Showing results by author "David Bowles" in All Categories

They call him Güero because of his red hair, pale skin, and freckles. Sometimes people only go off of what they see. Like the Mexican boxer Canelo Álvarez, 12-year-old Güero is puro mexicano. He feels at home on both sides of the river, speaking Spanish or English. Güero faces the start of seventh grade with heart and smarts, his family’s traditions, and his trusty accordion. And when life gets tough for this Mexican American border kid, he knows what to do: He writes poetry. 

It's an ordinary assignment, nothing more. The cargo? Fifty boxes filled with Transylvanian soil. The route? From Varna to Whitby. The Demeter has made many trips like this. The captain has handled dozens of crews.

A new adventure begins for Elliot and Uchenna when Professor Fauna bursts into their classroom with a frightening report from the Texas-Mexico border: Something has completely drained the blood from a cow’s body! The team must fly to Laredo, where tempers are running high. Teaming up with local kids Lupita and Mateo - plus their brilliant mother, Dr. Alejandra Cervantes, and her curandero husband, Israel - can the Unicorn Rescue Society save the region’s animals and help bring a divided community together once more? And what is that spiny, bloodsucking, adorable little creature?

A picture book debut, adapted for audio, by an award-winning author about a boy's life on the US-Mexico border, visiting his favorite places on The Other Side with his father, spending time with family and friends, and sharing in the responsibility of community care.

Un sábado por la mañana, un niño se prepara para un viaje al Otro Lado / the Other Side. Está cerca, solo bajando la calle y pasando su escuela, el pueblo gemelo de la comunidad donde vive. Su padre maneja su camioneta sobre un puente para cruzar el Río Grande y llegar a México, donde son recibidos por la estatua gigante de un águila. Sus visitas siempre incluyen almuerzo en su restaurante favorito, una plática en la joyería del tío Mateo, una paleta bien fría, y una vuelta a la farmacia.

“You can be my boyfriend.” It only takes five words to change Güero’s life at the end of seventh grade. The summer becomes extra busy as he learns to balance new band practice with his old crew, Los Bobbys, and being Joanna Padilla’s boyfriend. They call her “fregona” because she’s tough, always sticking up for her family and keeping the school bully in check. But Güero sees her softness.

In modern-day Mexico, Sitlali has no family left and has caught the attention of a gang leader. She has no choice but to make the perilous trip to the US border and track down her long-absent father. The night before her journey, she finds a conch shell detailed with ancient markings. In 1521, Calizto is an Aztec young warrior in Tenochtitlan, fighting to save his city from Spanish imperialists. With his family dead and the horrors of war surrounding him, Calizto asks a sacred moon conch for guidance. Connected by the magical conch, Sitlali and Calizto can communicate across centuries.

Ancient Night is a twist on two Nahuatl traditions: the rabbit which the Feathered Serpent placed on the moon, and Yaushu, the Lord Opossum who ruled the earth before humans came, and who stole fire from the gods to create the sun.