Books with author Fabricio Vanden Broeck

Jorge is trying to learn the ways of his new country. He wants to fit in at school, but he doesn't want to forget his homeland, Mexico. His family is still doing things like they're in the old country, but Jorge wants to find out everything he can about his new country--on the other side of the river. Learning a new language, getting a library card, taking tests, and making friends are challenges for Jorge. Just when Jorge has found a friend in Tim, his life changes once again. Told from the point of view of Jorge, Jane Medina's moving poems vividly depict one boy's struggle to make a new life in a new country.

As in her award-winning Not a Copper Penny in Me House, Monica Gunning brings young readers back to the Jamaica of her childhood. The poems present intimate portraits of family and friends, as children see them in happy times and sad times. There are lively characters in moments both poignant and comical, such as Aunt Mae and her breadfruit trees, Stella-Sue walking like a ballerina to market, and Hilda the higgler, selling her spicy pies. Here is a book filled with the sights, smells, and sounds of the island, and illustrated with simple yet stunning scratchboard artwork by Fabricio Vanden Broeck.

Uncle Tom‡s looks after Carlos, whose hard-working parents get home late. He captivates his nephew with stories of the Aztec gods, but troubles him with his bad temper. Their relationship is sometimes stormy, until the day that they discover that they both struggle with English, and make a pact. Carlos will help his uncle with English--the source of his grouchiness--and Uncle Tom‡s will teach him more stories, but in Spanish. They'll know "twice as much as everyone else!" Color-drenched illustrations by a Mexican illustrator lead us into the world of Carlos and Uncle Tom‡s.

On summer nights Marisol helps out in Papi's music store. As customers come and go, they share memories of the Latin music and dance of their various homelands, expressed in a dazzling array of poetry. The diversity of Latin American music is brought to life in poems that swivel, sway, and sizzle with the rhythms of merengue, vallenatos, salsa, and samba. Back matter includes a map, author's note, and further information about the musical heritage of Latin America.