Announcing the Lucky Winner of FOOD FIGHT FIESTA

Dear Friends,

Thank you each and everyone who stopped by the Book Birthday Celebration for FOOD FIGHT FIESTA by Tracey Kyle. And THANK YOU, TRACEY for being our guest and for your generous donation of a personalized copy of your new picture book! The winner picked by random.org did such a great job of spreading the word by commenting on the post, sharing on twitter, FaceBook, and Pinterest. AND the lucky winner of FOOD FIGHT FIESTA is Carol Baldwin! CONGRATULATIONS, CAROL!!!! (Please send me your mailing address and to whom you’d like the book personalized and Tracey will have it on its way to you asap.) 

We’ll have several more picture books and some novels to giveaway between now and the end of the year. If all goes as planned, I’ll be back next week! If not. . . Well, you know, I’ll be in touch! ~Clara

Food Fight Fiesta: A Tale about La Tomatina.

Kyle, Tracey (author).

Illustrated by Ana Gomez. 
July 2018. 32p. Skyhorse/Sky Pony, $16.99  (9781510732155). K-Grade 2. 
REVIEW. First published June 22, 2018 (Booklist Online).

One of the world’s more unique and messy festivals happens every August in Buñol, in the Spanish province of Valencia, when tens of thousands of people honor the town’s patron saints by throwing tomatoes at one another. Introducing this exciting-sounding event is an American eighth-grade Spanish teacher writing in a singsong style: “The crowd is soon covered in bright, crimson juice. / ¡Caramba! Tomatoes are still on the loose!” Rather than cloying, these rhymes are a good fit for a hectic food fight, which is accompanied by accordingly frenetic illustrations by a Madrid-based artist. There are a few questionable choices—a confusing map highlighting Portugal, not depicting the required goggles on all of the kids, and allowing the final couplet to depend on a boy “cuddling a tomato” in his sleep, which doesn’t seem like the wisest thing to do. All that aside—and barring any attempts at a cafeteria reenactment—this is a good time, and an author’s note, glossary, and bibliography anchor this fun and widely unknown romp in fact.— Andrew Medlar

Tracey Kyle published her first bilingual picture book, GAZPACHO FOR NACHO (Two Lions) in 2014. She is also the author of A PAINTBRUSH FOR PACO (little bee) and the forthcoming ALPACA PATI (Running Press, 2019) and PEPE’S SPECIAL DAY. OLE! (little bee, 2019). She spends most of her day as “Señora Kyle,” teaching Spanish to an energetic group of 8th graders, and when she’s not writing she likes to cook, read and practice yoga. Be sure to stop by Tracey’s website to learn more about her wonderful books: http://www.traceykyle.com