MexikidA Graphic Memoir
Review posted January 26, 2024.
Dial Books for Young Readers, 2023. 316 pages.
Review written January 3, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review
2024 Newbery Honor Book
2024 Pura Belpré Award Winner for Illustrator and Author
2024 Odyssey Award Honor Audiobook
2023 Sonderbooks Stand-out:
#8 Children's Nonfiction
It's no secret that I think graphic novel memoirs celebrating middle school years are the best thing ever. In this one, the author looks to be a little younger than middle school, and he and his family went on an amazing adventure. Pedro's the 7th of 9 children, and his whole family hit the road in a Winnebago in 1977 and drove to Mexico to pick up his Abuelito and bring him back to California. Hijinks ensue.
Honestly, I can't do justice to all that's in here. Pedro loves to draw, and imagines his Abuelito as a superhero, based on the stories of his time during the Mexican Revolution. But then when he sees Abuelito, he does some feats of amazing strength.
Seriously, if you don't think traveling in a Winnebago with a whole bunch of kids has all kinds of funny things to write about, you've never done it. Hmm. My family did that a few years before Pedro's family, when there were probably 8 kids. But we didn't have to deal with crossing a border and getting toys confiscated and nothing to listen to except "Shipoopi."
You're going to have to trust me that this book is hilarious and fun and full of adventure, because I don't even know how to start describing details. It's also about family - siblings and cousins, parents and grandparents, and a classic road trip bringing them all together.