Evangelina Takes Flight

Evangelina toma vuelo

Evangelina Takes Flight



“If they do come here, they’ll show us no mercy,” thirteen-year-old Evangelina overhears her father say as she gathers eggs in the chicken pen. Back at the house, Mamá brushes away her fears of revolutionaries. There are even more chores than usual to be done at Rancho Encantado because her sister’s quinceañera celebration is rapidly approaching!



It’s the summer of 1911 in northern Mexico, and soon the de León family learns that the rumors of soldiers in the region are true. Evangelina’s father decides they must leave their home to avoid the violence. The trip north to a small town on the U.S. side of the border is filled with fear and anxiety as they worry about loved ones left behind and the uncertain future ahead.



Life in Texas is confusing, though the signs in shop windows that say “No Mexicans” and some people’s reactions to them are all-too clear. At school, she encounters the same puzzling resentment. The teacher wants to give the Mexican children lessons on basic hygiene! And one girl in particular delights in taunting the foreign-born students. Why can’t people understand that—even though she’s only starting to learn English—she’s just like them?



With the help and encouragement of the town’s doctor and the attentions of a handsome boy, Evangelina begins to imagine a new future for herself. This moving historical novel introduces teens to the tumultuous times of the Mexican Revolution and the experiences of immigrants, especially Mexican Americans, as they adjust to a new way of life.



Victoria Castillo (Illustrrator), Stephanie Rengel (Arte)

Creator: Nicolas Kanellos

Area: Houston / Third Ward-MacGregor

Contributor: Arte Público Press

Source: Center for Mexican American Studies

Uploaded by: Marisela Martinez

Copyright status: In copyright

Center for Mexican American Studies

The Curse of The Bully’s Wrath

La maldición de la ira del acosador

The Curse of The Bully’s Wrath



Marco, the new boy in school, is small and “mean as a skunk.” He has no fear. Mickey knows, because he saw the incident with Simón Ortega, a football player who’s a head and a half taller than Marco. The short boy is sly too—even though he started the fight, it’s Simón who ends up in the principal’s office, in trouble for beating up a smaller kid!



Mickey plans to do the right thing and tell the principal what he saw, but the next day Marco threatens him and everyone else if they tell. Because of him, Simón has in-school suspension for two weeks and is off the football team. “Imagine what I can do to you if you stick your fat noses into my business.”



Unable to understand why Marco is so mean, Mickey is even more dumbfounded when Bucho, the school’s resident bully, backs down from the new, short kid. What drives a bully? Mickey wonders. Thus his newest challenge: to turn a bully into a friend, or at the very least, a nicer person. Mickey Rangel, kid detective extraordinaire, is on the case!



In the fifth novel of the Mickey Rangel Mystery series, author and educator René Saldaña, Jr. crafts another entertaining book for intermediate readers about something every school kid can relate to: mean classmates who knock others down to feel better about themselves.



Mora Design (Illustrator)

Creator: Nicolas Kanellos

Area: Houston / Third Ward-MacGregor

Contributor: Arte Público Press

Source: Center for Mexican American Studies

Uploaded by: Marisela Martinez

Copyright status: In copyright

Center for Mexican American Studies

The Shameless Shenanigans of Mister Malo

Las terribles travesuras de Míster Malo

The Shameless Shenanigans of Mister Malo



During the school day, Lance García looks like a typical fourth-grader at Oakland Elementary School. But after school, dressed in disguise—black jacket, black baseball cap and dark, cool sunglasses with tiny, rectangular mirrors so he can see who’s behind him—he checks the mailbox labeled “Malo Mail.” No one realizes that he is the infamous Mister Malo, righter of wrongs, punisher of bullies.



There’s an interesting plea for help in the mailbox. Isabella Santos spread a rumor that Madeline Wilson farted on the playground, and now everyone makes farting noises when she walks by. No one will talk to her, and a group of boys in particular are making her life miserable. Madeline offers Mister Malo a large box of tropical-flavored fruit snacks if he’ll teach Isabella a lesson. Soon Lance is busy plotting the perfect revenge. He wants to rehabilitate the bullies and help them realize how hurtful their actions are. What will be the best tactic to convince Isabella that being laughed at and picked on is no fun?



But Mister Malo’s scheme doesn’t go exactly as planned, forcing him to think outside of the box. Meanwhile, Lance has to deal with his own problem in the form of his difficult cousin, Manuel. This entertaining bilingual “flip” book will resonate with kids ages 8-12 in its examination of popularity on the school grounds and dealing with troublemakers.



Mora Design (Illustrator)

Creator: Nicolas Kanellos

Area: Houston / Third Ward-MacGregor

Contributor: Arte Público Press

Source: Center for Mexican American Studies

Uploaded by: Marisela Martinez

Copyright status: In copyright

Center for Mexican American Studies

Vincent Ventura and the Mistery of the Chupacabras

Vincent Ventura y el misterio del chupacabras

Vincent Ventura and the Mistery of the Chupacabras



When stray dogs start disappearing from the neighborhood, Vincent’s dad thinks that maybe the Animal Control Department is finally doing its job. But then, Mrs. Rangel’s celebrity chihuahua Chato, who appeared in television commercials promoting tacos, disappears. And Mrs. García’s weiner dog and Mrs. West’s poodle go missing. Everyone in the neighborhood is puzzled, but Vincent Ventura has a theory.



The disappearances started when Mr. Calaveras moved into the house at 666 Duende Street, which is rumored to be haunted. Vincent knows he’s not the harmless but grumpy guy that everyone else sees. He’s convinced the old man is behind the rash of missing dogs. In fact, Vincent is sure he’s a monster, a blood-sucking beast known as el chupacabras!



Vincent enlists the aid of his cousin Michelle, the smartest student at their school, and her twin brother Bobby to spy on the suspected killer. Vincent Ventura, monster fighter extraordinaire, is determined to catch him in the act, even if it puts them all in danger! Accompanied by the author’s dramatic black and white illustrations, this exciting short novel for ages 8 – 12 will introduce Latino creepy creatures to a new generation of readers.



Mora Design (Illustrrator), Xavier Garza (Arte)

Creator: Nicolas Kanellos

Area: Houston / Third Ward-MacGregor

Contributor: Arte Público Press

Source: Center for Mexican American Studies

Uploaded by: Marisela Martinez

Copyright status: In copyright

Center for Mexican American Studies