Lucía the Luchadora by Cynthia Leonor Garza, illustrated by Alyssa Bermudez


Lucía the Luchadora by Cynthia Leonore Garza with illustrations by Alyssa Bermudez is one of those rare, great kid's books that is diverse without diversity being the subject.

Lucía zips through the playground in her red cape, clearly braver and more agile than the boys in capes who tell her that, "Girls can't be superheroes!" Hearing this makes Lucía, "spicy mad. A KA-POW kind of mad!"

But, Abuela has a secret past and something that can help Lucía. When Abu was a little girl, she was a special kind of superhero, a luchadora! Abu tells Lucía that a luchadora is, "more than a masked wrestler with swift moves, more tha just a superhero with slick style. A luchadora is agile. She moves and thinks quickly. A luchadora has moxie." With Abu's silver mask on, Lucía finds the courage to go back to the playground and show those boys just how wrong they are. 

Soon, there are all sorts of luchadoras on the playground and Lucía can't wait to play with the "crusader in a pink mask with red glittery hearts." But, before she can, she has to make a very important rescue. As the crowd cheers her on, she sees a sad face and knows what she must do. Lucía pulls off her mask and reveals her true identity to the crowd. More masks come off. The luchadoras and luchadores head off to play, together.


There is an author's note on luchadoras, luchadores and lucha libre, but kids will understand Lucía the Luchadora perfectly, whether they know or not.

Source: Review Copy 

Popular posts from this blog

Fox + Chick: The Sleepover and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier

Be a Tree! by Maria Gianferrari illustrated by Felicita Sala

Under Earth, Under Water by Aleksandra Mizielińska and Daniel Mizieliński, 112 pp, RL: ALL AGES