The Upside Down Boy by Juan Felipe Hererra

Story by Juan Felipe Herrera
Illustrations by Elizabeth Gómez

The author recalls the year when his farmworker parents settled in the city so that he could go to school for the first time.

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Juanito is bewildered by his new school, and he misses the warmth of country life. Everything he does feels upside down. He eats lunch when it's recess; he goes out to play when it's time for lunch; and his tongue feels like a rock when he tries to speak English. But a sensitive teacher and loving family help him to find his voice and make a place for himself in this new world through poetry, art, and music.

Juan Felipe Herrera's playful language and the colorful, magical art of Elizabeth Gómez capture the universal experience of children entering a new school feeling like strangers in a world that seems upside down—at first.

32 pages

Full-color illustrations

8" x 9 3/4"

Ages 6 and up

English/Spanish


	2001-2002 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List (TX Library Assn) Smithsonian's Notable Books for Children, 2000

"Juan Felipe Herrera's story—the product of stream of consciousness recollections from his third grade experience—makes for a warm and vivid children's book…. Elizabeth Gómez illustrates with an equal flair for colorful metaphor." —The Bloomsbury Review

"The Upside Down Boy is more than good—it's excellent. It is … a celebration of family, and of the importance of a frank dialogue between parents and children. [Elizabeth Gómez]'s multicolored, fantastical pictures, with their vibrant colors and echoes of Marc Chagall … enrich the text with all kinds of humorous details. " —Newsweek en Español

The Upside Down Boy

Hardcover
ISBN-13: 978-0-89239-162-2
ISBN-10: 0-89239-162-6
$16.95

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Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-0-89239-217-9
ISBN-10: 0-89239-217-7
$7.95

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	Other books by Juan Felipe Herrera Calling the Doves / El canto de las palomas Grandma and Me at the Flea / Los meros meros remateros Super Cilantro Girl / La SuperniÒa del Cilantro Other books illustrated by Elizabeth Gómez A Movie in My Pillow / Una película en mi almohada Other books about Immigration/Migrant Education The Adventures of Connie and Diego / Las aventuras de Connie y Diego Angels Ride Bikes and Other Fall Poems / Los ángeles andan en bicicleta y otros poemas de otoño Calling the Doves / El canto de las palomas Friends from the Other Side / Amigos del otro lado A Movie in My Pillow / Una película en mi almohada My Diary from Here to There / Mi diario de aquÌ hasta all· Super Cilantro Girl / La SuperniÒa del Cilantro Xochitl and the Flowers / XÛchitl, la NiÒa de las Flores Other Books from the Latino Communities