Kid Cyclone Fights the Devil and Other Stories / Kid Ciclon Se Enfrenta a El Diablo y Otras Historias (English and Spanish Edition) - Softcover

Garza, Xavier

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1558855998 ISBN 13: 9781558855991

Publisher: Pinata Books, 2010

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author

XAVIER GARZA is a prolific author, artist and storyteller whose work focuses primarily on his experiences growing up in the small border town of Rio Grande City. His work includes Zulema and the Witch Owl / Zulema y la Bruja Lechuza (Pinata Books, 2009), Charro Claus and the Tejas Kid (Cinco Puntos Press, 2008), Juan and the Chupacabras / Juan y el Chupacabras (Pinata Books, 2006), Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask: A Bilingual Cuento (Cinco Puntos Press, 2005), winner of the 2008-2009 Tejas Star Book Award, and Creepy Creatures and Other Cucuys (Pinata Books, 2004). He lives with his family in San Antonio.

Reviews

Grade 6–10—A compendium of scary short stories featuring popular characters from Mexican folklore. Characters such as La Llorona and El Chupacabras are sure to give readers the chills. In "The Witch Owl," a witch wants to steal a baby from her 14-year-old sister to have as a meal. In another selection, Maya and Vincent, Kid Cyclone's niece and nephew, say that no one could defeat their uncle. The Devil himself takes the challenge and decides to fight Kid Cyclone. "The Saints" is one instance where Garza uses a common superstition among Latin elders. In this story a star football player gets injured and can't play anymore. His grandmother promises that he will feel better if he prays to the Saints every day. However he forgets his promise and faces bad consequences. These short stories can be helpful in a bilingual classroom where reluctant readers will learn new vocabulary. They could also be used as read-alouds to illustrate the constant struggle between good and evil characters. The black-and-white illustrations complement each story and add to its dramatic appeal. The Spanish translation is accurate and smooth.—Patricia Bashir, The Brentwood Library, TN
(c) Copyright 2011.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In a book that features both Spanish and English text between the same covers, Garza offers fourteen short stories featuring Mexican and Mexican American characters battling (sometimes none too successfully) the forces of darkness. Most of the stories are of the slumber-party variety, with ironic endings and people being devoured by creatures with big teeth. One of the stories, “Llorona 911,” even features a slumber party, with the participants playing the familiar slumber-party scary games, leading to tragic results. Of course, as with most of these scary collections, some of the stories are more successful at eliciting chills than others, although the title story is not without humor, as a masked Mexican wrestler battles the devil himself. Garza's own black-and-white drawings add to the spookiness. Robert San Souci's collections Dare to Be Scared (2003) and Double-Dare to Be Scared (2004) offer similar chills to readers in need of a fright. Grades 5-8. --Todd Morning

Edition details

• Publisher: Pinata Books
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1558855998
• ISBN 13: 9781558855991
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 86