Gotta admit it. I did not think I was going to like this book. I have a hard time reading graphic novels. My eyes always hop all over the page trying to figure out which frame comes next. It’s not fun.
But, this book looked like it had something going for it and boy did that turn out to be true. If you’ve read My Two Border Towns you know a little something about what it’s like to leave the USA and cross the border into Mexico. The world on the other side of that border seems really foreign and somehow less than.
Now you have a chance to travel across the border with this Mexican American family and walk in their shoes as they face the border guards. It’s different. It’s surprising. You really don’t want it to be like this.
Pedro/Peter and his family are headed to Mexico to bring their Abuelito back to Watsonville, California where they live. The kids are about to learn a lot about who their Abuelito is and what he’s done in his life. It’s impressive. It’s the stuff of superheroes. Makes them start to wonder if they too have superhero potential.
Along the way Pedro/Peter and his thousands of cousins across the small towns of Mexico are about to come together for one family celebration after another. There will be haircuts. There will be trickery. There will be blue money.
In a short time Pedro/Peter et al will find themselves heading back to home in Watsonville and they realize they aren’t the same as when they left home. What happened? How did they change? How did they grow up in just a few weeks?
The power of family, the power of generations is at work here. It shapes us, lifts us up, and gives us our roots…. and our wings.
So glad I read this. So glad I went along for the ride. This is the real thing.
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
********
An unforgettable graphic memoir about a Mexican-American boy’s family and their adventure-filled road trip to bring their abuelito back from Mexico to live with them that National Book Award Finalist Victoria Jamieson calls “one of those books that kids will pass to their friends as soon as they have finished it.”
Pedro Martin has grown up hearing stories about his abuelito—his legendary crime-fighting, grandfather who was once a part of the Mexican Revolution! But that doesn't mean Pedro is excited at the news that Abuelito is coming to live with their family. After all, Pedro has 8 brothers and sisters and the house is crowded enough! Still, Pedro piles into the Winnebago with his family for a road trip to Mexico to bring Abuelito home, and what follows is the trip of a lifetime, one filled with laughs and heartache. Along the way, Pedro finally connects with his abuelito and learns what it means to grow up and find his grito.---from the publisher
320 pages 978-0593462294 Ages 10-14
Keywords: graphic memoir, humor, Mexican American, Latino, Latino author, family, road trip, 10 year old, 11 year old, 12 year old, 13 year old, 14 year old, Newbery Honor, Pura Belpré Youth Illustration Award, Pura Belpré Youth Author Award
