Hip Foodie Mom’s blog, and made these adjustments:

— Reduced butter to 8 tbsp.

— Added 2 tbsp. of kalamansi juice to the sugar-butter-eggs-vanilla mixture

— Used white chocolate chips

A couple of notes.  Although the blondies tasted absolutely delicious with white chocolate chips, we have a feeling that milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips would work well, too.  For kalamansi juice, we like using Sun Tropics Pure Calamansi 100% Juice, which you can find at Filipino supermarkets or select Asian markets.  It can also be ordered online from SarapNow.

Happy baking and hope you get a chance to check out my new book illustrated by Sarah Gonzales, Maribel’s Year, which comes out in one week on May 9!

Click here to watch a video of me making kalamansi blondies!

A video tutorial for making Filipino American recipe for calamansi blondies, like Filipino chocolate chip cookies.

Maribel's Year Comes Out on May 9

A Filipino kids' book about a girl who immigrates to America from the Philippines.

Get ready for Maribel’s Year — a little over two weeks until she’s out in the world on May 9! Click here to watch a lovely preview of the art to come in this new picture book that recounts the year a little girl and her mother spend in America while waiting for her father to join them from the Philippines.