Books with author Alidis Vicente

The Coquí & The Iguana is a story about a young girl's adventure while on a family vacation in Puerto Rico. The book takes place in La Parguera, one of Puerto Rico s three bioluminescent bays. During a nighttime family excursion, she and one of her native cousins, Sebastian, are taken to La Parguera. Apprehensive about being in a strange place in complete darkness, surrounded by foliage and unfamiliar nocturnal noises, the main character is reluctant to embark on the outing. To ease her apprehension, Sebastian tells her a story about a native frog, the coquí­, and an iguana. The coquí was frightened on a moonless evening and ceased his nightly chant. The iguana, relying on the coqui's singing to lull him to sleep, shows the coquí that there is light even in the darkest situations. After the tale, Sebastian shows his cousin that La Parguera's water appears to glow in the dark. The combination of the story and the main character's personal experience, demonstrate to the reader that even though places may seem strange or uncomfortable at first, it is important to give them a chance and overcome our fears.

Flaca's chancleta, or flip flop, has gone missing! She prepares to investigate the theft: "Pencil and notepad: in hand. Straw hat for disguise: on. Magnifying glass: Check." She interviews each of her family members, all of whom are suspects. Oddly, their stories check out, so Flaca will have to dig deeper to find the culprit. Normally, Detective Flaca a pale, scrawny second grader doesn't allow civilians to read her confidential case files. But young readers willing to sign the confidentiality agreement that appears before the three top-secret cases included in this bilingual collection are in luck! In "The Case of the Missing China," Flaca discovers small pieces of china or oranges for those who grew up in Puerto Rico in a fruit cup included in her lunch. She's allergic to oranges, so she immediately suspects someone is trying to harm her. But who could it be? And in "The Case of the Lost Salsa," Flaca is dismayed to learn she will have to dance salsa at her older sister's quinceanera. Attending the birthday party is bad enough, but performing in front of everyone is unimaginable! When Flaca starts dance lessons, she realizes her "salsa" is missing. She uses her finely tuned detective skills to locate her lost dancing abilities, ultimately discovering that one's inner "salsa" can't be found with pencil and paper. Narrated by Detective Flaca in hard-boiled detective style, this bilingual collection of inter-related short stories for intermediate readers will appeal to seasoned and reluctant readers alike. And Flaca will surely inspire a host of amateur private investigators!

Flaca, or Detective Flaca as she prefers to be called, is pleased with her Christmas gifts. Finally, she has the tools needed to do her job: a fingerprint-taking kit, a police-quality mini flashlight, and most exciting of all, police tape to block off crime scenes! However, she is not at all pleased with the airline tickets to Puerto Rico she and her sister La Bruja are given. She has case deadlines to meet! La Bruja isn't very happy either since their grandmother's house doesn't have air conditioning, cable TV or Wi-Fi.Their parents are sure the girls will enjoy celebrating Three Kings Day, a huge holiday in Latin America that takes place on January 6 and involves putting grass in a box under the bed for the wise men's camels. Three men on flying camels sounds very suspicious to Detective Flaca, who once again is faced with a case begging to be solved. Where do the Three Kings get the gifts to put in the boxes? Do they steal presents from Santa Claus? Or do they take them from under Christmas trees around the world?The skinny second grader first introduced in The Case of the Missing Chancleta and Other Top-Secret Cases / La chancleta perdida y otros casos secretos is back on the case in the second installment of the bilingual series, The Flaca Files / Los expedientes de Flaca. Narrated by Detective Flaca in hard-boiled detective style, this short, bilingual novel for intermediate readers will appeal to seasoned and reluctant readers alike.

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 passed gas on the playground, and now everyone makes rude 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.

"Violet is a bright and colorful story set in the Galápagos Islands. Told entirely from the point of view of the animals that live there, this is the tale of a unique baby bird named Violet. Violet’s mother is a Red-Footed Booby, and Violet’s father is a Blue-Footed Booby. Their baby, Violet, is the first one of her kind, a Purple-Footed Booby, and she displays characteristics of both species. Violet’s red footed and blue footed relatives, however, don’t notice her similarities at first, just her differences, and they don’t see how she will ever fit in. Through the kindly intervention of a wise old Galápagos Tortoise, the birds all learn an important lesson about acceptance, and Violet shows off a new dance that is the best of all of them."

The Coquí & The Iguana is a story about a young girl's adventure while on a family vacation in Puerto Rico. The book takes place in La Parguera, one of Puerto Rico s three bioluminescent bays. During a nighttime family excursion, she and one of her native cousins, Sebastian, are taken to La Parguera. Apprehensive about being in a strange place in complete darkness, surrounded by foliage and unfamiliar nocturnal noises, the main character is reluctant to embark on the outing. To ease her apprehension, Sebastian tells her a story about a native frog, the coquí­, and an iguana. The coquí was frightened on a moonless evening and ceased his nightly chant. The iguana, relying on the coquí s singing to lull him to sleep, shows the coquí that there is light even in the darkest situations. After the tale, Sebastian shows his cousin that La Parguera's water appears to glow in the dark. The combination of the story and the main character's personal experience, demonstrate to the reader that even though places may seem strange or uncomfortable at first, it is important to give them a chance and overcome our fears.

Violet is a bright and colorful story set in the Galápagos Islands. Told entirely from the point of view of the animals that live there, this is the tale of a unique baby bird named Violet. Violet’s mother is a Red-Footed Booby, and Violet’s father is a Blue-Footed Booby. Their baby, Violet, is the first one of her kind, a Purple-Footed Booby, and she displays characteristics of both species.