By Larissa M.
Mercado-López
Illustrations by
Alex Pardo DeLange
Spanish translation
by Gabriela Baeza Ventura
- ISBN: 978-1-55885-847-3
- Publication Date: May 31, 2017
- Bind: Hardcover
- Pages: 32 Ages: 4-8
- Piñata Books- Arte Público Press
In this bilingual
picture book, a young boy discovers that he doesn’t need magical powers to be a
hero.
Esteban wears his green cape every day. He
wears it to breakfast. He wears it to the park. He even wears it to the grocery
store. The only problem is that it doesn’t do anything. It doesn’t help him fly
or become invisible. So he decides to sell it.
Just then his mother tells him that they’re
going to the park, so Esteban puts his cape back on. At the park, he sees a
baby doll on the swings. Suddenly a storm blows in, and Esteban’s mom calls him
to run home. If Esteban leaves the doll, it will get wet and dirty. So he wraps
the doll in his cape and ties it back on. “Don’t worry, baby! I’ll save you!”
On the way home he jumps over puddles and
walks under awnings to keep the baby dry. At home, he wears the doll in his
cape as he plays and does his chores. That night, with the baby clean and dry,
Esteban feels like a superhero. He will not sell the cape after all. “From now
on, I am Esteban de Luna, Baby Rescuer!”
This charming picture book depicts a young
boy who is compassionate and kind, and will be sure to generate dialogue about
what it means to be a boy while broadening the meaning of masculinity to
include caring and protection.
LARISSA M. MERCADO-LÓPEZ, a Texas native and
mother of four, is a professor of Women’s Studies at California State
University, Fresno. This is her first book for children.
ALEX PARDO DELANGE is a Venezuelan-born
artist educated in Argentina and the United States. A graduate in Fine Arts
from the University of Miami, she has illustrated numerous books for children,
including the Pepita series and Sip, Slurp, Soup, Soup / Caldo, caldo, caldo.
She lives with her family in Florida.
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