¡Viva Valenzuela!

★ “Lavish, visually rich illustrations by Parra are done in a folk style with flat colors and figures that appear almost like cutouts… beautifully presented, written with deep admiration; recommended for elementary libraries, ­especially where baseball is popular.”—School Library Journal, starred review

“Viva Valenzuela! by baseball reporter Nathalie Alonso (Call Me Roberto!) and illustrated by John Parra (Little Libraries, Big Heroes) passionately chronicles the endearing story of baseball player Fernando Valenzuela and his effects on the Los Angeles Latino community of the 1980s…Parra’s distinctive acrylic-on-board art features brilliant, fully saturated colors on a textured surface, giving the illustrations a deliberately weathered look. The images superbly capture the atmosphere, action, and emotion in this touching picture book biography. Back matter offers notes from Alonso and Parra, as well as additional information on the screwball and Latinos’ relationship to the Dodgers, plus a bibliography. With ¡Viva Valenzuela!, Alonso and Parra have pitched an extraordinary work every young baseball fan is sure to want to catch.”—Shelf Awareness

“Siebert Honor Book author Alonso highlights not only Valenzuela’s impressive career but the positive impact he had on Latino Angelenos, who loved seeing a Mexican player who felt like one of them. Illustrated with Parra’s bright, blocky artwork, the book focuses mainly on Valenzuela’s rookie year and fittingly concludes with a World Series Game against the Yankees. An informative, visually engaging picture book for baseball fans.”—Booklist

“…this book is a grand slam for young baseball fans. Parra’s acrylic illustrations have a retro Americana feel, using muted, dusty pastels balanced with a few bold, primary-adjacent accents, giving them a sun-faded warmth that complements Fernando’s inspirational journey. A well-pitched celebration of talent, perseverance, and the power of representation.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Alonso (Call Me Roberto!, rev. 9⁄24) here highlights another significant Latino Major League Baseball player: Mexican-born left-handed screwball pitcher Fernando Valenzuela (1960–2024), who made his rookie debut for the L.A. Dodgers in 1981… Alonso’s prose is straightforward and uplifting. Parra’s (recently Engle’s Eloísa’s Musical Window, rev. 9⁄24) illustrations, done in his signature style of acrylic on board with matte hues, feature saturated spreads that fill the pages, with baseball action taking center stage.”—The Horn Book

“Author Nathalie Alonso, a Cuban-American sports journalist, documents Valenzuela’s first season in which he wowed fans, sat out during the strike, then struggled on his return, before ultimately leading the Dodgers to a World Series championship. Departing from more conventional biographical formats, Alonso concentrates on Valenzuela’s symbolic significance to Los Angeles’s Spanish-speaking community, which according to the back matter, had not previously united behind the team.The new fans “looked like Fernando, spoke like Fernando, and many were immigrants just like Fernando.” John Parra captures the resulting “Fernandomania” with beautiful acrylic paintings on board that exploit the grainy wood texture of his materials, giving them a lovely, handmade quality.”—Youth Services Book Review

Nathalie Alonso is a Cuban American bilingual writer and journalist based in Queens, NY. A seasoned baseball reporter, her writing has appeared in National Geographic, Outside, and Refinery29, among other outlets. She is currently a reporter and producer at MLB.com’s Spanish-language sister site, LasMayores.com. Call Me Roberto! was her debut nonfiction picture book.

John Parra is an award-winning artist, illustrator, author, and educator, best known for his Latino-themed children’s picture books. His illustrations for Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos, written by Monica Brown, was a New York Times Best Illustrated Book, and Green Is a Chile Pepper: A Book of Colors by Roseanne Thong, received a Pura Belpre Honor and the Americas Book Award.

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