Love Those Awards #1

Charro Claus & The Tejas Kid
Written & illustrated by Xavier Garza

We love Xavier Garza's work and his vision. A native of the Rio Grande Valley, Xavier is a prolific author, artist, teacher and storyteller whose work is a lively documentation of the dreams, superstitions, and heroes in the bigger-than-life world of South Texas. Here's a very cool review of Charro Claus from the always-cool San Antonio Current:

"Even Santa Claus sends the jobs he is unable or unwilling to do to Mexico. The jolly old outsourcer enlists his primo Pancho to deliver presents along the Texas-Mexico border, and his young nephew Vincent stows away in the present sack. Pancho, dressed in a mariachi suit, pilots a wagon hauled by flying burritos (the non-delicious, non-musical sort). The simple South Texas Christmas tale is printed in both English and Spanish, allowing for several different bilingual reading opportunities, a logical choice for a book that pointedly asserts: 'Not even rain or cloudy skies or walls or wire fences keep them from crossing back and forth to El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, to Roma and Miguel Aleman, to Rio Grande City and to Camargo.' Charro Claus is the perfect gift for the children of your Minute Men relatives."

Tejas Star Book Award List, 2009-2010