Overview

From two-time Paralympic gold medalist Patty Cisneros Prevo and award-winning illustrator Mirelle Ortega comes a slam-dunk bilingual picture book about a wheelchair basketball player and her search for belonging—perfect for fans of Just Ask! It’s Apolonia’s birthday, and she can’t wait to celebrate with her teammates and her cousins. Mamá’s rented extra wheelchairs so her primas can join her for a game of wheelchair basketball, and Papá’s making arracheras and tres leches cake for all of her guests. But as the party approaches, Apolonia starts to worry that her two worlds are on a collision course. Her teammates want pizza and ice cream, and her cousins think wheelchair basketball sounds weird. Apolonia wonders if this birthday party is a mistake, but with a little help from Mamá, she realizes that her community wants to celebrate her—every part of her. In this beautiful bilingual story, two-time Paralympic gold medalist Patty Cisneros Prevo and award-winning illustrator Mirelle Ortega explore the fears many kids have about fitting in and recognize the joy of being celebrated for exactly who they are.

Full Product Details

9781419772849

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Reviews

Readers navigating multiple cultural identities will empathize with Apolonia's conflicting feelings, and disabled readers will welcome the acknowledgment that being disabled in a nondisabled family can be lonely. All will cheer for Apolonia...A heartwarming story of family and belonging. * Kirkus Reviews * A heartfelt, relatable story that celebrates friendship, family, and self acceptance, this picture book offers readers both emotional resonance and strong representation of disability and cultural identity. * Booklist *

""Readers navigating multiple cultural identities will empathize with Apolonia’s conflicting feelings, and disabled readers will welcome the acknowledgment that being disabled in a nondisabled family can be lonely. All will cheer for Apolonia…A heartwarming story of family and belonging."" * Kirkus Reviews *

Readers navigating multiple cultural identities will empathize with Apolonia's conflicting feelings, and disabled readers will welcome the acknowledgment that being disabled in a nondisabled family can be lonely. All will cheer for Apolonia...A heartwarming story of family and belonging. * Kirkus Reviews *

Author Information

Three-time Paralympian Patty Cisneros Prevo was a member of the U.S. Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team for 10 years. As captain in 2008, she led Team USA to its second consecutive gold medal after winning gold in 2004. In 2021, Cisneros Prevo was appointed to the Congressional Commission on the State of the U.S. Olympics & Paralympics. Cisneros Prevo’s first picture book, Tenacious: Fifteen Adventures Alongside Disabled Athletes, focuses on 15 individuals with physical disabilities and their major life and athletic accomplishments. Mirelle Ortega is a Mexican storyteller and author-illustrator of River of Mariposas and Magic: Once Upon a Faraway Land, for which she received a Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor. She now lives in Los Angeles, California.

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