Featherless / Desplumado
Bilingual English/Spanish. Award-winning children's book author and poet Juan Felipe Herrera offers a story of self-empowerment and friendship.
Kids race across the grass,
swooping like kites over an emerald sea.
No one notices
how fast I can spin my wheels.
Will I ever catch up?
Will they ever see me?
At his new school or on the soccer field, all everyone wants to know is why Tomasito is in a wheelchair. His Papi gives Tomasisto a new pet to make him smile, but this bird is a little bit different from the rest. Before long, this boy-bird team discovers that there's more than one way to fly-on or off the soccer field-and that those cheers Tomasito hears from the sidelines just might be for him. Goooooooooooal!
Award-winning children's book author and poet Juan Felipe Herrera scores yet again with this sparkling story of self-empowerment and friendship. The brilliant acrylic paintings by Ernesto Cuevas, Jr., soar off the page with joy.
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Juan Herrera is an acclaimed poet and children's book author. His first children's book, Calling the Doves, won the prestigious Ezra Jack Keats Award, and another book, The Upside Down Boy, was made into a musical for young audiences in 2004. He teaches at California State University, Fresno.
Ernesto Cuevas holds a bachelor's degree in fine art from Dartmouth College. He grew to love the arts through his experiences in the fields with his parents, who were migrant farmworkers. Ernesto is also the founder of RedCielo LLC, a graphic design firm based in Atlanta, Georgia.
* "[A] unique and worthwhile book that turns a sensitive subject into an enjoyable story both in words and images. Highly recommended for all collections." -- Críticas, starred review
"Herrera's prose is a paean to those children who overcome adversity to create inclusion." -- School Library Journal
"Tomasito's dream of flying with Desplumado and his incorporation into a soccer team help youngsters understand that disabled children share their longings and hopes, as well as the ability to achieve and participate. Cuevas's paintings are full-spread and boldly colored, combining realism with cartoon-style simplicity; their broad washes and fuzzy edges reveal the texture of the paper on which they were created. Both Spanish and English texts are direct, inviting, and expressive." -- Kirkus Reviews
This bilingual children's book is a thoughtful story that may well aid in the opening of young minds. Skillfully translated, the text contains fun sound-effect words such as "Pop-pop-zaz" and "¡Tilín!, ¡Tilín!, ¡Tilín!, ¡Tilín!" that add a feeling of presence and participation in the story. This book belongs in the collections of people who care about others and who wish to inform. -- Foreword Reviews
