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| Book cover retrieved from publisher's website at https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250062703 |
Morales, Y. (2013). Niño wrestles the world. New York, NY: Roaring Brook Press.
ISBN: 978-1-59643-604-6
Plot Summary
Famous monsters and villains from Mexican lore are no match for Niño, the fierce little boy who uses his creativity and imagination to beat his opponents in a lucha libre wrestling match. But can he beat his toughest opponents yet: his little sisters?
Characters
The characters in Niño Wrestles the World authentically represent different myths and legends of Latinx culture. The reader meets La Llorona, the weeping woman of legend, the Mummy of Guanajuato, and El Extraterrestre, who is most definitely an alien from outer space. While these characters could be the stuff of nightmares, Morales draws them in a delightfully playful manner, such as playing marbles or slipping on popsicles, to make them funny rather than scary.
Later in the story, the reader also meets Niño’s two little sisters. At first they seem to be beating him in a lucha libre wrestling match, but then Niño decides that it is better to play with them rather than against them. This reinforces the importance of family, a value that predominates Latinx culture.
Setting
Set partly in Niño’s room and partly in his vivid imagination, the setting serves to help the reader realize that the monsters Niño battles aren’t real. Had it been set in a more serious setting, like a graveyard or similarly spooky place, this story would have a very different feel. The puzzle pieces and building blocks strewn about each scene let the reader know that the monsters are Niño’s own creations in his imaginative play. This helps younger readers become acquainted with some of the darker characters in Latinx legend in a safe and nonthreatening way.
Illustrations
The illustrations in Niño Wrestles the World are bright and modern. The speech bubbles and onomatopoeic sounds give it a cartoon-like feel. Morales includes little details in the illustrations that add authenticity to the book, such as a popsicle sporting the colors of the Mexican flag and Niño’s lucha libre mask.
In one illustration, Niño offers up two toy dolls to La Llorona. These dolls are clearly representing other cultures, as one appears to be a Native American doll in deerskin clothing and the other looks like an African American doll with her hair in a cap. Their inclusion in the illustrations is important; Morales is helping to normalize the idea that children should play with dolls of all skin tones. However, the stereotypes of other cultures portrayed by those dolls may be hurtful to the very cultures Morales is trying to include. While it is a minor point that some children may not even notice, awareness of these stereotypes is the first step towards learning greater cultural sensitivity.
Theme
The theme of this story is joy. Niño joyfully and playfully conquers one opponent after another, each time with a child’s game or toy. The smirk on his face as he defeats each monster tells the reader that he is having fun. Even when his little sisters are climbing all over him and he wonders how he will win, he still is giggling as they tickle him. The vivid colors Morales uses also help support the feeling of pure childlike happiness from the first to the last page of this story. Joy and humor play an important role in Latinx culture and often appear as themes in Latinx literature.
Cultural Markers
Morales is highly qualified to write about the Latinx experience. Growing up in Mexico and immigrating to the United States in 1994, Morales is intimately familiar with Mexican culture because it is also her culture (Macmillan Speakers, n.d.). Her descriptions and illustrations of lucha libre and of the monsters of Latinx lore reflect how much Morales values her heritage.
Furthermore, the author includes extra cultural information for the reader in the endpapers. These descriptions tell a little about each creature from Latinx folklore and even include pronunciations of their Spanish names so that non-Spanish speakers reading aloud can pronounce their names properly.
One of the best features of this story is the author’s seamless interweaving of English and Spanish. Most of the Spanish words used are given appropriate context such that their meaning can be discerned from the text; in the instances where a translation is needed, it is unobtrusive and flows naturally. For example, when introducing each character, the narrator uses their English names in speaking to the reader, while their Spanish names are used in the title of the match. The author also uses an all-caps font to make the title of each wrestling match stand out.
Connections/Activities
One fun way to connect children with the story, especially in the autumn, would be to decorate pumpkins like lucha libre masks to display in the classroom or library. For a less time-consuming activity or to provide inspiration, students can also color and cut out lucha libre masks of the monsters in the story. The author has printable masks for each character on her website at http://www.yuyimorales.com/nino_masks.html
For another fun connection to the book, students can listen to the author read her book aloud:
References:
Macmillan Speakers. (n.d.) Yuyi Morales. Retrieved from https://www.macmillanspeakers.com/speaker/yuyi-morales/
Scholastic. (2013, September 26). Yuyi Morales reads Niño Wrestles the World [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPmmh_h2c9U
[Untitled picture of Niño Wrestles the World book cover]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.yuyimorales.com/nino_masks.html
Follow the links below for more of my Latinx book reviews:
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Funny Bones by Duncan Tonatiuh