Review - Lowriders in Space by Cathy Camper {Multicultural Children's Book Day}

I'm so excited to be one of the co-hosts for this year's Multicultural Children's Book Day! This event, begun in 2014 by bloggers Valerie Budayr of Jump into a Book and Mia Wenjen of Pragmatic Mom, aims to promote diversity in children's books by shining a spotlight on multicultural titles and all they add to the world of kidlit. It's a very necessary and also super fun way to emphasize that diverse titles help you #ReadYourWorld in your homes, schools and libraries.

As part of the event, I'm sharing our thoughts about the graphic novel Lowriders in Space by Cathy Camper (note: I received a copy of the book for review purposes, but all opinions are my own). I have really been looking forward to reading this one thanks to a lot of prepub buzz on social media. And I'm thrilled to say that Lowriders in Space not only lived up to all that buzz, but even exceeded it in my estimation!

Lowriders in Space blends lots of threads, making it a perfect choice to hand to all sorts of kids, whether they are interested in cars, Mexican-American culture, or outer space. The story revolves around three characters: Lupe Impala (wolf/dog-human hybrid?), El Chavo Flapjack (octopus) and Elirio Malaria (mosquito). What, you don't think this is the most logical choice for characters? I didn't either, but Camper makes it work beautifully, as she demonstrates how this crazy crew blends their mad skills to restore an old car into a lowrider and win a car competition.

The car has to be something really special to win the contest -- no ordinary lowrider's going to get the top prize, which the friends desperately want so they can open their own garage. Fortunately, the gang hits on just the thing when they add rocket boosters. Unfortunately, the three artists and their car wind up in outer space, where they'll need all their wits and ingenuity not only to trick out their ride, but also to make it back home to earth in time to make it to the contest.

Camper's creativity is what sets Lowriders in Space apart from ho-hum graphic novels that crowd the shelves. I love the way she makes all these disparate elements merge into one cohesive story that kids will fly right through. There's plenty of Mexican-American slang as well as car culture and astronomy terms woven throughout, and Camper includes a glossary at the end to define any terms young readers might not know. It's especially great to have not only a diverse cast but also a female mechanic as the main character - big points for turning stereotypes on their heads, Ms. Camper. And the illustrations by Raul the Third make Lowriders in Space sing. This is art that's vibrant yet accessible, deliberate yet casual, and most of all the kind of thing kids will want to emulate themselves. Kudos to a talented team -- Lowriders in Space is graphic novel GOLD. Can't wait to read more of the Lowriders adventures!

Activity: Try out our Lowriders in Space Word Search!

Sprout's Bookshelf is honored to be part of Multicultural Children's Book Day this year. Here's the full list of 2015 co-hosts:

Africa to America

All Done Monkey

The Educators' Spin on It

Growing Book by Book

InCultureParent

Kid World Citizen

Mama Smiles

Multicultural Kid Blogs

Sprout's Bookshelf

Many thanks to Chronicle Books for providing a copy of Lowriders in Space for us to review!

2015 Sponsors for Multicultural Children's Book Day:

MCCBD’s 2015 Sponsors include Platinum Sponsors: Wisdom Tales Press, Daybreak Press Global Bookshop, Gold Sponsors:  Satya House,  MulticulturalKids.com,   Author Stephen Hodges and the Magic Poof, Silver Sponsors: Junior Library Guild,  Capstone Publishing, Lee and Low Books,  The Omnibus Publishing. Bronze Sponsors:Double Dutch Dolls, Bliss Group Books, Snuggle with Picture Books Publishing,  Rainbow Books,   Author FeliciaCapers,   Chronicle Books   Muslim Writers Publishing ,East West Discovery Press.

Graphic Novel Review - El Deafo by Cece Bell

First off, let me say that I am not a big graphic novel fan. Nothing against them - in fact, comics and graphic novels are what brought my husband and I together - and there are a number that I've enjoyed. It's just that I am far more likely to choose something else when I have leisure reading time.

But whenever a graphic novel pops up on my radar as many times as tonight's pick has, I feel pretty sure it's something I better make time to read. And when I enjoy a book as much as I did Cece Bell's El Deafo, I start thinking that graphic novels should be added into my rotation a little more frequently. (It's been a banner month for the format for me - first Sisters by Raina Telgemeier, now El Deafo!)

So, to the review: Cece Bell is an accomplished illustrator but El Deafo is her graphic novel debut. You'd never guess it, though, as it's a fully realized work with no false moments or plot threads left dangling. Likely that's because El Deafo is largely autobiographical. I say largely because the main character in El Deafo is a bunny named Cece Bell - presumably the author is not in fact a rabbit, but I don't totally know that because I haven't met her (maybe someday).

El Deafo tells Bell's story of growing up with severe deafness as a result of contracting meningitis when she was four years old. Don't think that she's going to gloss over any parts of her illness just because the book is for young readers; Bell talks about being in pain, about not knowing why, and the scariness of first realizing that she could no longer hear. We follow her through getting hearing aids, then a more powerful hearing aid for school - thus becoming, in time, "El Deafo", a girl with supersonic hearing thanks to her Phonic Ear and the microphone her teachers have to wear. (One superpower? Being able to hear when the teacher is coming back to the room so everyone can scramble back to their seats. Niiiiice.)

Bell is candid here about the ups and downs of her childhood, which I think all readers can relate to, hearing or not. There's a good dose of humor, and she's not afraid to laugh at herself or others - I really love that she brings out how one friend goes WAAY overboard with accentuating in-di-vi-du-al sy-ll-a-bl-es. El Deafo is Cece's alter ego, a person who does all the things Cece herself isn't always brave enough to do, like calling out that same friend for her pronunciation exaggeration. And I like that the struggles Cece faces don't always have to do with her deafness, but are rather those that kids and former kids everywhere will get - like feeling awkward, being frustrated with your mom, having trouble finding and keeping friends. That's childhood, people, and we all know what those issues are about.

Readers who enjoyed Smile and Sisters are a natural fit for this one. But go a bit further too - to readers who like novels like Wonder or A View from Saturday. El Deafo is one of my favorite books of this year, or any year really. Share this one with your kids, for the bright wit and serious insights, and the sheer joy of a story brilliantly crafted.

El Deafo by Cece Bell, published by Amulet Books
Ages 9-12
Source: Library
Highly recommended