They Call Me Güero by 
David Bowles is a Mexican American author from south Texas, where he teaches at the University of Texas Río Grande Valley. He has written several award-winning titles, most notably THE SMOKING MIRROR and THEY CALL ME GÜERO. His work has also been published in multiple anthologies, plus venues such as The New York Times, School Library Journal, Strange Horizons, English Journal, Rattle, Translation Review, and the Journal of Children's Literature. In 2017, David was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters.
Apá [ah-PAH] “pops,” shortened form of papá or “father”
Bisabuela [bee-sahb-WEL-ah] great grandmother
Brindis [BREEN-dees] a toast
Bolsitas [bol-SEE-tahs] bags of candy given out at birthday parties
Cacahuatero [kah-kah-wah-TEH-roh] someone who likes, eats, or sells peanuts
Chachalaca [chah-chah-LAH-kah] a sort of noisy bird
Colonia [koh-LOH-nyah] neighborhood, often a poor one (in the US)
Cucuy/Cucu [koo-KOO-ee] bogeyman, monster
Dichos [DEE-chos] traditional sayings
Durmiendo con los angelitos: sleeping with the little angels
Fronterizo [frohn-teh-REE-soh] person from the border
Garita [gah-REE-tah] border inspection station
Güero [WEH-roh] person with pale skin
Lechuza [leh-CHOO-sah] screech owl or (more commonly) a witch that has turned into one
Lero, lero: a taunting cry that kids use, like “nanny nanny boo boo”
Nagual [nah-WAL] shapeshifter
Papeles [pah-PEL-es] papers
Pocho [POH-choh] not quite Mexican, not quite American (potentially insulting)
Tamalada [tah-mah-LAH-thah] a gathering of loved ones to make tamales for a special occasion while having conversation.
Tejabán [teh-hah-BAHN] cheaply made wooden house
Tlacuache [tahk-WAH-cheh] opossum
Vieja racista [BYEH-hah rah-SEES-tah] racist old lady
For the full list of vocabulary, check out the back of the book!
Tlacuache (tlah-kwah-cheh)
The opossum (tlacuache) has spread more than 800 kilometers further north than its distribution at the time of the Conquest, well into the U.S. Its success has been partly due to a pacific co-existence with humans, eating garden refuse and rubbish, but not damaging crops.
Tlacuaches are nocturnal and are often seen running across the road or heard scrambling over roofs in search of potential food. They are omnivorous. A large part of their diet is insects and other invertebrates, but they also eat the eggs of chickens and wild birds, fruits and berries.
Güero (gweh-roh)
A person with pale skin and/or fair hair. It is often used as a term of endearment, or an informal way of saying "whitey" in Spanish.
Border
The Mexico–United States border (Spanish: frontera México–Estados Unidos) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from urban areas to deserts. The Mexico–United States border is the most frequently crossed border in the world, with approximately 350 million documented crossings annually. It is the tenth-longest border between two countries in the world.
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico%E2%80%93United_States_border
Summary of book
For the 12-year-old Mexican-American narrator that everyone calls Güero, the borderlands (that “strip of frontier, / home of hardy plants”) means more than home. On Saturdays, he crosses the border into Mexico with his dad and chats with the locals. He goes marketing in the boisterous pulga with Mom and listens to his abuela Mimi’s scary folktales. Seventh grade soon begins, and Güero reunites with los Bobbys (or, as his sister Teresa calls them, “los Derds—Diverse Nerds”) for some reading, mischief, and girls (a new interest). His English teacher even gets Güero interested in poetry!
Age and Reading Level
Prevalent themes
