Category Children’s Lit

Sep 7 2017

Spotlight on Middle Grade Authors Part 1: Margarita Engle

 

By Cindy L. Rodriguez

This is the first in an occasional series about middle grade Latinx authors. We decided to shine a spotlight on middle grade writers and their novels because, often, they are “stuck in the middle”–sandwiched between and overlooked for picture books and young adult novels. The middle grades are a crucial time in child development socially, emotionally, and academically. The books that speak to these young readers tend to have lots of heart and great voices that capture all that is awkward and brilliant about that time.

Today, we highlight Margarita Engle, a Cuban-American author who is one of the most prolific and decorated writers in Kid Lit.

Margarita Engle

Margarita Headshot

Margarita Engle is the 2017-2019 national Young People’s Poet Laureate, and the first Latino to receive that honor. She is the Cuban-American author of many verse novels, including The Surrender Tree, a Newbery Honor winner, and The Lightning Dreamer, a PEN USA Award recipient. Her verse memoir, Enchanted Air, received the Pura Belpré Award, Golden Kite Award, Walter Dean Myers Honor, Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, and Arnold Adoff Poetry Award, among others. Drum Dream Girl received the Charlotte Zolotow Award for best picture book text.

Margarita was born in Los Angeles, but developed a deep attachment to her mother’s homeland during childhood summers with relatives. She was trained as an agronomist and botanist. She lives in central California with her husband.

Q. Who or what inspired you to become a writer?

A. I have been writing poetry since I was a small child, so I think my passion for composing verses grew naturally from loving to read. It was not something I consciously decided to try, just something I did the way I ate, slept, and breathed. As a teenager, I did make a conscious decision to try writing fiction, and I began to dream of someday writing a book about the history of Cuba. That finally happened, but not until I was in my 50s. The Poet Slave of Cuba was published in 2006, and The Surrender Tree in 2008, launching a long series of verse novels about Cuban history. By then, I had already published a great deal of poetry, technical botanical and agricultural articles, and a couple of adult novels about modern Cuba, but I have never been happier than when I write for children.

Q. Why do you choose to write middle grade novels?

A. Most of my middle grade novels tend toward the tween end of the age range, perhaps because I was eleven in 1962, at the time of the Missile Crisis. Losing the right to travel to Cuba was a traumatic, surrealistic experience. I believe that a part of myself was frozen at that age, and did not thaw until 1991, when I was finally able to start visiting again. Now, I love to write for children who crave adventure, and still believe in the wonder of nature, children who are not yet embarrassed to love their families, even though they dream of independence.

Q. What are some of your favorite middle grade novels?

A. There are so many! How can I choose? I’ll try, with apologies to all the fantastic authors I’m leaving out. Some of my favorite middle grade books are actually memoirs, rather than fiction. I love Alma Flor Ada’s Island Treasures, Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming, and Marilyn Nelson’s How I Discovered Poetry. For fiction, most of my favorite middle grade novels are written in verse: Inside Out and Back Again, by Thanhha Lai, Under the Mesquite, by Guadalupe García McCall, and Words With Wings by Nikki Grimes. I love books that travel to other countries, so I’ll sneak in Solo by Kwame Alexander and A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman, even though they lean toward YA. If I had to choose one middle grade prose novel, it would be the very poetic Echo, by Pam Muñoz Ryan.

Q. If you could give your middle-grade self some advice, what would it be?

A. Don’t be so self-critical. It’s okay to be a bookworm. Stop trying to please everyone else. Just be yourself.

Q. Please finish this sentence: “Middle grade novels are important because…”

A. Middle grade novels are important because that is the age when children are imaginative, wonder-filled, curious, and open to learning about the whole world.

 

Margarita’s newest verse novel about Cuba is Forest World, and her newest picture books are All the Way to Havana, and Miguel’s Brave Knight, Young Cervantes and His Dream of Don Quixote.

Books forthcoming in 2018 include The Flying Girl, How Aída de Acosta learned to Soar, and Jazz Owls, a Novel of the Zoot Suit Riots.

                                                                                                        

 

 

photo by Saryna A. Jones

photo by
Saryna A. Jones

Cindy L. Rodriguez was a newspaper reporter for The Hartford Courant and researcher at The Boston Globe before becoming a public school teacher. She is now a reading specialist at a Connecticut middle school. Cindy is a U.S.-born Latina of Puerto Rican and Brazilian descent. She has degrees from UConn and CCSU. Her debut contemporary YA novel, When Reason Breaks, released with Bloomsbury Children’s Books (2015). She will have an essay in Life Inside My Mind, which releases 4/10/2018 with Simon Pulse. She can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Jun 29 2017

Book Review: The Radius of Us by Marie Marquardt

 

Reviewed by Elena Foulis

The Radius of Us CoverDESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK: Ninety seconds can change a life ― not just daily routine, but who you are as a person. Gretchen Asher knows this, because that’s how long a stranger held her body to the ground. When a car sped toward them and Gretchen’s attacker told her to run, she recognized a surprising terror in his eyes. And now she doesn’t even recognize herself.

Ninety seconds can change a life ― not just the place you live, but the person others think you are. Phoenix Flores Flores knows this, because months after setting off toward the U.S. / Mexico border in search of safety for his brother, he finally walked out of detention. But Phoenix didn’t just trade a perilous barrio in El Salvador for a leafy suburb in Atlanta. He became that person ― the one his new neighbors crossed the street to avoid.

Ninety seconds can change a life ― so how will the ninety seconds of Gretchen and Phoenix’s first encounter change theirs?

Told in alternating first person points of view, The Radius of Us is a story of love, sacrifice, and the journey from victim to survivor. It offers an intimate glimpse into the causes and devastating impact of Latino gang violence, both in the U.S. and in Central America, and explores the risks that victims take when they try to start over. Most importantly, Marie Marquardt’s The Radius of Us shows how people struggling to overcome trauma can find healing in love.

MY TWO CENTS: To write about unaccompanied minors fleeing to the United States from El Salvador, is to talk about violence, family separation, corruption and trauma.  The Radius of Us, written by Marie Marquardt, explores the trauma of assault, gang harassment, abandonment and diaspora in the lives of Phoenix, Ari and Gretchen. Phoenix and his young brother, Ari, flee El Salvador due to gang violence. On their journey to the States, they are kidnapped in Mexico and forced into slavery. When they finally arrived to the U.S., they are arrested and separated. Although the novel begins with Gretchen’s and Phoenix’s first person narratives, we quickly learn how their lives intersect. They both live in the same Atlanta suburb and, although they don’t know it immediately, they’ve experienced traumatic events in their lives that connect them. Indeed, they face their fear of crowds, heights, and learn that trauma cannot completely leave them, and that they cannot be who they once were, yet there is the promise of recovery.

The reader can guess that Phoenix and Gretchen will eventually end up together, but the story is not about their romance. The story centers on the impact of trauma and how each of these characters is able to help the other face their fears. The author slowly takes us through the lives of the main characters and each of the people that play a small or big part in their recovery. Phoenix lives with Sally and Amanda, a couple who takes care of Phoenix while his asylum status is determined.  Phoenix volunteers as a gardener in the “place without a soul”—as Gretchen and her friend Bree call it—a community garden for the residents of the subdivision. We learn quickly that Gretchen suffers from panic attacks. She is homeschooled as a result of this, and is finishing her high school senior year studying from home.  As Phoenix and Gretchen get closer, they both learn—as does the reader—about each other’s pasts: Phoenix’s attempt for a better life in the U.S. for himself and his little brother, his fear of heights and his current immigration status; Gretchen’s assault, which causes her to have panic attacks, and her now estranged college boyfriend. The author explores the issue of trauma slowly and carefully. We see how the characters, at different points, deal with the past by being each other’s support system. Sometimes they listen, they let the other vent, or they hold each other as they re-live or are triggered by a situation that takes them right to the place of trauma. We even see how trauma is expressed differently in different characters; for example, Ari is unable (or unwilling, the jury still out!) to speak, but can draw pictures to deal with his past. We see these drawings in the book, too. The drawings, and Phoenix interpretation of them, allow the reader to see the value of different types of expression, especially as it relates to trauma therapy.

Marquardt does not shy away from issues of xenophobia, and the misunderstanding that exists when someone is in limbo about their immigration status. However, she also shows us the kindness of people willing to lend a hand, and support and advocate for those who have been wrongly persecuted. We see this in the characters of Amanda and Sally, Sister Mary Margaret, and the couple that owns a tattoo shop. Similarly, we see how Phoenix is the person that helps Gretchen heal, while at the same time sacrifices his education and life for his brother Ari.

TEACHING TIPS: In my opinion, it is impossible to teach this novel without providing the reader with the historical context of unaccompanied minors. Whether this is novel used in high school or college classrooms, it is important to understand the devastating effects of poverty and gang violence in places like Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras and the difficult decision parents (if they are still alive) must make to send their children to a safer place. Another important topic to explore is the Bestia, the train that transport thousands of Central Americans to the U.S. and about the Mexican women known as Las Patronas who feed the migrants traveling on it.

Another unique element in this novel is the intersection of drawings and tattoos to tell a story. We see Ari’s drawings as memories of his past, the traumatic events that he remembers and his nostalgia for his home country. Although we do not see the tattoos, we know they are used as markers. Gangs use them to identify each other and to mark members as cattle. This, at times, helps Phoenix and Ari survive, but it also brings shame. In the end, the reader can see how these artistic expressions prove to be transformative.

Headshot-OfficialMarie Marquardt is a Scholar-in-Residence at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology and author of contemporary YA fiction. She has written several articles and co-authored two non-fiction books about Latin American immigration to the U.S. South. She also has written three novels for young adults, based in part on her experience working with immigrants in the South: DREAM THINGS TRUE (St. Martin’s Griffin/ September 2015), THE RADIUS OF US (St. Martin’s Griffin/ January 2017) and FLIGHT SEASON (St. Martin’s Griffin/ forthcoming February 2018). She lives in a very busy household in Decatur, Georgia, with her spouse, four children, a dog, and a bearded dragon. When not writing, teaching, or chauffeuring her children, she can be found working with El Refugio, a non-profit that serves detained immigrants and their families.

 

headshot2016ABOUT THE REVIEWER: Elena Foulis has a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies from the University of Arkansas. Her research and teaching interests include U.S. Latina/o literature, and Digital Oral History. She is currently working on a digital oral history collection about Latin@s in Ohio, which has been published as an eBook titled, Latin@ Stories Across Ohio. She currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

Jun 22 2017

Under the Sky and Over the Sea: A Cuban-American’s Reflections on Childhood Reading

By Emma Otheguy

Every Thursday afternoon the summer I was fourteen, I volunteered at story hour. The public library had a small lawn where they would set up a chair, and us teenagers would read while the younger kids sat in the grass around us. I always came straight from dance class, and I remember so clearly how the world looked from my big reading chair: my flip-flops and convertible tights, the lawn grass and its summer scent, the kids looking up at me as I looked down at them. I discovered Maurice Sendak’s Outside Over There and marveled at how it could be so mysterious and yet so familiar: a goblin’s kingdom, and a protective older sister.

That summer was the first time I was aware of not being a child myself, realizing that I had changed and that my perspective in the big chair was different from that of the little faces sitting in the grass. I was finding for the first time that I could no longer go waltzing in the front door of children’s worlds, that to access the viewpoint of these kids I would have to be like Ida in Outside Over There, who reaches the goblin realm by going backwards out the window. Ida’s story reminded me of Rubén Darío’s Margarita, sailing under the sky and over the sea to reach a kingdom where stars grow like flowers. I knew by fourteen that you could not go knocking at the door to other galaxies, that they could only be reached by an angled approach, and magic.

I knew all about finding my way to outside over there, because it was an exact reflection of my experience as a child of immigrants: translating one culture for the other, figuring out if backwards out the window or sideways through the rain was the right way to help my parents understand the latest American trend. It’s what adults do when they read picture books to children, and it’s what children do when they hold two cultures within themselves. I didn’t visit Cuba until I was a teenager, and so my parents’ homes, their memories and our family and friends in Cuba, were known to me only through this act of translation. Each summer we visited our family in Puerto Rico, my parents’ attempt to sail through the sky and pluck the stars, to show us the world we couldn’t know. We walked along El Pasaje de la princesa in San Juan, and they told us about el malecón in La Habana. In Luquillo there were memories of Varadero, and in all that sun and green and salty air we tried to find Cuba, tried to reach the world we couldn’t access in the normal way, the world we could only know backwards out the window and through the rain.

I read the Narnia books, and Julie Edwards’ Mandy and Anna Elizabeth Bennett’s The Little Witch with different eyes than the other kids in my school, with a fierce identification, because I knew all about worlds tucked away in cedar for safekeeping, about gardens under lock and key, about children and parents who could visit only in magic mirrors. Cuba was all of these things to me, and in children’s books I saw the willing together of separate worlds that I associated with the gap between my parents and me, and my role in explaining the United States to them.

But for all I learned from Ida and Margarita, I couldn’t in those days close the divide between the books I read in school and those I read at home. They might as well have existed in their own separate realms, so completely inaccessible were they to one another. At home, we read poetry and picture books that my parents picked up on their travels, or that we got as gifts from family in Puerto Rico and Mexico. We read what my parents remembered of their own childhoods, like Darío’s Margarita and Martí’s Los zapaticos de rosa. Those stories were dear, and magical, and wholly confined to my life at home.

Today, Latinx children’s authors have finally brought the books of home and the books of the school and library closer together. There are too many to name in one blog post, so I will only say that it has been a tremendous privilege to read and share the titles that have been featured on this site. These books mean that children today don’t have to experience the world as divided and distant, they mean that home and town can be closer together. They mean that it’s safe to love both Sendak and Darío.

My debut picture book, Martí’s Song for Freedom, is a biography of Cuban poet and national hero José Martí, but it is more importantly the story of the connections he made between Latin America and the United States, of how he loved Cuba while living in New York. This book honors Martí’s activism and his fight for justice, and it also tells the story of how Martí learned to go outside-over-there: how he found in the sighing pine trees the sound of the Cuban palmas reales he missed so much, how he lessened the distance between Cuba and New York. He came from everywhere and was on the road to every place, he knew how to dip under the sky and over the sea, how to close the gaps between divided worlds. He used poetry and passion to accomplish it. He too, would know about picture books, and his story is for every child who learns to share and hold our diverse cultures together.

MARTÍ’S SONG FOR FREEDOM / MARTÍ Y SUS VERSOS POR LA LIBERTAD hits shelves July 17th, 2017. To learn more about the inspiration for this book, read Emma’s earlier blog post at Anansesem. MARTÍ is now available for pre-order from any retailer, and Emma is sending signed bookplates and stickers to all pre-orders. Fill out this form to get yours!

Emma Otheguy is a children’s book author and a historian of Spain and colonial Latin America. She is a member of the Bank Street Writers Lab, and her short story “Fairies in Town” was awarded a Magazine Merit Honor by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Otheguy lives with her husband in New York City. Martí’s Song for Freedom/Martí y sus versos por la libertad is her picture book debut. You can find her online at http://www.emmaotheguy.com.

 

 

Jun 8 2017

Book Reviews: Gift-worthy Bilingual Children’s Books

Reviews by Ashley Hope Pérez

It’s an ongoing challenge for our family to find high-quality books in Spanish, and it is even more difficult to find bilingual editions where Spanish and English are presented as equals. This beautiful children’s book offers a novel solution: its sturdy cardboard accordion-style construction can be read from either side. One side offers the classic words to “Las mañanitas,” and the other presents an English version. The same design can be found in three other Canticos books, which you can discover here.

The Birthday Book / Las Mañanitas by Susie Jaramillo

DESCRIPTION FROM THE PUBLISHER: The fourth book in the Canticos series of bilingual nursery rhymes was inspired by the most popular birthday song in Spanish. Fans of the series will recognize a cast of characters from the Canticos collection who wake up their bunny friend on his special day and then partake in a joyful, cake-filled, celebration in The Birthday Book / Las Mañanitas. Like other Canticos books, The Birthday Book / Las Mañanitas has a unique, interactive, accordion design that presents the Spanish version of the book in one direction and its English adaptation in the other. Children can sing the song straight through, lift the flaps, or stand it up and surround themselves with the story.

I loved the look of this book, but I didn’t know if Ethan Andrés, our board book reader, would take to it. At first, he was most interested in unfolding all the pages and spreading the book out across the floor. Then he spent time lifting all the flaps on the pages. (His favorite part is the peek-a-boo hands of the monkeys.) Now, it is a bedtime staple, and we usually read it like a “regular” book rather than spreading it out.

The novelty of the liftable flaps has not worn off for Ethan Andrés, and he loves “uncovering” the sleeping bunny to wish him feliz cumpleaños. Other sweet details abound, from a drawing of a chick that says “pío, pío” (the sound chicks make in Spanish), to the friendly animal cast.

The high-quality construction and simple elegance of the book make it excellent for a gift for a beloved child. The book comes in a sturdy box for added protection. A free app provides grown-ups and kids alike with the tune that accompanies the song, so there’s no need to worry if you don’t know it already. And as you can tell from the video below, I’m no singing diva, but my kiddo doesn’t mind… he’s too busy “finding” the animals under the flaps.

I look forward to adding more of the Canticos books to our collection, especially “Los pollitos,” as that traditional song is one of Ethan’s favorites. “Las Mañanitas/The Birthday Book” won’t be for sale until mid June, but you can preorder it now. And you should!

*Note: a copy of this book was provided by the publisher for our review.

LiamReadsToEthan

Liam Miguel reads to his baby brother, Ethan Andrés.

As a bilingual mother and early literacy advocate, I’m always on the look out for high quality baby books in Spanish. The selection at big-box bookstores is often limited to simple board books with titles like La ropa, La comida, and so on, some of which I’ve found to have spelling or accent errors. And anyway, I want something richer and more interesting, something that will invite Spanish into the interaction. Which is why I was thrilled to discover these beautiful books to read, touch, and hear with babies. The books featured here are distributed through IPG, Independent Publishers Group. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. Librarians, teachers, and interested parents should check out the IPG Spanish-language catalogs for many more options.

IPG titles are now my go-to when it’s time to pick out gifts for new babies in bilingual or Spanish-speaking households. Here are a few baby books that have become favorites in our household.

Uno, Dos, ¡Cucú! by Anette Rusling, with illustrations by Katie Saunders

UnoDos_cover

UnoDos_inside

DESCRIPTION: This ingenious lift-the-flap book about numbers also features peepholes to give children a clue as to what lies beneath. The rhyme on each page encourages young readers to discover what’s hiding and to count the objects.

WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT IT: The page-size flaps are oh-so-inviting for chubby little baby fingers–and sturdy enough to stand up to their vigorous “loving.” This is one of Ethan’s go-to bedtime books, and he enjoys the bright colors of theillustrations and the way that the set of objects that appears when the flap is closed changes when the flap is opened. For example, underneath the flap, the mice on the page for “7” become skittish elephants surprised by the rodents. The face of each elephant is partially concealed by the cut-out that creates the shape for each mouse’s body. Loads of fun.

Los pequeanimales al dedillo, with illustrations by Julie Mercier

LosPequCover

DESCRIPTION: Colorful illustrations, flaps that can be lifted, and varied textures combine in this engaging book to introduce children to a range of baby animals. As kids interact with the elements on each page of this didactic and fun book, they’ll learn more about foals, fawns, bear cubs, and a number of other animals.

WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT IT: This book has beautiful images and wonderful textures, which our baby loves. It also has interesting science information that keeps my older son engaged and asking questions. The page on mammals–complete with animals nursing–is especially fun to talk about since his baby brother is breastfeeding.

Los sonidos de la noche, with illustrations by Emily Bolam

LosSonidos_cover

DESCRIPTION: Nocturnal animals such as the owl, the bear, and the wolf come to life for little hands in this delightfully interactive book. Each page spread presents a different animal that children can touch and a sound button that lets them know what noises the animal makes. This book is an engaging, entertaining way for very young readers to start learning about the natural world.

LosSonidos_inside2WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT IT: This is a book with something for everyone. Ethan Andrés loves the furry critters, and Liam Miguel “helps” his brother press the sound buttons. I don’t know if it’s the night sounds or the tickle of his brother’s hand on his, but the experience always gets Ethan giggling. I’m not usually a fan of books or toys that make noise, but these sounds are pleasant and last a reasonable duration.

P.S. The books featured here were received from IPG, which does an excellent job of curating and distributing some of the most beautiful and distinctive Spanish-language materials available in the U.S. I’m a fan.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER: Ashley Hope Pérez is a writer and teacher passionate about literature for readers of all ages—especially stories that speak to diverse Latino experiences. She is the author of three novels, What Can’t Wait (2011) and The Knife and the Butterfly (2012), and Out of Darkness (2015), which won a Printz Honor. A native of Texas, Ashley has since followed wherever writing and teaching lead her. She completed a PhD in comparative literature from Indiana University and enjoys teaching everything from Spanish language and Latin American literature to the occasional course on vampires in literature. She can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Jun 5 2017

May 2017 Latinx Book Deals

By Cecilia Cackley

This is a monthly series keeping track of the book deals announced by Latinx writers and illustrators. The purpose of this series is to celebrate book deals by authors and illustrators in our community and to advocate for more of them. If you are an agent and you have a Latinx client who just announced a deal, you can let me know on Twitter, @citymousedc. If you are a Latinx author or illustrator writing for children or young adults, and you just got a book deal, send me a message and we will celebrate with you! Here’s to many more wonderful books in the years to come.

May 31

Jennifer M. Brown at Knopf has bought Silver Meadows Summer, a middle grade novel by Emma Otheguy, in which 11-year-old Carolina moves with her family from Puerto Rico to upstate New York so her father can find work. In their new home, Carolina’s parents encourage her to assimilate by sending her to summer camp. Publication is set for spring 2019.

Author agent: Adriana Dominguez at Full Circle Literary.

 

May 25

None.

May 23

Katherine Harrison at Knopf has acquired in a four-house auction Caldecott Honor-winner Lauren Castillo’s Our Friend Hedgehog, an illustrated chapter book about Hedgehog, her best friend Mutty, Anika May, and several forest friends, on their first adventure, and its sequel. Publication is slated for fall 2019.

Author agent: Paul Rodeen of Rodeen Literary Management.

May 18

Taylor Norman at Chronicle has bought poet Rebecca Balcárcel’s middle grade novel, Quijana, about a biracial girl who’s navigating the Guatemalan side of her family, a burgeoning crush and a cool new friend, and trying to figure out what’s going on with her little brother, who is becoming remote and hard to reach, all while trying to determine just who she is. Publication is scheduled for fall 2019.

Author agent: Katie Grimm at Don Congdon Associates.

May 16

None.

May 11

None.

May 9

Nancy Paulsen at Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books has bought world rights to The Chupacabra Ate the Candelabra illustrator Ana Aranda’s first solo picture book, an as-yet-untitled exploration of the Mexican Day of the Dead tradition. Publication is slated for fall 2019.

Illustrator agent: Adriana Domínguez at Full Circle Literary.

Jessica Echeverria at Lee & Low has bought world rights to Marsha Diane Arnold’s (l.) Galápagos Girl, a picture book about a girl who lives on one of the Galápagos islands, and the various species of the island that provide her with friendship and inspiration. Pura Belpré Honor recipient Angela Dominguez will illustrate; publication is planned for fall 2018.

Illustrator agent: Linda Pratt at Wernick & Pratt Agency.

May 4

None.

May 2

None.

Cecilia Cackley is a performing artist and children’s bookseller based in Washington, DC, where she creates puppet theater for adults and teaches playwriting and creative drama to children. Her bilingual children’s plays have been produced by GALA Hispanic Theatre and her interests in bilingual education, literacy, and immigrant advocacy all tend to find their way into her theatrical work. You can find more of her work at www.witsendpuppets.com.

Jun 2 2017

Book Review: Freddie Ramos Rules New York by Jacqueline Jules

Once again, Jacqueline Jules has created a memorable, culturally relevant chapter book adventure with adorable illustrations by Miguel Benítez. Freddie Ramos Rules New York is the sixth book in the charming Zapato Power series, and this time around I read the book alongside my (then) six-year-old son, Liam Miguel. Before I tell you what he had to say, here’s how the publisher describes Freddie Ramos Rules New York:

Freddie and his mom are visiting Uncle Jorge in New York City! Just before they leave, Mr. Vaslov gives Freddie a new pair of zapatos to replace the ones that were getting too small. But Freddie worries if his new zapatos will work as well as his old ones. Will Freddie be able to save the day when Uncle Jorge misplaces an engagement ring in the middle of a New York City traffic jam?

My two cents: I’ve reviewed Jacqueline Jules’s work before for Latinxs in Kid Lit (check out my posts on Freddie Ramos Stomps the Snow and her Sofia Martinez series), and Freddie Ramos Rules New York possesses the same strengths, central among which is a gentle corrective to the tendency to focus on middle-class families in chapter books. In Freddie Ramos Rules New York, we get glimpse of what it means to stay with family when there isn’t much extra money to spare; Freddie sleeps in a sleeping bag on the floor, and meals are at home, not out in restaurants. Yet the loving support of family is a central theme of the books.

IMG_5631-1

Liam Miguel hanging out with his little brother, Ethan Andrés.

Liam Miguel’s take: Liam Miguel was six when we read this book together. The level was just right for him to read on his own, but he let me join him since we wanted to do this review. He gobbled the book in about three nights. Here is a quick summary of what Liam Miguel said he liked about it:

  1. Zapato powers! Who wouldn’t want a pair of special shoes that would let you bounce higher than buildings, run so fast you’re just a blur, and hear conversations that would be well out of typical earshot?
  2. Freddie uses his special tools and skills to help others. Liam Miguel noticed that Freddie never uses his powers just to get what he wants; he is always looking to assist people in need, whether it’s his uncle who has lost a wedding ring or a stranger on the street.
  3. “Traveling” with Freddie. Sure, a trip to NYC isn’t as exotic as some of the destinations in the Magic TreeHouse series, but Liam Miguel loved glimpsing New York through the story, from the giant Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center to the massive displays of televisions in an electronics shop window. Now he wants to know when WE get to visit the city!
  4. Spanish words. Liam Miguel isn’t a balanced bilingual, but he loved being able to recognize and pronounce the occasional Spanish words and Latinx cultural reference points incorporated in the story.

Teaching Recommendations: Like the other books in the Zapato Power series, this book would make an excellent choice for classroom read-alouds with pauses to talk about situations, make predictions, evaluate characters’ decisions, and/or connect events in the story to students’ own lives. The series is also perfect for independent reading groups in the 1st-3rd grade range. Additional Zapato Power activities are available on Jacqueline Jules’s website here.

Bottom Line: This is a must-have addition to classroom and library shelves. In fact, I was thrilled to see a whole stack of Freddie Ramos Rules New York on my most recent visit to our neighborhood library. IMG_5600

The Zapato Power Series Author and Illustrator:

Jacqueline Jules is the award-winning author of more than twenty children’s books, many of which were inspired by her work as a teacher and librarian. She is also an accomplished poet. When not reading, writing, or teaching, Jacqueline enjoys taking long walks, attending the theater, and spending time with her family. She lives in Northern Virginia.

Illustrator Miguel Benitez likes to describe himself as a “part-time daydreamer and a full-time doodler.” He lives with his wife and two cats in England.