A Crazy Mixed-Up Spanglish Day

Scholastic, Inc.
ISBN 0-439-47519-8
$3.99/Canada $5.50
Chapter Book
128 pages
Ages 7 to 10

Illustrations copyright 2003 by Joe Cepeda

That's Gabí, not Gabi. As in Ga-BEE. With an accent. But you'll have to read the book to find out why!

WATCH OUT WORLD! ¡GABÍ ESTÁ AQUÍ!
(THAT MEANS: GABÍ IS HERE!)

With her friends and familia by her side, Gabí is ready for anything ... sort of. Her worst enemy, Johnny Wiley, is driving her crazy. He makes fun of her name. He picks on her friends. And now Gabí has to spend a whole entire month working with him on a school project.

Gabí's so mad she can hardly even talk. Her English words keep getting jumbled up with her Spanish words. Now she's speaking a mix of both, and no one knows what she's saying. Will Gabí ever make sense again? Or will she be tongue-tied forever?

Joe Cepeda was presented with the ALA's 2002 Pura Belpré Honor Book Award for illustration for his artwork in Juan Bobo Goes to Work (also written by Marisa Montes). He has illustrated award-winning picture books for Scholastic such as Mice and Beans, What a Truly Cool World, and Gracias, the Thanksgiving Turkey. He also creates paintings and drawings for book jackets, magazines, and newspapers. Joe likes Gabí's attitude, but he really relates to Papi because he's an "absentminded kind of guy." Joe says "I'm like that...I could put a tool in the refrigerator." Joes lives in southern California with his wife and son (who looks sort of like Gabí's little brother, Miguelito).