*STARRED REVIEW*"A wonderfully detailed yet succinct biography focusing on Sheinbaum's impact on the world, this is a great first purchase." —School Library Journal

*GOLD MEDALIST* Eureka Book Award, California Reading Association

"This book puts forth traits of curiosity, persistence, collaboration, and ingenuity as admirable, especially when used for the benefit of many. Gorgeous illustrations complete the warm tone of the narrative." —Booklist

"This book tracks a remarkable woman's remarkable life." —Foreword Reviews

"Highly recommended" --The Jewish Book Council

From social justice activist to Nobel-winning scientist to the first woman (and first Jewish!) president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum faces each new challenge by saying, "sí!", "yes, I can."

Just like the migrating butterflies in Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum has grown and changed.

As a little girl, she was fascinated by nature and the beautiful mariposas that would flutter around Mexico City, signifying the coming holiday of Hanukkah. She was a dancer, an advocate for equality, and a professor of environmental science. With each new role, Claudia needed to undergo her own metamorphosis, but the challenge was worth the effort.

All her hard work brought her to the mayor's office to fight pollution, and Claudia saw yet another new path forward where she could make the laws that would help bring about more than just a change in herself, but for all of Mexico.

Prizes

Short-listed for Eureka! Nonfiction Children's Book Award 2025 (United States)

*STARRED REVIEW* Claudia Sheinbaum’s rise from scientist to Mexico’s president is chronicled using the metamorphosis of monarch butterflies as metaphor. The end papers overflowing with monarchs bracket the story of her childhood as part of a Jewish family in Mexico. Her political activism began in college, where “Claudia studied year after year. . .Then one day, her own chrysalis cracked open, and Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum emerged, an expert on the environment.” Sheinbaum used her science background to help the environment in Mexico City. Appointed to various local and international committees, she worked to improve the lives of people in Mexico. Sheinbaum moved into politics as mayor of Mexico City, and then president of Mexico: “She was the first woman, the first Jewish person, and the first scientist to lead the country. A metamorphosis indeed.” Although the book mentions Sheinbaum’s family, its primary focus is on her achievements as a scientist and politician. The illustrations are mostly vibrant spreads. Monarch butterflies appear throughout. The back matter provides a glossary of Spanish words, information on Judaism in Mexico, the Nobel prize, women’s rights in Mexico, a map of the country, and a photo of Sheinbaum herself. VERDICT A wonderfully detailed yet succinct biography focusing on Sheinbaum’s impact on the world, this is a great first purchase. —School Library Journal

The first woman, first Jewish person, and first scientist to become president of Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum gets her due in this biographical picture book about believing in yourself, in your dreams, and in a better world for all. The arrival of mariposas (butterflies) in Mexico City heralded Hanukkah in Claudia’s youth; as she got older, their dwindling numbers signaled a crisis she sought to avert. From Nobel Peace Prize winner to mayor to president, this book tracks a remarkable woman’s remarkable life. —Foreword Reviews

This biography of Claudia Sheinbaum, the president of Mexico and the first woman and Jewish person to hold the office, shows that leaders can be forward-thinking and collaborative. As a child, Sheinbaum was raised in an observant Jewish household, learned to love science and nature, and learned about monarch butterflies. Her journey is framed by the metaphor of a butterfly’s metamorphosis, with a tiny monarch accompanying her on every page of the lush, evocative illustrations. In college, Sheinbaum became an activist, speaking out about the need for free education for all. She had a successful career as a scientist, always concerned about using her platform to improve society. When she was invited to collaborate on important research, her answer was "Sí!" When faced with difficult questions about ideas for reducing pollution or improving public transport, her answer was "Sí!" The book puts forth traits of curiosity, persistence, collaboration, and ingenuity as admirable, especially when used for the benefit of many. Gorgeous illustrations complement the warm tone of the narrative. —Booklist

"Before 2024, Mex­i­co had nev­er elect­ed a woman nor a per­son who iden­ti­fied as Jew­ish as pres­i­dent. In a new pic­ture-book biog­ra­phy, Clau­dia Said Sí, authors Deb­o­rah Bod­in Cohen and Ker­ry Olitzky and illus­tra­tor Car­los Vélez Aguil­era iden­ti­fy Pres­i­dent Clau­dia Shein­baum as an agent of change. Using both the tex­tu­al and visu­al motif of meta­mor­pho­sis, the authors and illus­tra­tor com­pare Sheinbaum’s trans­for­ma­tion, over the course of her careers, to that of a but­ter­fly emerg­ing from its chrysalis.

Although all four of Sheinbaum’s grand­par­ents were Jew­ish immi­grants to Mex­i­co, reli­gious iden­ti­ty has not fea­tured promi­nent­ly in her activism or pol­i­tics. How­ev­er, she has open­ly dis­cussed her Jew­ish roots. These facts are pre­sent­ed real­is­ti­cal­ly. An anec­dote about the young Clau­dia cel­e­brat­ing Hanukkah with her grand­par­ents is accom­pa­nied by a live­ly scene of an illu­mi­nat­ed menorá, smil­ing abue­los, and their hap­py grand­daugh­ter. This cor­re­sponds to Sheinbaum’s gen­er­al mem­o­ries of fes­ti­val obser­vances with her grand­par­ents, not in her own home; Sheinbaum’s par­ents were sec­u­lar intel­lec­tu­als and polit­i­cal activists who inspired her to fight for social justice.

The book’s end­pa­pers fea­ture a lush col­lage of over­lap­ping but­ter­flies on their annu­al autum­nal appear­ance dur­ing Sheinbaum’s child­hood: ​'Most of the but­ter­flies set­tled in the moun­tains, blan­ket­ing fir trees like cop­per silk.' The del­i­cate poet­ry of this sen­tence is an inter­est­ing choice for pre­sent­ing Sheinbaum’s ori­gins. She is mul­ti­tal­ent­ed, drawn to nature and bal­let. Soon, how­ev­er, the stages of her growth, like that of a but­ter­fly, become more evi­dent. Clau­dia demon­strates for free pub­lic edu­ca­tion and begins to pur­sue a career in the sci­ences and engi­neer­ing, earn­ing a doc­tor­ate. Focus­ing her work on envi­ron­men­tal solu­tions, she even­tu­al­ly becomes part of a team that shares the Nobel Peace Prize. The metaphor of a butterfly’s bio­log­i­cal devel­op­ment, along with its grace­ful beau­ty, traces its flight through­out Sheinbaum’s sto­ry, as her self-assur­ance and deter­mi­na­tion define her path.

Elect­ed may­or of Mex­i­co City, Shein­baum imple­ments poli­cies pro­mot­ing solar ener­gy and inno­v­a­tive forms of trans­porta­tion. A two-page spread shows cable cars sus­pend­ed above the crowd­ed com­mu­ni­ties below, with but­ter­flies crown­ing the mul­ti­col­ored dwellings. The book cul­mi­nates with Sheinbaum’s elec­tion to the pres­i­den­cy, proud­ly rais­ing her hand to a crowd of sup­port­ers. Giv­en her per­sis­tence, her vic­to­ry in the elec­tion seems as expect­ed as the trans­for­ma­tion of a but­ter­fly. Yet, as the authors empha­size, she is ​'the first woman, the first Jew­ish per­son, and the first sci­en­tist to lead the coun­try.' By con­clud­ing their biog­ra­phy at this point, Bod­in Cohen and Olitzky present Sheinbaum’s career as a work in progress. Young read­ers will be impressed by her accom­plish­ments, and per­haps won­der what her future will bring.

Clau­dia Said Sí! is high­ly rec­om­mend­ed and includes an after­word with fur­ther infor­ma­tion and a glossary."

—Jewish Book Council

Rabbi Deborah Bodin Cohen is the award-winning author of many books for children including An Invitation to Passover (with coauthor Rabbi Kerry Olitzky), Nachshon Who Was Afraid to Swim, and the Engineer Ari series, and the coauthor of The Heroes Haggadah (with Rabbi Kerry Olitzky). She is an editor at Behrman House and the rabbi of Congregation Beth Chai. She lives in Rockville, Maryland. Rabbi Kerry Olitzky is the author or coauthor of nearly 100 books for children and adults, including Welcome to the Seder: A Passover Haggadah for Everyone; The Heroes Haggadah (with coauthor Rabbi Deborah Bodin Cohen); and Miryam’s Dance. The former executive director of Big Tent Judaism, he was named one of the fifty leading rabbis in North America by Newsweek. He lives in New Jersey. Carlos Vélez Aguilera has been a professional illustrator. He is a graduate of the National School of Plastic Arts of the National University Autonomous of Mexico. He has illustrated more than 20 books for children as well as writing “Salón Destino". He has been recognized with two illustration awards in the catalogue for the International Children's and Youth Book Fair in Mexico. He lives in Mexico City, Mexico.