Cathy Camper

Mechanic Lupe Impala and her friends El Chavo Flapjack and Elirio Malaria love cars. They are eager to get set up in their own garage where Lupe will fix the cars, Flapjack will clean them, and Elirio will paint his fantastic designs on them. There's just one problem - no money! When they see a car contest they decide to fix up an old junker to be the best lowrider ever and with determination, grit, and skill they do just that. Their lowrider takes them to the stars and back to earth to win show more the contest!

The text sings with delightful words in both Spanish and English and their trip through space is a poetic dance. The art is unique with a southwest, homemade flair. Raul drew it in colored ballpoint pens to mimic the drawings of his youth.

Back matter includes an author's note about lowriders and an illustrator's note about the art. There's also a glossary of Spanish words and a short teaser comic for the next volume.

The whole story is one celebration of love for nostalgia and culture - and that's where I'm not sure it's going to find an audience in my library. I have a fairly large Hispanic population, but we're in Wisconsin. I'm not sure the kids have ever heard of lowriders, much less would be interested in them. A graphic novel with Hispanic characters playing in the snow or going to cheer on their favorite football team is more likely to find an audience here.

Still, this is such a lovely book that it's hard to put it aside. I think it would be fun to introduce kids to a different culture and time period and this book is really original and delightful.

Verdict: I don't think this is going to find the universal audience that some of the reviews posit, but it's definitely a worthwhile purchase and a fun, unique title to introduce kids to.

ISBN: 9781452128696; Published 2014 by Chronicle; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

Lina wakes up one winter day to find that the world is covered in white. Concerned for her sitti, or grandmother, with whom she is supposed to make warak enab (stuffed grape leaves), Lina sets out through the snow, discovering many different ways to hear that cold substance as she walks to her grandmother's house. Once there, she discovers that sitti, whose eyesight is failing, has her own ways of hearing and appreciating snow...

A delightful story from Arab-American author Cathy Camper is show more paired with beautiful artwork from Korean-American illustrator Kenard Pak in Ten Ways to Hear Snow, which emphasizes the importance of both family love and having a mindful and appreciative approach to the natural world around us. The central idea embedded in the title here, of finding different ways to hear snow, as well as the fact that snowfall hushes everything, both really struck me, as I woke up this morning to find my house enveloped in a snowstorm. I liked the depiction of a modern, everyday Arab-American family in text and artwork here, and appreciated that, while the cultural details are specific, the human experience in the story - the love of grandparents and grandchildren, the awe at nature's beauty - is universal. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for lovely winter-time tales, as well as those seeking children's books featuring Arab-American families. show less

Love, Love, Love this book in the series! New Book in the Lowriders in Space Series has just dropped and its excellent! _Lowriders to the Rescue_ deals with immigration, climate change, gentrification, community building and activism, cross-cultural connections between Latinx and Arab cultures. All while being its typical wiggy self. Illustrated by Raul the Third, who does the Vamos! books, these are drawn with ballpoint pens. It's probably helpful to read the series starting with the show more original, Lowriders in Space, but what I like about this particular one is how optimistic and encouraging it is - that we need to try things and work together for good, and we CAN make a difference! show less

Lina wakes to find her neighborhood covered in snow. Last night’s blizzard left everything quiet and white. As she walks to her grandmothers to make a special meal of warak enab, Lina encounters new sounds in the snow-covered neighborhood. Lina knows her grandmother cannot see very well and asks about the snowstorm. She realizes that her Sitti has heard the snow rather than seeing it. Lina discovers 10 diverse ways to hear snow.

Wonderful, clean illustrations take the reader with Lina as show more she travels to Sitti’s house, and the onomatopoeia of the story heightens the sounds Lina is experiencing. This quiet book celebrates the sounds and feel of Lina’s journey, but also her strong familial relationships and Lebanese culture. show less