Happy Birthday, Poco Loco!

by J. R. Krause, Maria Chua, J. R. Krause (Illustrator)

Overview

Poco loves birthdays and he loves inventing things. But for some reason, his birthdays don’t usually go well. So this time, he’s ready for the big day. He invites his amigos over and fires up a new invention, the Cake-Baking Bunk Bed! Nothing goes quite the way it’s supposed to, though, and suddenly Poco and his pals are in for one loco party!

Sprinkled with Spanish words, this vibrantly illustrated birthday adventure also features a glossary at the beginning.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781477826386
Publisher:	Amazon Publishing
Publication date:	04/19/2016
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD560L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

J. R. Krause and Maria Chua are a husband-and-wife team living in Southern California. Together, they are the authors of Poco Loco. Maria attended the University of Madrid, Spain, and lived in Mexico. She is a bilingual psychiatric social worker in Los Angeles. J. R. is an artist, designer, and animator working in television. Currently he is a designer for The Simpsons. To learn more, visit www.jrkrause.com.

Editorial Reviews

02/08/2016
In Krause and Chua’s follow-up to Poco Loco (2013), the eponymous, disaster-prone ratón uses his birthday fiesta to show off his latest invention: the Cake-Baking Bunk Bed. What could go wrong? For starters, Robo-Vacuum, Poco Loco’s robotic vacuum cleaner, begins devouring cake after cake, overloading the machine: “Robo-Vacuum adds mucho más leche, harina, azúcar, and huevos. It cranks the power to máximo.” As the house is drenched in a torrent of pink frosting, Poco Loco attempts to locate his missing friends. The characters speak in an organic hybrid of Spanish and English (a glossary, with pronunciations, appears at the front of the book), and the in-your-face digital artwork makes the most of the unabashedly silly story line. Ages 3–7. Agent: Jennifer Mattson, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

2016-01-20
What has that crazy ratón Poco Loco got planned for his birthday? Poco Loco loves to invent wacky but useful things, such as his Robo-Vacuum and his Motorcycle Mop. Last year's birthday party was a disaster (exploding piñata), so Poco has made very careful preparations for a great party with his friends Gato, Gallo, Cerdo, and Vaca. Poco has made a Cake-Baking Bunk Bed to mechanize the baking. However, Poco didn't count on Robo-Vacuum's love of cake! Robo-Vacuum sets the bed to make ever larger cakes, downing them all until an explosion of batter and frosting covers everyone. Can Poco Loco use his Pogo Pencil, Flashlight Fishing Rod, and other inventions to find his friends and clean up? And what about a pastel for his party? Is this birthday ruined too? Following the pattern they successfully set in Poco Loco (2013), husband-and-wife team Krause and Chua team in another frenetic and funny tale sprinkled with plenty of Spanish words (pronunciation and translation included in a glossary at the front). Krause's experience on The Simpsons TV show is evident in the bright, busy, full-bleed illustrations. Poco's enthusiasm will be infectious to audiences of all sizes. ¡Que rico! Mucho más, por favor. (Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews