Books with author XavierGarza

Maximilian's been nuts about lucha libre his whole life. But he's not just a nerdy middle schooler―three years ago, he discovered that he's part of lucha libre royalty! His uncle is the most famous luchador, the Guardian Angel. But now, the masked hero is facing a wild new wrestler who might just topple him from his lucha libre throne. The Fallen Angel may be the most reckless and arrogant wrestler the Guardian Angel has ever had to face, and he's no longer in his prime. Age affects everyone, even the man behind the celebrated mask. Max, being next in the royal line of luchadores, thinks he might have to take over as the Guardian Angel sooner than he'd ever dreamed!Maximilian and the Curse of the Fallen Angel is the fourth in the "Max's Lucha Libre Adventures" series. Catch up on the adventures: 1―Maximilian and the Mystery of the Guardian Angel2―Maximilian and the Bingo Rematch3―Maximilian and the Lucha Libre ClubMaximilian ha sido fanático de la lucha libre desde chiquito. Pero es más que un fan―hace tres años descubrió que es parte de la realeza de la lucha libre. Su tío es el luchador más famoso, ¡el Ángel Guardián! Pero ahora, el héroe enmascarado tiene que enfrentar un nuevo luchador loco, y puede ser que el villano lo eche de su trono. El Ángel Caído es posiblemente el luchador más temerario y arrogante que el Ángel Guardián ha enfrentado, y ya no esta en la plenitud de la vida. La edad afecta a todos, incluyendo el hombre atrás de la macara tan celebrada. Max, siendo el siguiente en la línea real de luchadores, piensa que tal vez tendrá que ponerse la mascara del Ángel Guardián pronto, ¡pero apenas tiene catorce años!

Maximilian & the Bingo Rematch is the sequel to Maximilian & the Mystery of the Guardian Angel, an honor book for the Pura Belpre Award. Xavier Garza rules the ring when it comes to writing and illustrating action-packed, high-interest books filled with crazy comic-book art and set in the emotionally charged world of sixth grade.In Maximilian & the Mystery of the Guardian Angel, Max tumbles over the railing at a lucha match in San Antonio and makes a connection to the world of Mexican wrestling that will ultimately link him to the greatest hero of all time: the Guardian Angel. He also falls in love with the beautiful Cecilia Cantú. In Maximilian & the Bingo Rematch, suddenly everybody seems to be fighting: a couple of cranky tías who, like lucha libre rudos, will stop at nothing to triumph in the church's lotería game; his masked uncles going for the tag-team title of the world; and a green-eyed vixen named Paloma who challenges his love for Cecilia. Will good triumph over evil? Max sure hopes so!Winner of the NACCS-Tejas Foco Young Adult Fiction Book Award and the Texas Institute of Letters H-E-B Award for Best Children's Book. 2014-15 Tejas Star Reading List Selection.Xavier Garza was born in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. He is an enthusiastic author, artist, teacher, and storyteller whose work is a lively documentation of the dreams, superstitions, and heroes in the bigger-than-life world of south Texas. Garza has exhibited his art and performed his stories in venues throughout Texas, Arizona, and the state of Washington. He lives with his wife and son in San Antonio, Texas.

Margarito acts like any other eleven-year-old aficionado of lucha libre. He worships all the players. But in the summer just before sixth grade, he tumbles over the railing at a match in San Antonio and makes a connection to the world of Mexican wrestling that will ultimately connect him—maybe by blood!—to the greatest hero of all time: the Guardian Angel.A 2012 Pura Belpré Author Honor Award winner!Xavier Garza was born in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. An enthusiastic author, artist, teacher, and storyteller, his work is a lively documentation of the dreams, superstitions, and heroes in the bigger-than-life world of south Texas.

Have you ever been too scared to sleep with the lights off? Were you frightened by a scratching sound inside of your walls or the beady red eyes and knotted green fingers of a duende? In his first collection of scary stories, Xavier Garza asks these questions. The stories in this collection curdle with the creepy and crawling characters of traditional folklore. These stories brim with the supernatural: the mysterious disappearance of children who made deals with duendes, evil trolls who live inside the walls of our houses; the ghostly specter of La Llorona who floats along the creek bed, howling, !Ay, mis hijos!; witches that turn into great white owls; a severed hand that hurtles across floors and catches a death grip; and even the Devil himself harvesting wayward souls. These are all cucuys, supernatural beings who have come to haunt the imagination in these tales of wonder and warning. These delicious and frightful stories come down through generations of grandmas teaching children to respect the laws of nature and the All Powerful. These particular spooky cucuys are recounted and illustrated by master storyteller Xavier Garza, just the way he heard them at the knees of other masters when he was growing up in South Texas. Garza has preserved just the right gory detail and startling surprise to frighten the socks off you. And he always insists that you learn your lesson and take heed, or else...

Have you ever been too scared to sleep with the lights off? Were you frightened by a scratching sound inside of your walls or the beady red eyes and knotted green fingers of a duende? In his first collection of scary stories, Xavier Garza asks us these questions. The stories in this collection curdle with the creepy and crawling characters of traditional folklore. These stories brim with the supernatural: the mysterious disappearance of children who made deals with duendes, evil trolls who live inside the walls of our houses; the ghostly specter of La Llorona who floats along the creek bed, howling, “¡Ay, mis hijos!”; witches that turn into great white owls; a severed hand that hurtles across floors and catches a death grip; and even the Devil himself harvesting wayward souls. These are all cucuys, supernatural beings who have come to haunt the imagination in these tales of wonder and warning. These delicious and frightful stories come down through generations of grandmas teaching children to respect the laws of nature and the All Powerful. These particular spooky cucuys are recounted and illustrated by master storyteller Xavier Garza, just the way he heard them at the knees of other masters when he was growing up in South Texas. Garza has preserved just the right gory detail and startling surprise to frighten the socks off you. And he always insists that you learn your lesson and take heed, or else …

The fights still rage on in the third installation of Max's Lucha Libre Adventures series. Max seems like any other nerdy kid until he's asked to join the Lucha Libre Club. The super-secret club admits only the offspring of wrestling royalty. And Max is a prince, descended through his mother from royal blood, his uncle the very king of lucha libre: The Guardian Angel. Trouble is, the club is so secret that Max can't tell his best friend or girlfriend what he is up to. Just that vexing girl, Paloma.Xavier Garza lives in San Antonio, Texas.

Margarito is eleven years old now and he's way past believing in Grandpa Ventura's ghost stories, but he loves listening to them anyway. One evening on his way home from his grandfather's, Margarito finds himself alone in the gathering dusk, crossing a narrow bridge. Suddenly, a woman in white floats towards him and calls, "Come to me, child come to me!" He frantically hides in the shallow river, but soon sees a pair of yellow, glowing eyes swimming towards him. Before long, the Donkey Lady and La Llorona are circling each other, fighting to claim poor Margarito as their next victim! Popular storyteller Xavier Garza returns with another collection of eerie tales full of creepy creatures from Latin American lore. There are duendes, bald, green-skinned brutes with sharp teeth; thunderbirds, giant pterodactyl-like things that discharge electricity from their wings during thunderstorms; and blood-sucking beasts that drain every single drop of blood from their victims’ bodies! Set in contemporary times, Garza's young protagonists deal with much more than just the supernatural: there are chupacabras and drug dealers, witches and bullies, a jealous cousin and the devil. Accompanied by the author's dramatic black and white illustrations, the short, blood-curdling stories in this bilingual collection for ages 8 – 12 are sure to bewitch a whole new generation of young people.

An action-packed bilingual picture book about traditional Mexican wrestling―lucha libre. Un divertido cuento bilingüe sobre la gran tradición Mexicana, la lucha libre. Carlitos’ trip to visit his uncle in Mexico City gets even more exciting when he gets to go to his first lucha libre match with his dad. For some mysterious reason, Carlitos’ uncle doesn’t join them at the match. But the event is fun from the beginning, and Carlitos even gets to pick a luchador mask before they sit right on the ringside. Up close to all the drama of the wrestling, Carlitos sees the Man in the Silver Mask, one of the most famous wrestling heroes. Even though he’s never seen him before, the luchador’s eyes look terribly familiar. The masked wrestler even smiles at Carlitos! He is mesmerized as the Man in the Silver Mask is pitted against the terrible forces of evil―los rudos, the bad guys of lucha libre. The audience is full of energy and they boo and hiss the villains! In the end, though, the Man in the Silver Mask triumphs and gains a lifelong fan. With dynamic, colorful artwork and a fun story, this is a perfect book for reluctant readers. Side-by-side English and Spanish text also makes it a great fit for elementary school ELL students, or Spanish learners. Born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley, lucha libre aficionado Xavier Garza is a prolific and enthusiastic author, artist, storyteller and whose work focuses primarily on his experiences growing up in the small border town of Rio Grande City and is a lively documentation of the dreams, superstitions, and heroes in the bigger-than-life world of South Texas. Garza has exhibited his art and performed his stories in venues throughout Texas, Arizona and the state of Washington. He has authored and illustrated fourteen books, including Maximilian & the Mystery of the Guardian Angel, Charro Claus and the Tejas Kid, and Just One Itsy Bity Little Bite (Arte Público Press). His work has received such prestigious awards as the Americas Honor Book Award in 2005, the Tejas Star Book Award three times from 2007-2010 and the Pura Belpré Honor Book award in 2012. In 2019 Garza was inducted into the prestigious Texas Institute of Letters. He lives in San Antonio, Texas with his wife Irma and their teen son Vincent.

Nikko loves bedtime. That's because his bed turns into a magical wrestling ring for the masked luchadores that he loves. They bounce up and down like crazy. His mom, of course, doesn't believe Nikko. She accuses him of jumping on his bed. But that's just not true at all. She just can't see what Nikko sees. And to prove his point—zoosh! Here comes luchador numero UNO with a golden mask and a silver cape. Oh, wow. Number TWO wears an orange mask with yellow flames. Another looks like a jaguar and he growls! A rooster! A bull with horns! And a dragon that breathes fire! And so it goes until TEN luchadores are jumping on Nikko's bed. That's when the Great and Mighty Nikko puts on his mask, taking on all ten wrestlers at once and defeating them soundly. Ahh, a fresh victory under his belt, now it's time for Mighty Nikko to catch some zzzzzs!Artist and storyteller Xavier Garza is celebrated for his lucha libre picture books and chapter books. Maxmillian and the Mystery of the Guardian Angel was a Pura Belpre Honor Book, 2012, and a ALA Notable Book, 2012. Xavier, who is a much requested storyteller for schools, has been a featured speaker at the American Library Association (REFORMA), the Tucson Book Festival, and the Texas Library Association.

Nikko loves bedtime. That's because his bed turns into a magical wrestling ring for the masked luchadores that he loves. They bounce up and down like crazy. His mom, of course, doesn't believe Nikko. She accuses him of jumping on his bed. But that's just not true at all. She just can't see what Nikko sees. And to prove his point—zoosh! Here comes luchador numero UNO with a golden mask and a silver cape. Oh, wow. Number TWO wears an orange mask with yellow flames. Another looks like a jaguar and he growls! A rooster! A bull with horns! And a dragon that breathes fire! And so it goes until TEN luchadores are jumping on Nikko's bed. That's when the Great and Mighty Nikko puts on his mask, taking on all ten wrestlers at once and defeating them soundly. Ahh, a fresh victory under his belt, now it's time for Mighty Nikko to catch some zzzzzs!Artist and storyteller Xavier Garza is celebrated for his lucha libre picture books and chapter books. Maxmillian and the Mystery of the Guardian Angel was a Pura Belpre Honor Book, 2012, and a ALA Notable Book, 2012. Xavier, who is a much requested storyteller for schools, has been a featured speaker at the American Library Association (REFORMA), the Tucson Book Festival, and the Texas Library Association.

Cousins Maya and Vincent are thrilled to be ring side at a lucha libre match. Kid Cyclone, the wrestling world's favorite hero who also happens to be the kids' beloved uncle, is facing off against a devil-masked opponent, El Diablo. "No masked devil can beat my uncle. Not even the real devil himself," declares Maya. But the real devil doesn't take kindly to such disrespect, and soon Kid Cyclone finds himself fighting the most hellish challenger of all!Popular kids' book author Xavier Garza returns with another collection of stories featuring spooky characters from Mexican-American folklore. There's a witch that takes the shape of a snake in order to poison and punish those who disregard her warnings; green-skinned, red-eyed creatures called chupacabras that suck the blood from wild pigs, but would just as soon suck the blood from a human who has lost his way in the night; a young girl disfigured in a fire set by a scorned lover who gets her revenge as the Donkey Lady; and the Elmendorf Beast, said to have the head of a wolf with skin so thick it's impervious to shotgun blasts. Accompanied by the author's striking illustrations of the creepy creatures, the hair-raising stories in this bilingual collection for kids ages 8 - 12 are sure to lure even the most reluctant readers into its pages.