They Call Me Gero: A Border Kid's Poems

2019 Pura Belpré Honor Book2019 Walter Dean Myers Honor Book for Outstanding Children's Literature2019 Claudia Lewis Award for Excellence in Poetry2019 Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award2018 Jean Flynn Award for Best Middle Grade BookALSC Notable Children's Book, 2019A School Library Journal Best Book of 2018, Middle GradeShelf Awareness 2018 Best Children's & Teen Books of the Year, Middle Grade NCTE 2019 Notable Verse NovelsAméricas Award 2019 Commended Title2019 White Raven2020-2021 Texas Bluebonnet List Twelve-year-old Güero is Mexican American, at home with Spanish or English and on both sides of the river. He's starting 7th grade with a woke English teacher who knows how to make poetry cool. In Spanish, "Güero" is a nickname for guys with pale skin, Latino or Anglo. But make no mistake: our red-headed, freckled hero is puro mexicano, like Canelo Álvarez, the Mexican boxer. Güero is also a nerd--reader, gamer, musician--who runs with a squad of misfits like him, Los Bobbys. Sure, they get in trouble like anybody else, and like other middle-school boys, they discover girls. Watch out for Joanna! She's tough as nails. But trusting in his family's traditions, his accordion and his bookworm squad, he faces seventh grade with book smarts and a big heart. Life is tough for a border kid, but Güero has figured out how to cope. He writes poetry.