The Story of Baldomera was Inspired by a true story of an unlikely friendship. Baldomera is a donkey who lived in Spain. He lived a quiet, lonely life until Ismael came into his life. The man and his donkey became best of friends and spent a lot of time together. Ismael took great care of Baldomera and even if he had to leave for short periods of time, he always returned, that is until lockdown from the Pandemic. Ismael was trapped in the city and Baldomera did not know what had happened to his friend. He imagined all kinds of things, until he finally returns with a tearful reunion. The story is based on a Facebook video that went viral when they finally reunited. The text is short but the message was clear. The illustrations show emotions of confusion, sadness and finally joy. There is a note in the front of the book as well as a photo of the real Baldomera. This is a great story to demonstrate love and loyalty between animals and their human companions. I read this to my grandchildren and then we went out and watched the video on Youtube. It was wonderful and they were so happy that Baldomera got his owner back.

I missed this when it was a meme and everyone was watching it online. This is a true story of the Donkey Baldomera and how lonely they got when their friend went away with no warning. The friend was in quarantine because of Covid. When they were reunited it was amazing and heartfelt. I am so happy someone wrote this as a book so it can be shared with more people.

Baldomera lives a lonely life until she meets Ismael. Together they enjoy the beauty of their surroundings, and enjoy one another's company. Then one day Ismael fails to appear, and little Baldomera begins to imagine all the bad things that may have happened to him. (Strangely enough, all of the things she envisions are related to climate change. What an environmentally-conscious little donkey!) When he finally reappears, there is a joyful, and tearful, reunion.

This is a sweet tale, based on the true story of an unusual friendship. I love the folksy paintings by Ayesha L. Rubio. And, while I do wish there had been a little more of a story, I'll give it four stars because, well - donkeys are awesome!

In my opinion, we don't see enough books about donkeys. Especially books like this one where it's not a story about being stubborn or grumpy. It's actually a fairly standard reunion story. Cute illustrations, to be certain.

The Story of Baldomera is a sweet story based off of real life events. Back in the early days of COVID precautions and lockdowns, a Spanish farmer and his donkey named Baldomera were separated for 3 months. When they finally reunited, among joy and tears, the occasion was filmed and went viral. The art is cute and it might be a good read-together story for children who have been affected by COVID in the past year to discuss how they relate to Baldomera and how they felt being separated from their loved ones. I really would have liked this story to have had more information about Baldomera and the farmer, and/or discussed with children the parallels between how they were separated from their loved ones and public activities during COVID lockdowns as well, rather than just retelling the video's story. I still think the video is absolutely adorable, and everyone needs to see it. The author also includes a QR code on the back cover of the book so you can watch the video after reading the book! Although the book did not make me tear up, the actual video made me ugly cry, so if you or your little one are sensitive, bring tissues to story time!

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

This was a cute story. This is great for kids and their parents to read together. The illustrations were perfect.

Thanks for the chance to review this book in exchange for honest feedback. I thought this book was a bit odd, but nonetheless entertaining for kids probably. It has good illustrations and a wonky title/characters so it will be interesting to many young readers.

I absolutely loved The Story of Baldomera! It is a beautifully written and illustrated story of a donkey and her owner during the time of COVID-19 and what happens when they get reunited. I believe this book will help kids navigate through the COVID-19 world. I highly recommend this book and believe it will be perfect to be read in any setting. Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this book! I loved it! (This review is also on GoodReads.)

The Story of Baldomera - my goodness what a heart wrenching little story,

The tale of Baldomera and her friend Ismael - was enjoyed by myself and my daughter 8. We enjoyed this story and the beautiful illustrations.

I enjoyed that there is a hint of the effects of climate change as we need to inspire everyone to do their part.

This is a true story and the separation was due to the recent pandemic which has effected everyone globally.

This book is actually based on viral video of a donkey, Baldomera, and her reunion with her owner after months of quarantining. I hadn’t heard about that video, and appreciate that the author included a QR code on the back cover, for easy access to the video!

The story itself is heartwarming, beautifully illustrated and easy to read to children and by children. It is a great resource to start meaningful conversations and evoke reflections about friendship and empathy. I also feel that many children will relate to and learn to articulate their feelings from Baldomera.
5 stars.

Thank you NubeOcho, Ismael F. Arias, Enrique G. Ballesteros and NetGalley for an advance copy of The Story of Baldomera in exchange for an honest review. #TheStoryofBaldomera #NetGalley

What a great book for children! I teach 2nd grade and look forward to sharing this book with my students. It's been a pretty tough year with Covid. The Story of Baldomera is a great little story of a lonely donkey who makes a friend but is then separated from him when Covid 19 happens. Not only do kids love a good animal story, but this is one that everyone can relate to after the last year and quarantine/being seperated from friends and loved ones. Love that this is based on a true story!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Spotlight NubeOcho for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
The illustrations in this picture book were nicely done, and I liked the way the author described the donkeys feelings.
I thought it was interesting/odd the way that it was written from the donkeys perspective. The donkey worried about things like the polar ice caps melting but not about COVID-19. It never actually addressed the real life Baldomera and what had happened to her friend, just the donkeys potential worries over why he was missing.

Based on a true story, this is a beautiful picture of friendship between human and animal. The story is so sweet and tells of the time of the corona virus without harping on it. Plus the illustrations in this one are just so lovely.

Beautiful pictures! The book is from Baldomera's (the donkey's) perspective.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher (NubeOcho) and the author/Ishmael Arias and Enrique Ballesteros for the opportunity to review the advance read copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Publication date 06 April, 2021.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the commentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I thought this was a very sweet story of friendship. I was sad when Baldomera was sad. I liked that it touched on the environment, it made it a much deeper story.

The Story of Baldomera by Ismael F. Arias and Enrique G. Ballesteros is a charming picture book that is based on the true to life friendship between Ismael and a donkey named Baldomera. Baldomera loved Ismael and would look forward to his regular visits, when the pair would bask together in the tranquility of their surroundings. But as the pandemic necessitated lockdown measures, the two friends were kept apart, and Baldomera finds herself speculating about possible reasons for Ismael's absence. When the two friends are reunited, it is a time to rejoice and to enjoy each other's company once again.

This is such a timely story that will particularly resonate with young children who are struggling to understand why they must be temporarily kept from sharing the company of those they love the most. Recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher Spotlight for an ARC.