What happens when a small girl suddenly starts turning green, as green as a cilantro leaf, and grows to be fifty feet tall? She becomes Super Cilantro Girl, and can overcome all obstacles, thats what! Esmeralda Sinfronteras is the winning super-hero in this effervescent tale about a child who flies huge distances and scales high walls in order to rescue her mom when she is detained at the US-Mexico border.
Award winner Juan Felipe Herrera taps poetically into the wellsprings of imagination to address and transform the very serious concerns many first-generation children have about national borders and immigrant status. Artist Honorio Robledo, a prize-winning illustrator, has created a bouquet of brilliant images and landscapes that will delight all children.
Juan Felipe Herrera is a nationally recognized Mexican American poet and recipient of the prestigious Ezra Jack Keats award.. Juan Felipe was also the winner of the Latino Hall of Fame Poetry Awards for 2000 and 2002. He lives with his family in Redlands, California and loves the color green because it's the color of emeralds, oceans, and cilantro.
Honorio Robledo Tapia spent his childhood in Veracruz, Chiapas, and in the mountainous regions of Matlanzinca, Mexico. He is an author, painter, and musician, as well as the creator of the comic strip Cubeta, which appeared in the Mexican newspaper, La Jornada and can now be seen in La Opinion in Los Angeles. His children Nico and Amalia are huge fans of his work and wake him at six every morning to hear his stories.
"This intriguing fantasy raises questions and lets youngsters decide for themselves. Boxed text, yellow for English and green for the sound Spanish translation, is positioned so as not to interfere unduly with the brilliant acrylic illustrations. . . The story has considerable child appeal, and is a good discussion starter." —School Library Journal
"Herrera's texts, both English and Spanish, are vivid and direct... A first purchase for libraries serving Mexican American families, the book should also prove useful in other immigrant communities and popular in bookstores in the Southwest." —Críticas
" ...the pictures' vibrant colors mirror the story's excitement. Because the tale can be read entirely in English or Spanish, it's helpful for readers learning one of those languages. And it's just plain fun." — Orange County Register
"It's a bilingual book brought to life by Tapia's vibrant pictures and Herrera's conciliatory message." — San Antonio Express
"This story boldly touches very serious and relevant social issues while appealing to children's playful imagination, hopes and dreams. A valuable language and cultural resource for school, public, and home libraries, this bilingual English/Spanish edition is notable for its creative word-play and authentic use of Spanish." — REFORMA
