Tradewind Books

Viva Zapata

by Emilie Smith,Margarita Kenefic Tejada

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Description

This humorous story is about an incident the childhood of the Mexican revolutionary hero, Emiliano Zapata. After Emiliano's pony is stolen, he manages to track down the bandits and recover his horse. Along the way he learns about the difficult lives of the people of Mexico.

Themes: Mexico, Mexican Revolution

Awards

• Finalist for the Chocolate Lily Award (BC Readers' Choice) 2010
• Selected as the Year's Best Picture Books by Resource Links magazine 2009

Reviews

“This charming, humorous tale with its striking black and white illustrations stands on its own merits, but an afterword provides contextual information that enlarges the story considerably." The Global and Mail

“With the vitality and starkness of fable, simple black-and-white illustrations accompany a brief historical fiction for early readers about a run-in between horse thieves and a nine-year-old boy named Emiliano Zapata, who is already acting on the egalitarian instincts that will one day turn him into a legendary Mexican revolutionary.” The Georgia Straight

Author Biography

Emilie Smith was born in Argentina and now divides her time between Vancouver, B.C and Guatemala.  She wrote this story with her friend, Margarita Kenefic Tejada who lives in Guatemala. They met many years ago when they were both living in a Mexican village about a day’s horeseback ride from Emiliano's home. 

Margarita Kenefic Tejada is a playwright living in Guatemala.

Illustrator Biography

Stefan Czernecki was born in a refugee camp in Germany and now lives in a small glass apartment one hundred and fifty feet above the ground. For inspiration he travels to faraway places like Tokyo, Mexico City, New York and Marrakesh. Sometimes he just takes a walk around the block. A number of his books are inspired by folk art and set in other countries. He won the Aesop Accolade, the American Folklore Society Award, in 1997.