Tito Puente, Mambo King / Tito Puente, Rey Del Mambo

*A Pura Belpré Honor Book!*

In this vibrant bilingual picture book biography of musician Tito Puente by award-winning author-illustrator team Monica Brown and Rafael López, readers will dance along to the beat of the mambo king's life.

Tito Puente loved banging pots and pans as a child, but what he really dreamed of was having his own band one day. From Spanish Harlem to the Grammy Awards—and all the beats in between—this is the true life story of a boy whose passion for music turned him into the King of Mambo.

Brown and López bring the remarkable story of this talented legend to life in this captivating and informative picture book.

Monica Brown is the author of Small Room, Big Dreams: The Journey of Julián and Joaquin Castro; Pelé, King of Soccer / Pelé, El rey del fútbol; and Side by Side: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez / Lado a lado: La historia de Dolores Huerta y César Chávez, as well as the Pura Belpré Honor Books My Name Is Celia / Me llamo Celia, Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos, and Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match / Marisol McDonald no combina. Monica lives in Flagstaff, Arizona, with her family. Find her at monicabrown.net.

Monica Brown es la autora de Small Room, Big Dreams: The Journey of Julián and Joaquin Castro; Pelé, King of Soccer / Pelé, El rey del fútbol; y Side by Side: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez / Lado a lado: La historia de Dolores Huerta y César Chávez y de los libros ganadores del Honor Pura Belpré My Name Is Celia / Me llamo Celia, Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos y Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match / Marisol McDonald no combina. Monica vive en Flagstaff, Arizona, con su familia. Encuéntrala en monicabrown.net.

Rafael López is a New York Times–bestselling, award winning illustrator who has illustrated numerous acclaimed picture books, including The Day You Begin and The Year We Learned to Fly (New York Times bestsellers), Dancing Hands (Pura Belpré Medal), and Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You (Schneider Award), among others. Rafael is the recipient of three Pura Belpré medals, the Schneider Family Book Award, the Jane Addams Book Award, and the Tomás Rivera Book Award. He was the first guest artist of the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum and founder of the Urban Art Trail, a series of large-scale community murals around the U.S. Rafael lives in San Diego and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. You can visit him at rafaellopez.com.