They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems - Hardcover

Bowles, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1947627066 ISBN 13: 9781947627062

Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press, 2018

Synopsis

2019 Pura Belpré Honor Book2019 Walter Dean Myers Honor Book for Outstanding Children's Literature2019 Claudia Lewis Award for Excellence in Poetry2019 Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award2018 Jean Flynn Award for Best Middle Grade BookALSC Notable Children's Book, 2019A School Library Journal Best Book of 2018, Middle GradeShelf Awareness 2018 Best Children's & Teen Books of the Year, Middle Grade NCTE 2019 Notable Verse NovelsAméricas Award 2019 Commended Title2019 White Raven2020-2021 Texas Bluebonnet List
Twelve-year-old Güero is Mexican American, at home with Spanish or English and on both sides of the river. He's starting 7th grade with a woke English teacher who knows how to make poetry cool. 

In Spanish, "Güero" is a nickname for guys with pale skin, Latino or Anglo. But make no mistake: our red-headed, freckled hero is puro mexicano, like Canelo Álvarez, the Mexican boxer. Güero is also a nerd--reader, gamer, musician--who runs with a squad of misfits like him, Los Bobbys. Sure, they get in trouble like anybody else, and like other middle-school boys, they discover girls. Watch out for Joanna! She's tough as nails. 

But trusting in his family's traditions, his accordion and his bookworm squad, he faces seventh grade with book smarts and a big heart. Life is tough for a border kid, but Güero has figured out how to cope. 

He writes poetry.

About this title

About the Author:

DAVID BOWLES is a native of the South Texas borderlands, where he teaches at the University of Texas Río Grande Valley. He's the author of Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky: Myths of Mexico. His middle-grade fantasy The Smoking Mirror was a 2016 Pura Belpré Honor Book. He is also one of Adam Gidwitz' collaborators on The Unicorn Rescue Society series.

Review:

"Snapchat, texting, woke teachers, K-pop/hip-hop, hybrid cars, and border troubles tie this story to today's times, but the rich characters who fill Güero's family, school, and neighborhood--Uncle Joe, Abuela Mimi, Joanna la Fregona, the three Bobbys, Bisabuela Luisa, and a dozen more--are the beating heart of this masterful novel-in-poems rooted in generations of culture, geography, and story." 

--Sylvia Vardell & Janet Wong, creators of The Poetry Friday Anthology series

"I love this book!" --Margarita Engle, 2017-2019 National Young People's Poet Laureate

"In this slim verse novel, Bowles splendidly translates border life via loosely connected vignettes in an eclectic mix of poetic forms. Güero's voice brims with humor, wit, and bits of slang, and a diverse cast of characters offers hints of other cultures. The author, however, does inject some complex themes and topics for rich discussion, touching on immigration, prejudice, and even the narrator's nickname, 'güero,' a term used to refer to light-skinned men and boys. Güero occasionally faces flak from a few schoolmates on account of his pale, freckled skin and copper hair, resulting in a revealing exchange with his dad: 'M'ijo, pale folks catch all the breaks / here and in Mexico, too. Not your fault. / Not fair. Just the way it's been for years.' A valuable, too-brief look at the borderlands." --Kirkus

"With They Call Me Güero, Bowles has added an important text to borderland writing that would have made the great Gloria Anzaldúa proud. This is a collection that resonates with readers, and that given the current political landscape, demands to be read." --Pank

"Güero is a Mexican American border kid with nerdy tastes, pale skin, and red hair. Wishing he had been born with a darker complexion so no one would question his Mexican American heritage, Güero's family tell him to be grateful for the advantages his lighter hair and skin afford him and to use it to open doors for the rest of his family. Güero's voice carries this novel through a playful array of poetic forms, from sonnets to raps, free verse to haiku. VERDICT Vibrant and unforgettable, this is a must-have for all middle grade collections. Pair with both fiction and nonfiction books on immigration, forced cultural assimilation, and stories about contemporary Mexican American life." --School Library Journal (starred review)

About this edition

• Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1947627066
• ISBN 13: 9781947627062
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 122