Books published by publisher Pinata Books

Like most kids, Roberto doesn't want to help with household chores. Who wants to clean the bedroom? Yuck! Roberto tells his mother he can't clean his room because he's afraid the Closet Monster might lock him away forever! "Maybe you should help me," he tells his mother. "The Closet Monster is afraid of you." But Mama insists he clean his own room.And when Mama asks for Roberto's help wiping the table and sweeping the kitchen floor, he again tries to wiggle out of cleaning because of his fear of monsters. "If I sweep the floor," he says, "the Dust Monster might come and blow me away forever!"Later, when Roberto is ready for his mother to read him a story, she turns the tables on him. "If I read you a story," Mama says, "the Work Monster might come and take me away forever." So Roberto grabs a mop and willingly helps his mom finish the chores. Together, Roberto and his mother put an end to the cleaning and the monsters!In this entertaining picture book about a boy's creative attempts to avoid doing chores, first-time children's book author Spelile Rivas creates an amusing scenario to illustrate how working together to complete tasks can be productive and fun.

Like many human children, Cucuy, the little monster, doesn't like to go to bed. "I'm not sleepy," he says. "All I want to do is jump around and play!" He tries to run and hide, but Mamá manages to get him into his pajamas. Every night he kicks and screams, wiggles and jiggles, mumbles and grumbles. He's hungry, he's thirsty. He needs to go to the bathroom. But Mamá won't give in. "Tomorrow you will have a whole new day to jump around and play," she tells her little monster, until finally he... drifts... off... to... sleep.Children ages 3 to 7 will delight in the travails of poor Cucuy, the little monster who doesn't like to go to sleep. And they might just see themselves as Cucuy protests but ultimately does fall asleep. Author Claudia Galindo and illustrator Jonathan Coombs once again collaborate on an entertaining picture book for children.

A poignant bilingual picture book about the death of a grandparent Like most Saturdays, Mr. Garcia's rooster wakes Lorena much earlier than she wants to wake up. Lorena pulls the covers over her head to block out the day, but she knows she has to get up. Today is no ordinary Saturday. She and her mother will be going to Grandpa's house. Since Grandma's recent death, everything has changed for Lorena. Her mother often cries, and Grandpa sits motionless in his chair staring out the window. Though Mama says Grandma must be in heaven, Lorena misses Grandma, too. She can't see or touch heaven. Where is Grandma? At Grandpa's house, Lorena tries to help him stop grieving, but not even Grandma's miracle words, "sana, sana, colita de rana..." work. How can Lorena help Grandpa? Lorena notices a beautiful carved chest in the corner of the room. When Lorena opens it, she sees a tangle of colors, fabrics, and keepsakes from when Grandma was alive. Will the treasured memories inside be able to bring her Grandpa back, to bring back the life in his eyes? The charming illustrations bring Lorena's memories of her grandmother to life in this bilingual picture book for readers aged 3-7 that will help children discover that sometimes, heaven isn't as far away as it seems.

Maggie is a smart, hard-working, responsible teenager who wants to become a doctor. She is given a great chance to try her skills when she is hired to care for an ailing elderly woman. They take a genuine liking to each other -- and her grandson is the school basketball star that Maggie has been pining over. But he has a girlfriend, and Maggie is being pursued by an all-too-serious suitor herself. Other differences seem to get in the way, too: Maggie is a Cuban American whose mother works nights to eke out a living; her admirers are well-off Anglos. This delightful and entertaining novel is as much an exploration of values and perceptions as it is of young and romantic love.

David is obsessed with reaching the next level in his favorite video game. Whether he's playing BunnyBot Fighters or Ultimate Rhino Races, he's so single minded in his pursuit of reaching the next level that he turns down invitations from friends to play outside. But one day, his game quits working, and he's on "Level Sad." So, with nothing else to do, he reluctantly goes outside to play. "Today I'm trying to skateboard. I have to learn to stand on the skateboard while it rolls, without falling off. It feels like I'm on Level One of a really hard game." But if he can master staying on the board, his friend Michael will show him how to do turns, and "that'll be like Level Two." Soon, David is doing turns and is ready to learn how to do jumps! Still unable to play video games, David lets his friend Bianca convince him to try playing basketball. Dribbling is hard, but David wants to level up so he'll get a new red jersey. Pretty soon, he's on Level 12 of skateboarding and Level 8 of basketball, and he's ready to try diving and dirt biking. Eventually his video game is fixed, but by then he has discovered that leveling up in real life is more exciting than leveling up on the screen. Popular kids' book author Gwendolyn Zepeda teams up again with artist and illustrator Pablo Torrecilla to create a lively story that will have young readers laughing in commiseration with a kid consumed by imaginary goals. Following up on their acclaimed I Kick the Ball / Pateo el balon, this talented pair has once again crafted an appealing bilingual picture book that will encourage kids ages 5 to 9 to get off the couch and get moving.

In Lorenzo Bannister’s latest adventure, he is living in New Orleans and working as a medical doctor. Between his promising medical practice and his love for his fiancée Eugenie, Lorenzo is finally happy and at peace after working for the Continental Army. But his happiness is short lived. A hurricane sweeps through New Orleans two days before Lorenzo and Eugenie’s wedding, leaving the town severely damaged and Eugenie missing. Frantic with fear and worry, Lorenzo searches the flooded, demolished city for his fiancée. It is Lorenzo’s friend and mentor, Colonel De Gálvez, who must tell Lorenzo the shocking news: Eugenie has been seen in Baton Rouge in the company of a British man. Lorenzo is determined to find answers to the puzzling questions about Eugenie’s departure from New Orleans. Facing the possibility that she may be a traitor to the Spanish cause, Lorenzo joins the Spanish Army and makes his way to Baton Rouge along with the troops Colonel De Gálvez has assembled to attack the British. Once again, Lorenzo finds himself on a dangerous mission, this time in desperate pursuit of his fiancée while waging war on the Redcoats.

On El Rancho Grande, the grandchildren are not so interested in how Grandpa bought the ranch, but in what can be done on the ranch. The children play hide and seek in cornfields, under "the canopy of green leaves, golden threads and giant ears of corn." They feed the family horses, ride the rambunctious pigs, and take frolicking dips in the duck pond. But through all of the outdoor escapades, their family stories are circling in the air, like the "sunflower wind" blooming around them. While drinking ice-cold lemonade in the sunshine, they hear about how Grandpa’s song of sorrow won him El Rancho. They hear about chickens that have abandoned their coops to live in Abuela’s chicken tree, and they even discover a story about a boy who cried chocolate tears. In those days of running and jumping, the narrator, Tito, did not realize that he was hearing the stories that would wrap him up "like an enchanted sarape to keep me warm for the rest of [his] life."

"On Ana's first day of kindergarten, the slide stood like a mountain." The other kids in her class encourage her to glide "down, down, down, to the bottom and her new friends."Young readers will relate to these elementary school children playing outside. In first grade, Ana meets Karina, who becomes her best friend. Together, they swing higher and higher as they try to kick the sky! In second grade, Ana and her friends dangle like monkeys, eat pretend bananas and call out, "Ooo, ooo, ooo! Can you do what we do?" As they grow, the kids learn to play new games on the playground: basketball, soccer and even handball.Acclaimed children's book author James Luna uses short, simple text and active words to depict children at play. They swing and hang, dribble and shoot, pass and kick, laugh and learn. And when they get to sixth grade, they have to say good-bye to their school's playground. But someday they will return!

This short story collection by Anilu Bernardo, takes us from the soccer field to the seashore. Her spunky Cuban-American protagonists navigate the uncertain waters of adolescence in Miami, and their lot is all that much harder as they juggle the traditional burdens of middle school and high school coupled with the stresses of living those burdens in a foreign culture. Bernardo crafts a panorama of intelligent and spirited young girls struggling to find a place for themselves. Like when Sari wants to talk about boys and school with her friends instead of babysitting for Grandma, who always asks her to translate the most embarrassing things.... or when Clari stews in her room after she's grounded because the snippy old woman next door complained about Clari bending her stupid fence ... or when Mari turns in a homemade diorama in a context where her work must compete with all the store-bought iridescent paper and underwater photography that parents with money can buy... Bernardo shows that it's tough enough to be caught between the two worlds of childhood and womanhood, but when a Cuban girl must cross the bridge between two cultures to fit into a foreign environment, she faces a league of other headaches as well. The young girls in this collection don't let the cultural challenges define them. Instead, with a little resourcefulness and strong spirit, they manage to, in the words of one character, break out of themselves and the limits that culture puts on them.

Sixteen-year-old Jesse Baron feels like he's living his life on the sidelines. He's on the varsity football team, but only because it's what his dad wants him to do. And the girl he used to go out with is dating the popular quarterback. Jesse is fed up with being cut down and dismissed, whether by the coach or his friends. If only he was bigger, tougher and more athletic, like his dad. Those things didn't matter to Jesse's mom. She left his father, a professional wrestler, because of his demanding career. But it's through his dad that Jesse meets TJ Masters, a brash, new wrestling talent who's over 21, drives a fast car and is more than willing to show Jesse a good time. And unlike his dad, TJ makes Jesse feel tough and confident; he even offers to help Jesse bulk up. But will Jesse listen to his family and friends when they warn him about hanging out with someone whos often reckless and irresponsible? In this stand-alone sequel to his acclaimed debut novel My Father, the Angel of Death , Ray Villareal touches on serious themes such as drinking and driving, lying to loved ones and even steroid use. Author and educator Villareal once again writes a compelling novel for teens that explores the impact of making poor choices and choosing the right friends.

The Cucuy is a tall, furry, three-eyed, four-armed monster with a mouth full of huge teeth, Papo tells his granddaughter. And, he warns, if she doesn't behave, the Cucuy will take her away! She used to be afraid of the Cucuy, until one day she meets him and learns that he is not the frightful beast her grandfather described. Instead, he's cute and likes to play. His fur is blue, and his teeth are small. He may not be just like her, but he does have two arms and two eyes. And the Cucuy also likes to play catch, blow bubbles, and eat candy. Best of all, though, the young girl learns that he doesn't kidnap naughty children.! First-time children's book author Claudia Galindo and illustrator Jonathan Coombs vividly bring to life a character known to generations of Latino children. Although this time, the Cucuy isn't a scary monster but instead is a fun playmate.