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Paperback Original. Be careful growing up in the green, wet, mango-sweet Mexican village of Rosario, where dead corpses rise up out of cathedral walls; where vast silver mines beneath the town occasionally collapse, causing a whole section of the village to drop out of sight; where Mr. Mendoza wields his paintbrush as the town’s self-appointed conscience.
Magic realism, you say to yourself. Luis Alberto Urrea says, "No, NOT magical realism. It’s simply how kids grow up in Mexico. Especially if you’re a boy." And the part about Mr. Mendoza is really true: He brandishes his magical paintbrush everywhere, painting graffiti to singe the hearts and souls of trouble-making boys (especially if he catches a boy peeping at the girls bathing in the river). He’ll steal the villain’s pants and paint PERVERT on his naked buttocks. And, finally, one day Mr. Mendoza’s paintbrush creates a miraculous event that no one in Rosario ever forgets!
"Starred Review. An enchanting exploration of life's myriad mysteries." - Kirkus Reviews
"This lovely comics adaptation of a short story by major Latino writer Urrea may have found the ideal way to present magical realism graphically." - Publishers Weekly
"A gem for libraries, especially those seeking Latino-themed titles. High school age and up." - Library Journal
"Some scenes are laugh-aloud funny, others thrillingly chilling, and the whole a fable-like memoir that should win Urrea and Cardinale a large, welcoming audience." - Booklist
This information about Mr. Mendoza's Paintbrush was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
photo: Joe Mazza Brave-Lux
Hailed by NPR as a "literary badass" and a "master storyteller with a rock and roll heart," Luis Alberto Urrea is a prolific and acclaimed writer who uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss and triumph.
A 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction and a Guggenheim fellow, Urrea is the critically acclaimed and best-selling author of 19 books, winning numerous awards for his poetry, fiction and essays. Born in Tijuana to a Mexican father and American mother, Urrea is most recognized as a border writer, though he says, "I am more interested in bridges, not borders."
Urrea's book, Good Night, Irene, takes as inspiration his mother's own Red Cross service. With its affecting and uplifting portrait of friendship and valor in harrowing circumstances,...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Urrea & Cardinale's Website
Name Pronunciation
Urrea & Cardinale: oo-Ray-ah
At times, our own light goes out, and is rekindled by a spark from another person.
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