Lupe Lopez: Rock Star Rules!

by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo, Pat Zietlow Miller, Joe Cepeda (Illustrator)

Overview

When a sassy drummer starts kindergarten, the rules of school cramp her style. What’s a young rock star to do?

When Lupe Lopez struts through the doors of Hector P. Garcia Elementary in sunglasses with two taped-up Number 2 pencils—drumsticks, of course—poking from her pocket, her confidence is off the charts. All day, Lupe drums on desks, tables, and chairs while Ms. Quintanilla reminds her of school rules. Lupe has her own rules: 1) Don’t listen to anyone. 2) Make lots of noise. ¡Rataplán! 3) Have fans, not friends. But with her new teacher less than starstruck, and fans hard to come by, Lupe wonders if having friends is such a bad idea after all. Can it be that true star power means knowing when to share the spotlight? With its spirited illustrations and a simple text threaded through with Spanish words, this picture book is proof positive that being a strong girl moving to her own beat doesn’t have to mean pushing others away.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536209549
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	06/28/2022
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	285,010
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD530L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

e. E. Charlton-Trujillo is a filmmaker and author of the award-winning young-adult novel Fat Angie and its sequels, Fat Angie: Rebel Girl Revolution and Fat Angie: Homecoming. They live in California.

Pat Zietlow Miller is the author of the New York Times best-selling Be Kind, My Brother the Duck, and other books for young readers. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

Joe Cepeda is an award-winning illustrator of more than thirty books for children. Born and raised in East Los Angeles, he lives in Southern California.

Editorial Reviews

08/01/2022

Drummer Lupe Lopez, a “real-life, Texas-size rock star” portrayed with brown skin, has a rebellious, big-ego persona—and discovers on the first day of kindergarten that it’s the complete opposite of what classroom life requires. Ms. Quintanilla promptly lists rules for being a “school rock star”: listen to your teacher, use your inside voice, and be a friend. Lupe’s asked to refrain from wearing sunglasses inside, drumming anywhere she pleases, and shouting “¡Soy Famosa!” in the lunchroom. What’s more, Charlton-Trujillo and Zietlow Miller reveal, her peers are not interested in being her personal fan club. In adhering to the rules, Lupe becomes more approachable, even learning that her classmates, who appreciate her talent, are eager to start a band. Employing Spanish words and onomatopoeia, and Cepeda’s full-bleed, sunshine-bright cartoons, this story assures even the most exuberant kid that they can master the big social-emotional task of kindergarten: holding onto individuality while becoming part of a community. Ages 3–7. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Spanish-inflected onomatopoeia describing drumbeats jumps out of the text and makes a bold statement, just like Lupe herself. . . . . Cepeda’s full-bleed spreads are immersive and inviting. . . An instructive story about balancing big dreams with real life, with a charming heroine to root for.

—Kirkus Reviews

Employing Spanish words and onomatopoeia, and Cepeda’s full-bleed, sunshine-bright cartoons, this story assures even the most exuberant kid that they can master the big social-emotional task of kindergarten: holding onto individuality while becoming part of a community.
—Publishers Weekly

Lupe Lopez: Rock Star Rules is a fun, fresh addition to the back-to-school picture book canon. It’s perfect for young readers who march to the beat of their own drums but may benefit from a gentle reminder to respect the needs of others around them. . . Lupe is the brainchild of a picture book dream team. . . Together, Charlton-Trujillo, Zietlow Miller and Cepeda have created an unforgettable heroine who will leap off the page and right onto your bookshelf.
—BookPage

From the Publisher

2022-01-25
A future rock star will not be silenced.

Brown-skinned Latina Lupe Lopez isn’t just ready to go to kindergarten—she’s ready to be the star of kindergarten. Armed with “drumsticks” (really pencils), she marches into the classroom intent on making a splash, until Ms. Quintanilla tells her that school has rules. Instead of gaining instant celebrity, Lupe becomes the first kid in kindergarten to get in trouble. Not to be deterred, however, she forges ahead with her own rock-star rules, like making noise at lunch with makeshift drums and starting an after-school fan club for herself…whose first meeting nobody attends. Dejected, Lupe spends the second day of kindergarten feeling miserable in her ordinariness until she finds a happy medium. Spanish-inflected onomatopoeia describing drumbeats jumps out of the text and makes a bold statement, just like Lupe herself. The mostly light brown–skinned students and adults are authentic to the book’s Texas setting, and Spanish words are scattered throughout. Charlton-Trujillo and Miller’s narrative always respects Lupe’s personality, never making her a joke. Cepeda’s full-bleed spreads are immersive and inviting, while cut-out illustrations surrounded by white space convey the sense of isolation Lupe feels when she is made to tone down her antics.(This book was reviewed digitally.)

An instructive story about balancing big dreams with real life, with a charming heroine to root for. (Picture book. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews