In this Bookstorm™:
Lowriders in Space
written by Cathy Camper
illustrated by Raul the Third
published by Chronicle Books, 2014
“Lupe Impala, El Chavo Flapjack, and Elirio Malaria love working with cars. You name it, they can fix it. But the team’s favorite cars of all are lowriders — cars that hip and hop, dip and drop, go low and slow, bajito y suavecito. The stars align when a contest for the best car around offers a prize of a trunkful of cash — just what the team needs to open their own shop! ¡Ay chihuahua! What will it take to transform a junker into the best car in the universe? Striking, unparalleled art from debut illustrator Raul the Third recalls ballpoint-pen-and-Sharpie desk-drawn doodles, while the story is sketched with Spanish, inked with science facts, and colored with true friendship. With a glossary at the back to provide definitions for Spanish and science terms, this delightful book will educate and entertain in equal measure.”
In each Bookstorm™, we offer a bibliography of books that have close ties to the the featured book, Lowriders in Space. You’ll find books for a variety of tastes, interests, and reading abilities.
Car Mechanics. An assortment of books offering details and infographics about how cars work and how to build a car, suitable from primary to middle school.
Drawing Cars. A lot of learning takes place when you draw a car. A reader thinks deeply about how the car works, how the parts inter-relate, and you are tempted to look up the details to verify that you’re getting it right.
Graphic Novels. There’s a rich history of space exploration and science fiction in graphic novels. We include a few stellar (ahem) examples that are sure to intrigue your readers.
Lowriders. The lowrider culture and the artistic, mechanically-inventive cars are an intrinsic part of life in some parts of the US. You’ll find websites and books that explain more.
Novels. Science fiction for young readers isn’t plentiful, but there are excellent books in this genre. Our recommendations include a classic and several new books.
Outer Space. For some readers, the facts about outer space are paramount. Books with an overview, sticker books, up-to-date books about what we currently understand … these will interest those truth-seekers.
Picture Books. Cars and stars are favorite subjects for picture book authors and illustrators. You’ll want to discuss some of these in your classroom and offer suggestions for others as books for independent reading.
Science. Studying the skies is a lifetime of work for many scientists, and their fields of endeavor are broad and touch upon other areas of science. Their discoveries change lives. From books looking at the constellations to those answering science questions, we recommend a few gems to get you thinking.
Women Changing the World. Dolores Huerta, Sonia Sotomayor, Rad American Women A‑Z … Lupe Impala is inspirational. She will naturally lead to questions about other women who have set their sites on the stars.
Techniques for using each book:
