Kid Cyclone Fights the Devil and Other Stories / Kid Ciclon Se Enfrenta a El Diablo y Otras Historias

by Xavier Garza

Cousins Maya and Vincent are thrilled to be ring side at a lucha libre match. Kid Cyclone, the wrestling world's favorite hero who also happens to be the kids' beloved uncle, is facing off against a devil-masked opponent, El Diablo. "No masked devil can beat my uncle. Not even the real devil himself," declares Maya. But the real devil doesn't take kindly to such disrespect, and soon Kid Cyclone finds himself fighting the most hellish challenger of all!



Popular kids' book author Xavier Garza returns with another collection of stories featuring spooky characters from Mexican-American folklore. There's a witch that takes the shape of a snake in order to poison and punish those who disregard her warnings; green-skinned, red-eyed creatures called chupacabras that suck the blood from wild pigs, but would just as soon suck the blood from a human who has lost his way in the night; a young girl disfigured in a fire set by a scorned lover who gets her revenge as the Donkey Lady; and the Elmendorf Beast, said to have the head of a wolf with skin so thick it's impervious to shotgun blasts.



Accompanied by the author's striking illustrations of the creepy creatures, the hair-raising stories in this bilingual collection for kids ages 8 - 12 are sure to lure even the most reluctant readers into its pages.

86 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2010

About the author

Born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley, author and luche libre aficionado Xavier Garza is a prolific author, artist, and storyteller whose work focuses primarily on his experiences growing up in the small border town of Rio Grande City. Garza has exhibited his art and performed his stories in venues throughout Texas, Arizona and the state of Washington. Garza lives in San Antonio, Texas with his wife Irma and their young son Vincent.

Reviews

[Arte Público Press]

Xavier Garza offers a bilingual collection of spooky stories featuring supernatural characters from Mexican-American folklore.

Praise for the work of Xavier Garza:

Juan and the Chupacabras / Juan y el Chupacabras won the 2007-2008 Tejas Star Book Award.

Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask won the 2008-2009 Tejas Star Book Award.

"An excellent choice for story time and classroom sharing."
—School Library Jouranl on Juan and the Chupacabras / Juan y el Chupacabras

"Smoothly integrated information in fluid colloquial English and Spanish combines with grainy graphic-novel-style illustrations executed in acrlyic to create an oddly compelling and sophisticated package. Certain to be a popular choice."
—School Library Journal on Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask

[Salsabrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, scary stories with Latino sabor featuring La Llorona, lucha libre with the Devil, and even patron saint candles. These stories can serve as read-alouds at camps or in classes (Llorona 9-1-1 is a good one) but there are a couple stories with guns and graphic bloody scenes. Kids love to be scared to death by the gross and morbid, but choose wisely based on your audience.