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Amazon Best Books Pick for October
Thanks, Amazon, for picking Lucía the Luchadora and the Million Masks as a Best Books of the Month for October!
Kirkus Starred Review for Lucía and the Million Masks
When the first Lucía the Luchadora book got a Starred Review from Kirkus last year (and then made their Best Books of 2017 list), I was overjoyed. Now the sequel, Lucía the Luchadora and the Million Masks (out October 9, 2018) has gotten a STAR of its own. I’m thrilled to know that this little book is holding its own. Here’s an excerpt of the review:
Sisterhood leads to an adventure befitting a luchadora in Garza and Bermudez’s sublime sequel to Lucía the Luchadora (2017).
Similar to its predecessor, this follow-up pops and snaps with jubilant glee. Garza’s buoyant wordplay and delightful characters also continue to shine. Equally, Bermudez’s vibrant, action-packed pictures epitomize pure zany fun.
Transcendent joy personified in a pair of rip-roaring luchadoras. (Picture book. 3-7)
Wowzies, I hope fans of the first book and new ones enjoy!
Lucía named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2017
A collection of book covers from NPR’s 2017 Book Concierge
In December, NPR released it’s list of Best Books of 2017 – a list of 347 titles – and it included Lucía the Luchadora. Cartwheels!
What a huge honor. Check out the other amazing books that made the list here. I love the concierge website and how you can filter down to what you’re in the mood to read. Even though we’re midway through 2018, I still refer back to it to see what I missed last year.
Lucía the Luchadora also made several other Best Books of 2017 lists, including Kirkus Reviews, Chicago Public Library and Evanston Public Library.
Lucía named to 2018 ALA’s Amelia Bloomer List
Lucía was named to the 2018 ALA’s Amelia Bloomer List which compiles the best feminist books for young readers. What an honor to be part of this list! The Amelia Bloomer List is a project of the Feminist Task Force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association.
Amelia Bloomer was a women’s rights activists, and one of the things she advocated for was women’s fashion that would be less restrictive. Bloomers are named after her!
You can check out this year’s and previous year’s lists here.
Interview on Latino USA
Here’s an interview with Latino USA, with María Hinojosa that aired in May. It was great getting to chat with her about this while I was in NYC last year. I love how they mixed in the narration in this. I have Latino USA on my regular podcast rotation. If you don’t listen, you should (and donate!) – they do fantastic work.
Texas Book Festival Appearances on November 5
I’m getting ready to make another skip, hop and leap across a few seas and the Atlantic to go back home to Texas, where I’ll be making two appearances at the Texas Book Festival on Sunday, November 5. I’ll be at the Ahora Sí Tent (11th Street b/t Congress and Brazos) for Bilingual Story time from 11-11:30 a.m. and at the Children’s Read Me A Story Tent (10th & Congress) for Story time from 12:30-1 p.m. Book sales and signing to follow.
I’m super excited about going to the two-day event, mostly because there are SOOOO many fantastic authors in the line-up (Samantha Irby! Angie Thomas! Mac Barnett! Matt de la Peña!). I usually take my daughters with me to book festivals, but this time I’ll be going it alone, so I’ll actually be able to sit in and listen to writers who write for grown-ups without having to be huddled in a back corner on the floor, doling out snacks to my kids to keep them quiet and entertained. Aaah, I am SO looking forward to this, both as an author and as especially as a reader.
If you’ve never been, this festival is HUGE (I wouldn’t expect any less from my home state) so there’s something for everybody. Here’s more:
THE BASICS
The Texas Book Festival is FREE and open to the public.
One of the largest and most prestigious literary festivals in the country, the annual Texas Book Festival features 250+ nationally and critically recognized adult and children’s authors, 20+ venues including the State Capitol, 80+ exhibitors, live music, local food trucks, family activities, and countless opportunities to meet authors and fellow book lovers.
We are a nonprofit organization. Book sales at the Festival support the two day event and our statewide school and library programming. Thank you for your support!
Nos vemos pronto, Texas! I’m heading straight to the tacos and Big Red when I get there.
NPR Weekend Edition interview on ‘Lucia the Luchadora’
“After she realized there weren’t enough girl superheroes in the world, Cynthia Leonor Garza created one. She talks with NPR’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro about her new book, Lucia the Luchadora.”
Washington, D.C.: Book Tour Highlights
I’m in the States for a few weeks this summer, visiting from Nairobi, Kenya, where I moved late last year. Since I was making the loooooong trip across the pond (and past a couple of seas) I figured it would be great to get a few bookstore and library visits in. First stop, Washington, D.C.!
I did a story time at East City Bookshop, a really wonderful, year-old not-so-little but not-too-big bookstore in the Eastern Market neighborhood. It is just right! It felt so comfy to me that I went back after lunch and spent some time there browsing, relaxing on their comfy sofa downstairs and buying books to take back with me to Kenya when I return.
Next stop in D.C. were two events set up by Politics & Prose bookstore. The first was at the Takoma Park, Maryland public library and the other at D.C.’s Petworth library. At both I did a story time and talked a bit about how I came up with the idea for the book. Then we made máscaras!
I feel waaaaaaay better knowing there are now a few good luchadores on the loose in our nation’s capital.
Before I headed to the airport to Miami (next stop Books & Books!) I made a pit stop at the Politics and Prose on Connecticut Ave. It was Saturday afternoon, and GOOD LORD, that store was JAM-PACKED. So nice to see so many people clamoring for books. And coffee, at the cafe downstairs. Lots of people clamoring for coffee.
And look, that’s me and Lucía the Luchadora listed in Politics and Prose’s monthly guide and in their 2017 Children and Teen’s Department Favorites booklet. Gracias P&P!
‘Lucía’ an Amazon.com Spring Reading editor’s pick
The editors at Amazon.com have selected Lucia the Luchadora as one of their picks for Spring Reading. It was also selected as a Best Books of the Month pick for March from Amazon.
Mil gracias!!!