My Papi Has a Motorcycle by
Isabel Quintero lives and writes in the Inland Empire of Southern California, where she was born and raised. She attended Cal State San Bernardino where she received her B.A. in English and M.A. in Composition, and is currently an adjunct faculty instructor at two community colleges and teaches English. For fun she reads and writes, watches comedy movies, and obsesses over television crime dramas. Gabi, A Girl in Pieces, from Cinco Puntos Press, is her first novel. She is working on a few projects at the moment, one of which is a fantasy story about a young girl who is on a quest to save her family and encounters legends and folklore.
Zeke Peña makes comics and illustrations to reclaim stories and remix history. His work is a mash-up of political cartoon, border rasquache and Hip Hop culture. He was born in Las Cruces, NM and grew up in El Paso, TX. While drawing doodles in his notebooks he received a degree in Art History from the University of Texas at Austin. He recently received the 2020 Ezra Jack Keats and Pura Belpré Illustrator Honors for My Papi Has A Motorcycle and the 2017 Horn Book Award for Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide. Zeke is currently digging into family history and writing stories for future books.
You might consider highlighting the ways in which different languages express their sounds. Here are examples from this book:
| Spanish Example | English Equivalent |
|---|---|
| jajajaja (laughter) | hahahaha |
|
guau guau (dog barking) |
woof woof |
| miau (cat meowing) | meow |
For more examples, please see https://www.spanishdict.com/guide/onomatopoeia-in-spanish.
This book has examples of important Spanish words related to family and affection. Lets explore them!
papi vs. papá
Papi: daddy where papá: dad
mija
This is a shortened version of mi hija (my daughter) and is often used as a colloquial form of address especially for younger family members. In English, we would use sweetie, dear, or honey.
mi reina
This directly translates to my princess and is colloquial term of endearment.
Throughout this book, the author and illustrator utilize many commands such as:
¡Agarraté! - This is an expression you may use in place of "Hold on" or "Hold on Tight"
¡Con cuidado!- This expression can be used in many ways. A grandparent or parent may say this to their grandchild or child about to leave the house as a reminder to stay safe and to be careful. It can also be used as an expression during activities that require paying attention or proceeding with caution such as carrying something heavy or delicate, climbing a tree, embarking on a trip or even cooking in the kitchen. The term will often be used affectionately or caring. Use in place of "carefully, gently, delicately."
You will find any Spanish vocabulary from the book below with its pronunciation and English translation. Please click on a word to hear how it is pronounced.
| nopal (noh-PAHL) - prickly pear | |
| ¿(Estas) Lista? (ehs-TAHS LEES-tah) - Are you ready? | albóndiga (ahl-BOHN-dee-gah) - meatball |
| con cuidado (kohn kwee-DAH-doh) - with care/ be careful | ¿trabajando duro muchachos? (trah-bah-HAHN-doh DOO-ro moo-CHAh-chos) - Working hard, boys? |
| ¡Agarrate! (ah-GAH-rah-teh) - Hold on! / Grab on! | vamos (VAH-mos) - Let's go |
| tortillería (tohr-tee-yeh-REE-ah) | panadería (pah-nah-deh-REE-ah) - bakery |
| raspados (ras-PAH-do) - shaved ice | chicle y fresa por favor (CHEE-kleh ee FREH-sah pohr fah-BOHR) - bubblegum and strawberry (flavors) please |
| mija (MEE-hah) - dear (affectionate term) | mañana (mah-NYAH-nah) - tomorrow |
| adiós (ah-DYOS) - bye |
Summary
When Daisy Ramona zooms around her neighborhood with her papi on his motorcycle, she sees the people and places she’s always known. She also sees a community that is rapidly changing around her. But as the sun sets purple-blue-gold behind Daisy Ramona and her papi, she knows that the love she feels will always be there.
Age and Grade Level
Prevalent Themes
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