Mariachi Roundup

After his whirlwind trip to San Antonio, where he was unharmed by either unseasonably cold weather or the chupacabra, Gustavo kept his sombrero on and managed a successful week.

Last night I learned that the Tucson Citizen (free, registration required) has listed The Best Mariachi in the World/El Mejor Mariachi del Mundo as the first pick in a story entitled "Bilingual Books for Children Just in Time for the Holiday Season."

Two other positive reviews have appeared on specialized sites, one on on MyShelf.com and another on the modestly named yet very well-written site Mary's Blog. In addition, M. Tretiakova has written a very positive customer review on the Amazon.com page of the bilingual edition.

As if that weren't enough, I have learned that the newest country for online sales is Colombia, at Megastoregroup.com.

One theme emerging from the reviews is that boys are particularly taking to this book. For a variety of reasons it can be hard to get boys interested in books, so I am glad to help.

A couple of other non-Mariachi items should be coming up in the days ahead, including one that I am not yet at liberty to discuss . . .

Latest Mariachi Review

Some reviewers have unique rating systems.

Friend and blogger Judy Turner Williamson, wife of my friend the novelist and critic Eric Miles Williamson, reports the latest assessment from her two-year-old son:

Turner wanted his little sombrero down off the rack. He put it on his head, then ran around saying " 'Achi in the WORLD!" It took me a minute to realize he was pretending to be little Gustavo. Just now he climbed on my lap and saw the picture of your book, said "Achi Achi Achi in the world" and kissed the picture.

You have one little fan in South Texas!

Moments like that are why we write for children.