This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
Can you find all these plants & flowers within the book?
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
To readers young and older, keep growing in your own direction and watch your crown bloom!
A special acknowledgment to Dr. Cueponcaxochitl D. Moreno Sandoval, associate professor of Native American and Mexican Indigenous Studies at California State University, Stanislaus. Eres una flor. —N.A.S.
Para mis padres, Paula and Celerino, who cultivated my love for our Mexican roots and encouraged my artistic growth —L.L.
The artwork for this book was created using traditional gouache with some digital touch-ups.
Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for and may be obtained from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-949480-35-1 eISBN 979-8-88707-426-9
Text copyright © 2025 Nydia Armendia-Sánchez Illustrations copyright © 2025 Loris Lora Book design by Melissa Nelson Greenberg
Published in 2025 by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.
Printed and bound in China
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Abrams® is a registered trademark of Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
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Lor a
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A Cameron Kids Book
Abrams Books for Young Readers • New York
Like a seed, Frida sprouted and burst through the earth where the coyotl once foraged.
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This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
Coyoacán was the place where Frida grew.
An orange tree scented the air, and yucca, sunflowers, ferns, roses, palms, and geraniums lined the walls, green against indigo.
Frida bloomed season after season, reaching for the sky.
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One season, her leg withered with polio.
But the outdoors and her imagination nurtured her.
Frida escaped to a magical world, with an imaginary friend, and hid under her favorite cedar tree.
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This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
Strong again and standing tall, Frida played and climbed and rowed.
Walks to the park and the rippling river were full of discoveries.
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A bird! A pebble! A winged insect!
Frida pressed petals and leaves into her books.
Frida collected shells, butterflies, drawings, and watercolors in her knapsack.
She stretched toward the sun, soaking up knowledge with every sunrise.
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This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
When Frida was nearly grown, she almost died in a streetcar accident.
Though her body broke like a stem, art and creativity uplifted her.
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This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
Frida’s roots spread deep once more, and her wrist moved like a leaf, bending and swaying in the breeze.
Frida flourished through painting and reconnecting with nature, with her ancestral soil.
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This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
In her garden, Frida planted native flora. Organ pipe cactus, agave, prickly pear, old man cactus, cypress, and wild yam.
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Whether Frida felt in full bloom or parched and listless, she sowed zinnia, magnolia, poinsettia, red angel’s trumpet, and philodendron into her art.
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Frida gathered sweet guava, dragon fruit, tejocote, coconuts, cherimoya, squash, white sapote, sapodilla, and watermelon.
Frida cut bold bougainvillea, daring dahlias, and spirited sunflowers to adorn her hair.
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A flower crown, braided with ribbons.
A flower crown, woven with inspiration.
A flower crown, rooted in love.
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This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Frida was embraced by nature throughout her life. Outings with her father, Guillermo, who was an amateur painter of floral compositions himself, taught Frida and her siblings about flowers and plants, including their names and meanings. A sickly child, Frida was encouraged to spend time outdoors, which also cultivated an interest in learning about the flora and fauna that surrounded her. These would later form a part of Frida’s artistic expression— both in her paintings and in her physical appearance.
While Frida herself was not documented as having planted at the Casa Azul, as Frida’s house is known, she was the visionary for her lush garden, choosing which plants, flowers, and cacti would be planted and where. This emotional connection to nature is apparent in Frida’s still lifes and selfportraits, as she expressed her simple joys and the suffering she endured from her lifelong illnesses. These plant-inspired paintings were not just images of plants; rather, they held special meaning and symbolism.
Her mother, Matilde, was also photographed time and time again with flowers in her hair, so it is possible that Frida crowned herself to not only affirm her own cultural and artistic identity but to keep a part of her mother close to her heart and mind.
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Curiosity about her ancestors inspired Frida to discover her ever-evolving sense of self through her artwork.
Before writing this book, I saw a picture of Frida wearing her flower crown, and I stopped for a moment. I thought to myself, What if I were a little bold and a little brave every day, just like Frida? Imagine all that I could be.
I hope this book will empower YOU to feel a little braver and bolder, too.
CROWN YOURSELF!
If you love Frida’s crown, make your own!
Supplies from your local craft store:
• vine wire
• wire cutters
• floral tape
• scissors
• flowers (natural or artificial)
• ribbon scraps, streamers, feathers, or other decorations of your choice (optional)
Step 1: Measure your head with the wire. Ask an adult to help you cut the wire with the cutters to the correct length and twist the ends together to create a circle. Use floral tape to cover the wire completely, pulling tightly as you wrap it around itself. Cover the twisted section well enough to make sure no wire pokes out.
Step 2: With an adult’s help, trim your flowers with scissors. Leave a twoto-three-inch stem at the base of each flower.
Step 3: Add the flowers. Take flowers one at a time and lay them along the tape-covered wire. Take a piece of floral tape and tightly wrap it around the flower’s stem and the wire to make sure the flowers will stay put. Continue adding flowers around the crown. Fill in any gaps with leaves and secure them with floral tape.
Step 4: If you wish, add ribbon scraps, streamers, or even feathers to the back of the crown.
Sustainable bonus: Pick local wildflowers or choose an all-leaf design (eucalyptus works great). Recycle supplies you already have at home, like pipe cleaners for the crown’s structure or yarn for decorating.
SOURCES
Henestrosa, Circe, and Claire Wilcox, ed. Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up. London: V&A Publishing, 2018.
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Herrera, Hayden. Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo. New York: Harper and Row, 1983.
Museo Frida Kahlo. “Frida Kahlo, Vida y Pasiones.” Lecture presented at the Museo Frida Kahlo, Mexico City, March 9, 2021.
Packard, Emmy Lou. Draft of chapter from unpublished book on Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, 1977.
Emmy Lou Packard Papers, 1900–1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. www.aaa.si.edu/collections/items/detail/draft-chapterunpublished-book-frida-kahlo-and-diego-rivera-19986.
Schjeldahl, Peter. “Native Soil: What Frida Kahlo Cultivated.” The New Yorker, May 18, 2015. www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/05/25/native-soil.
Stahr, Celia. Frida in America: The Creative Awakening of a Great Artist New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2020
Zavala, Adriana. Frida Kahlo’s Garden. Edited by the New York Botanical Garden. Munich: Prestel, 2015.
Can you find all these plants & flowers within the book?
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
This is an advance, uncorrected proof. Not for resale, duplication, or reposting. Please do not quote without comparison to the finished book.
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