Cruzita and the Mariacheros

Praise for Cruzita and the Mariacheros by Ashley Granillo:

Pura Belpré Children's Author Honor Book

Cruzita is going to be a pop star. All she has to do is win a singing contest at her favorite theme park and get famous. But she can't go to the theme park this summer. Instead, she has to help out at her family's bakery, which has been struggling ever since Tío Chuy died. Cruzita's great-uncle poured his heart into the bakery--the family legacy--and now that he's gone, nothing is the same.

When Cruzita's not rolling uneven tortillas or trying to salvage rock-hard conchas, she has to take mariachi lessons, even though she doesn't know how to play her great-grandpa's violin and she's not fluent in Spanish. At first, she's convinced her whole summer will be a disaster. But as she discovers the heart and soul of mariachi music, she realizes that there's more than one way to be a star―and more than one way to carry on a legacy.

Author: Ashley Granillo
Publisher: Carolrhoda Books (R)
Published: 04/02/2024
Pages: 248
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.35h x 5.75w x 1.02d
ISBN: 9798765608500

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.7
Point Value: 8
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 550406 / Cruzita and the Mariacheros

Award: Pura Belpre Award - Honor Book

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 02/05/2024
Kirkus Reviews 03/01/2024
Booklist 03/01/2024 pg. 56
School Library Journal 04/01/2024 pg. 128
Horn Book Magazine 05/01/2024 pg. 139
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2024 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author
Granillo, Ashley: - Ashley Jean Granillo is a Mexican American writer and educator hailing from the San Fernando Valley. She has her BA and MA in Creative Writing from California State University Northridge and holds her MFA in fiction from the University of California Riverside, Palm Desert. She is also a member of Las Musas, a collective of Latinx authors whose gender identity aligns with femininity. Her short story "Besitos" was featured in Where Monsters Lurk & Magic Hides, a Latine/x short story genre anthology. Her debut middle grade novel, Cruzita and the Mariacheros (Lerner Publishing Group), was a 2025 Pura Belpré Children's Author Honor Book.