Older middle-grade readers will find these Latin American horror stories deliciously short but spooky.
An entertaining bilingual collection of short stories that feature a creepy assortment of Mexican-inspired ghosts, witches, monsters, and more.
Each of the 12 chapters offers a different contemporary story following middle school–aged protagonists who come into contact with a frightening figure, like the infamous La Llorona—the weeping woman who appears near rivers and creeks looking for children to claim as her own—or the lesser-known duendes—green-skinned goblins that wreak havoc. Although some readers may be initially confused that each story focuses on a new set of characters, the separate tales make for ideal campfire or chapter-a-night read-alouds. As a bonus, all of the chapters are accompanied by an equally scary illustration of the spirits, brujas, and devils. Although all are written in clear, easy-to-access prose, a few of the stories stand out as particularly memorable: the titular showdown between La Llorona and the Donkey Lady as they fight to possess a disbelieving Margarito; the older-skewing "Tunnels," about Joe, who encounters a crime-fighting Chupacabras while exploring a border-town cave; and the eerie "Can I Keep Him?" in which Nikko adopts a dog with special powers. Bilingual readers can read the lightly macabre stories twice, since they repeat in Spanish after the last chapter.
Older middle-grade readers will find these Latin American horror stories deliciously short but spooky. (Short stories. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-55885-816-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2015
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock”...
The theme of persistence (for better or worse) links four tales of magic, trickery, and near disasters.
Lachenmeyer freely borrows familiar folkloric elements, subjecting them to mildly comical twists. In the nearly wordless “Hip Hop Wish,” a frog inadvertently rubs a magic lamp and finds itself saddled with an importunate genie eager to shower it with inappropriate goods and riches. In the title tale, an increasingly annoyed music-hating witch transforms a persistent minstrel into a still-warbling cow, horse, sheep, goat, pig, duck, and rock in succession—then is horrified to catch herself humming a tune. Athesius the sorcerer outwits Warthius, a rival trying to steal his spells via a parrot, by casting silly ones in Ig-pay Atin-lay in the third episode, and in the finale, a painter’s repeated efforts to create a flattering portrait of an ogre king nearly get him thrown into a dungeon…until he suddenly understands what an ogre’s idea of “flattering” might be. The narratives, dialogue, and sound effects leave plenty of elbow room in Blocker’s big, brightly colored panels for the expressive animal and human(ish) figures—most of the latter being light skinned except for the golden genie, the blue ogre, and several people of color in the “Sorcerer’s New Pet.”
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock” music. (Graphic short stories. 8-10)Pub Date: June 18, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-59643-750-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
An inspirational exploration of caring among parent, teacher and child—one of Grimes’ best. (Poetry. 8-12)
In this delightfully spare narrative in verse, Coretta Scott King Award–winning Grimes examines a marriage’s end from the perspective of a child.
Set mostly in the wake of her father’s departure, only-child Gabby reveals with moving clarity in these short first-person poems the hardship she faces relocating with her mother and negotiating the further loss of a good friend while trying to adjust to a new school. Gabby has always been something of a dreamer, but when she begins study in her new class, she finds her thoughts straying even more. She admits: “Some words / sit still on the page / holding a story steady. / … / But other words have wings / that wake my daydreams. / They … / tickle my imagination, / and carry my thoughts away.” To illustrate Gabby’s inner wanderings, Grimes’ narrative breaks from the present into episodic bursts of vivid poetic reminiscence. Luckily, Gabby’s new teacher recognizes this inability to focus to be a coping mechanism and devises a daily activity designed to harness daydreaming’s creativity with a remarkably positive result for both Gabby and the entire class. Throughout this finely wrought narrative, Grimes’ free verse is tight, with perfect breaks of line and effortless shifts from reality to dream states and back.
An inspirational exploration of caring among parent, teacher and child—one of Grimes’ best. (Poetry. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-59078-985-8
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Wordsong/Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
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