¡Viva Valenzuela! by baseball reporter Nathalie Alonso (Call Me Roberto!) and illustrated by John Parra (Little Libraries, Big Heroes) passionately chronicles the endearing story of baseball player Fernando Valenzuela and his effects on the Los Angeles Latino community of the 1980s.
Mexican American Valenzuela shocked the baseball world when he unexpectedly started in the first game of his 1981 rookie season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. A young southpaw with a penchant for screwballs, he hadn't been scheduled to pitch but was summoned to fill in for an injured player. His performance was impressive and he began to make headlines on the mound: throwing complete games, setting records, and earning a spot in the All-Star Game. As his star rose, the city trembled with excitement and Fernandomania erupted. Latino Angelenos who previously took little interest in baseball "were now the biggest Dodgers fan around. They looked like Fernando, spoke like Fernando, and many were immigrants just like Fernando." Ultimately, Valenzuela's "gutsy performance in Game 3 of the 1981 World Series" proved a turning point for the Dodgers, who won their next three games against the Yankees and captured their "first championship since 1965."
Parra's distinctive acrylic-on-board art features brilliant, fully saturated colors on a textured surface, giving the illustrations a deliberately weathered look. The images superbly capture the atmosphere, action, and emotion in this touching picture book biography. Back matter offers notes from Alonso and Parra, as well as additional information on the screwball and Latinos' relationship to the Dodgers, plus a bibliography. With ¡Viva Valenzuela!, Alonso and Parra have pitched an extraordinary work every young baseball fan is sure to want to catch. --Jen Forbus, freelancer