Books by Pablo Cartaya

Tina Cocolina: Queen of the Cupcakes

by Pablo Cartaya, Martin Howard

Fans of Fancy Nancy and Pinkalicious will adore Tina Cocolina, a sweet little cupcake of a girl with a sense of adventure and a flair for fashion who’s on the hunt for her perfect topping. This mouthwatering picture book includes cupcake and frosting recipes from an award-winning pastry chef, maestro Martin Howard.

Each Tiny Spark

by Pablo Cartaya

From award-winning author Pablo Cartaya comes a deeply moving middle grade novel about a daughter and father finding their way back to each other in the face of their changing family and community.

A SCHNEIDER FAMILY BOOK AWARD HONOR FOR MIDDLE GRADE

Emilia Torres has a wandering mind. It's hard for her to follow along at school, and sometimes she forgets to do what her mom or abuela asks. But she remembers what matters: a time when her family was whole and home made sense. When Dad returns from deployment, Emilia expects that her life will get back to normal. Instead, it unravels.

Dad shuts himself in the back stall of their family's auto shop to work on an old car. Emilia peeks in on him daily, mesmerized by his welder. One day, Dad calls Emilia over. Then, he teaches her how to weld. And over time, flickers of her old dad reappear.

But as Emilia finds a way to repair the relationship with her father at home, her community ruptures with some of her classmates, like her best friend, Gus, at the center of the conflict.

Each Tiny Spark by Pablo Cartaya is a tender story about asking big questions and being brave enough to reckon with the answers.

Each Tiny Spark

by Pablo Cartaya

From award-winning author Pablo Cartaya comes a deeply moving middle grade novel about a daughter and father finding their way back to each other in the face of their changing family and community.

Emilia Torres has a wandering mind. It's hard for her to follow along at school, and sometimes she forgets to do what her mom or abuela asks. But she remembers what matters: a time when her family was whole and home made sense. When Dad returns from deployment, Emilia expects that her life will get back to normal. Instead, it unravels.

Dad shuts himself in the back stall of their family's auto shop to work on an old car. Emilia peeks in on him daily, mesmerized by his welder. One day, Dad calls Emilia over. Then, he teaches her how to weld. And over time, flickers of her old dad reappear. But as Emilia finds a way to repair the relationship with her father at home, her community ruptures with some of her classmates, like her best friend, Gus, at the center of the conflict.

Each Tiny Spark by Pablo Cartaya is a tender story about asking big questions and being brave enough to reckon with the answers.

A Hero's Guide to Summer Vacation

by Pablo Cartaya

Reality proves more epic than fantasy in this family road trip story starring a reluctant young hero and his curmudgeonly grandfather.

Gonzalo Alberto Sánchez García has never considered himself the hero of his own story. He’s an observer, quietly snapshotting landscapes and drawing the creatures he imagines emerging from them. Forced to spend the summer with his estranged grandfather, Alberto William García—the very famous reclusive author—Gonzalo didn’t expect to learn that heroes and monsters are not only the stuff of fantasy.

But that’s precisely what happens when Gonzalo’s CEO mother, Veronica, sends Alberto on tour to promote the final book in his fantasy series for children and Gonzalo must tag along, even though he feels no connection to his grandfather or the books. Together, they embark on a cross-country road trip from Mendocino to Miami in a classic 1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass S Convertible named Mathilde. Over the course of ten epic days on the highway, they will slay demons, real and imagined; confront old stories to write new ones; and learn what it truly means to show up for your family.

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora

by Pablo Cartaya

A 2018 Pura Belpré Author Honor Book

Save the restaurant. Save the town. Get the girl. Make Abuela proud. Can thirteen-year-old Arturo Zamora do it all or is he in for a BIG, EPIC FAIL?

For Arturo, summertime in Miami means playing basketball until dark, sipping mango smoothies, and keeping cool under banyan trees. And maybe a few shifts as junior lunchtime dishwasher at Abuela’s restaurant. Maybe. But this summer also includes Carmen, a poetry enthusiast who moves into Arturo’s apartment complex and turns his stomach into a deep fryer. He almost doesn’t notice the smarmy land developer who rolls into town and threatens to change it. Arturo refuses to let his family and community go down without a fight, and as he schemes with Carmen, Arturo discovers the power of poetry and protest through untold family stories and the work of José Martí.

Funny and poignant, The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora is the vibrant story of a family, a striking portrait of a town, and one boy's quest to save both, perfect for fans of Rita Williams-Garcia.

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora

by Pablo Cartaya

A 2018 Pura Belpré Author Honor Book

Save the restaurant. Save the town. Get the girl. Make Abuela proud. Can thirteen-year-old Arturo Zamora do it all or is he in for a BIG, EPIC FAIL?

For Arturo, summertime in Miami means playing basketball until dark, sipping mango smoothies, and keeping cool under banyan trees. And maybe a few shifts as junior lunchtime dishwasher at Abuela’s restaurant. Maybe. But this summer also includes Carmen, a poetry enthusiast who moves into Arturo’s apartment complex and turns his stomach into a deep fryer. He almost doesn’t notice the smarmy land developer who rolls into town and threatens to change it. Arturo refuses to let his family and community go down without a fight, and as he schemes with Carmen, Arturo discovers the power of poetry and protest through untold family stories and the work of José Martí.

Funny and poignant, The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora is the vibrant story of a family, a striking portrait of a town, and one boy's quest to save both, perfect for fans of Rita Williams-Garcia.

A Little Bit Super: With Small Powers Come Big Problems

by Gary D. Schmidt, Nikki Grimes, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Pam Muñoz Ryan, Linda Sue Park, Mitali Perkins, Ibi Zoboi, Leah Henderson, Kyle Lukoff, Daniel Nayeri, Pablo Cartaya, Meg Medina, Remy Lai, Brian Young

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Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish

by Pablo Cartaya

One boy's search for his father leads him to Puerto Rico in this moving-middle grade novel, for fans of Ghost and See You in the Cosmos.

Marcus Vega is six feet tall, 180 pounds, and the owner of a premature mustache. When you look like this and you're only in the eighth grade, you're both a threat and a target. After a fight at school leaves Marcus facing suspension, Marcus's mom decides it's time for a change of environment. She takes Marcus and his younger brother to Puerto Rico to spend a week with relatives they don't remember or have never met. But Marcus can't focus knowing that his father--who walked out of their lives ten years ago--is somewhere on the island.

So begins Marcus's incredible journey, a series of misadventures that take him all over Puerto Rico in search of his elusive namesake. Marcus doesn't know if he'll ever find his father, but what he ultimately discovers changes his life. And he even learns a bit of Spanish along the way.

Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish

by Pablo Cartaya

One boy's search for his father leads him to Puerto Rico in this moving middle-grade novel, for fans of Ghost and See You in the Cosmos.

Marcus Vega is six feet tall, 180 pounds, and the owner of a premature mustache. When you look like this and you're only in the eighth grade, you're both a threat and a target.

After a fight at school leaves Marcus facing suspension, Marcus's mom decides it's time for a change of environment. She takes Marcus and his younger brother to Puerto Rico to spend a week with relatives they don't remember or have never met. But Marcus can't focus knowing that his father--who walked out of their lives ten years ago--is somewhere on the island.

So begins Marcus's incredible journey, a series of misadventures that take him all over Puerto Rico in search of his elusive namesake. Marcus doesn't know if he'll ever find his father, but what he ultimately discovers changes his life. And he even learns a bit of Spanish along the way.

El épico fracaso de Arturo Zamora / The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora (Spanish Edition)

by Pablo Cartaya

Salvar el restaurante. Salvar la ciudad. Conseguir a la chica. Hacer sentir orgullosa a su abuela. ¿Puede Arturo Zamora, de trece años, hacerlo todo o está por enfrentarse a un ÉPICO FRACASO?

Para Arturo, el verano en Miami significa jugar a baloncesto hasta el anochecer, beber batidos de mango y mantenerse fresco bajo la sombra de los árboles. Y tal vez también hacer algún turno como lavaplatos en el restaurante de su abuela. Tal vez. Pero este verano también incluye a Carmen, una chica que ama la poesía y que se muda a los apartamentos de Arturo y que convierte su estómago en una freidora. Hasta el punto de que casi no se da cuenta del promotor inmobiliario que llega a la ciudad y amenaza con cambiarla. Arturo se niega a dejar que su familia y su comunidad caigan sin luchar, y mientras trama un plan de acción con Carmen, Arturo descubre el poder de la poesía y la protesta a través de historias familiares y de los textos de José Martí.

Divertido y conmovedor, El épico fracaso de Arturo Zamora es la vibrante historia de una familia y el sorprendente retrato de una ciudad; y de la determinación de un niño por salvar a ambas.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

A 2018 Pura Belpré Author Honor Book
Save the restaurant. Save the town. Get the girl. Make Abuela proud. Can thirteen-year-old Arturo Zamora do it all or is he in for a BIG, EPIC FAIL?

For Arturo, summertime in Miami means playing basketball until dark, sipping mango smoothies, and keeping cool under banyan trees. And maybe a few shifts as junior lunchtime dishwasher at Abuela’s restaurant. Maybe. But this summer also includes Carmen, a poetry enthusiast who moves into Arturo’s apartment complex and turns his stomach into a deep fryer. He almost doesn’t notice the smarmy land developer who rolls into town and threatens to change it. Arturo refuses to let his family and community go down without a fight, and as he schemes with Carmen, Arturo discovers the power of poetry and protest through untold family stories and the work of José Martí.

Funny and poignant, The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora is the vibrant story of a family, a striking portrait of a town, and one boy’s quest to save both, perfect for fans of Rita Williams-Garcia.

Curveball

by Pablo Cartaya

Roller Girl meets Cardboard Kingdom in this original, contemporary graphic novel for kids, from the New York Times best-selling and award-winning author of A Hero's Guide to Summer Vacation, Pablo Cartaya, in partnership with New York Times best-selling illustrator Miguel Diaz Rivas.

Baseball is Elena Rueda's entire life- She may be the only girl on her team, but she's the best player and everyone knows it. Except . . . Elena has stopped having fun, and it's time to leave the sport behind.

The problem is, Elena has no idea who she is without a bat in her hand. Can a summer spent with her brother's quirky friends in an empty sandlot that offers a world of possibility show Elena who she is-and teach her to love to play again?

"Sure to be a heartwarming hit." -Johnnie Christmas, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Swim Team

The Last Beekeeper

by Pablo Cartaya

Jane Addams Children's Book Award for Younger Children Finalist

Texas Bluebonnet Award List 2022-23

Facing a world dually altered by climate change and those who profit from it, Yolanda Cicerón will have to fight to save the last known beehive from extinction in this stirring new adventure by award-winning author Pablo Cartaya.

In a future shaken by climate disasters, Yolanda Cicerón knows that nature is something to be feared. While life in the Valley is brutal and harsh, Yoly dreams of leaving her farm to live in Silo--the most advanced town for miles around. But first, Yoly will need to prove she belongs in a place where only the smartest and most useful are welcomed.

Between her razor-sharp smarts and sheer determination, Yoly is well on her way until she discovers her family can no longer afford her schooling. When forced to take matters into her own hands, the closer she gets to securing her future, the more she uncovers the dangers lying inside Silo's walls--ones that threaten the entire Valley.

As she cracks long-guarded secrets, Yoly, along with those closest to her, is put in grave peril, and the only chance of surviving may lie in the rediscovery of a long-extinct species--the honeybee. Can the last surviving beehive be the key to pulling the Valley out from under Silo's thumb, or will they destroy what remains of Yoly's future?