La supernina del cilantro - Super Cilantro Girl, Del Sol Books

Author : Juan Felipe Herrera, Illustrator : Honorio Robledo Tapia
Preschool - 2nd Grade

Green like my mother’s salsa verde,
green like the earth in Spring.
Take me across the mountains to my mamá
so I can hear her songs again.

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, thatąs what! Esmeralda Sinfronteras is the winning super-hero in this effervescent tale about a child who flies huge distances and scales tall walls in order to rescue her mom.

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. And artist Honorio Robledo, himself a prize-winning illustrator of childrenąs books, has created a bouquet of brilliant images and landscapes that will delight all children

Juan Felipe Herrera is a nationally recognized Mexican-American poet. His first children’s book, Calling the Doves, won the prestigious Ezra Jack Keats Award. Its sequel, The Upside-Down Boy, was a selection for the Texas Blue Bonnet Master List and was a Smithsonian Notable Book for Children. A third story, Grandma and Me at the Flea, came out in 2002 to rave reviews. Juan Felipe was also the winner of the Latino Hall of Fame Poetry Award for 2000 and 2002. He lives with his family in Fresno, California, and loves the color green because it’s the color of emerald, oceans, and cilantro.

Honorio Robledo Tapia spent his childhood in Veracruz, Chiapas, and in the mountainous regions of Matlanzinca of Mexico, where there was no electricity or running water. Today he is an author, painter, and musician, and lives in Los Angeles. He is the author of Nico visita la luna / Nico Visits the Moon. and of El Cucuy, winner of the Independent Publishers’ Award in 2002. He is also the creator of the comic strip, Cubeta, which appeared in the newspaper, La Jornada in Mexico, and can now be seen in La Opinión in Los Angeles. His children Nico and Amalia are huge fans of his work and awake him at six every morning to hear his stories.

Listen to Vienna Rose read Super Cilantra Girl to you. A marvelous example of the magical encounter between a child and books that we wish for all children.

School Library Journal : Kindergarten-Grade 3-Esmeralda Sinfronteras, eight, worries when her mother does not return home when expected. Having crossed the border to Tijuana, she is being detained, Esmeralda's grandmother tells her, because she does not have a green card. The child carries a little bouquet of cilantro from her mother's garden into her room with her and wishes on the leaves, "shaped like hearts with wings," for her mother's return. The next morning, when Esmeralda goes to wash her hands, she notices that they are green. Washing makes them even greener-and that's just the beginning. Next her eyes, teeth, and hair turn green, and she grows to a great height-becoming Super Cilantro Girl, a sort of Jolly Green Giant who can fly to her mother's rescue. And rescue her she does, flying through the night to the border, making green plants grow over everything to foil the border patrol. The next morning, she wakes up to find that her mother is home and she is just Esmeralda Sinfronteras. Was it a dream? 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 executed in a primitive style. The story has considerable child appeal, and is a good discussion starter.

"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." — Criticas

" ...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