Ruiz-Flores chosen as June 2012’s “Author of the Month” on Houston Public Media
Houston Public Media radio host Eric Ladau interviewed Ruiz-Flores for its website’s “Arte Público Press Author of the Month” feature, and along with the transcript, their conversation is available to listeners on the station’s interactive site through on-demand audio streaming here.
Click here to see all Arte Público authors featured on Houston Public Media.
About the Author:
LUPE RUIZ-FLORES is the author of several bilingual picture books for children. They are: The Battle of the Snow Cones / La guerra de las raspas (Piñata Books, 2010), The Woodcutter’s Gift / El regalo del leñador (Piñata Books, 2007) and Lupita’s Papalote / El papalote de Lupita (Piñata Books, 2002). She lives and works in San Antonio, Texas.
About her latest book, Alicia’s Fruity Drinks / Las aguas frescas de Alicia
Seven-year-old Alicia and her parents are enjoying the annual festival celebrating Mexico’s independence. There are mariachis strolling across the festival grounds, folkloric dancers twirling in their colorful costumes and brightly colored booths lining the plaza.
But the hot day has made Alicia thirsty. Her mother suggests aguas frescas and points to a booth lined with jars of brightly colored fruit juice: there’s watermelon, strawberry, mango, and even papaya. The watermelon juice is so delicious that Alicia drinks it all. “Mami, this tastes better than that red soda I drink after soccer practice. Can we make some of these at home?” Soon, Alicia is perfecting her own recipe and sharing it with her teammates after soccer practices and games.
In this bilingual picture book for children ages 5-8, a young girl discovers a treat from her mother’s Mexican-American childhood and becomes her friends’ favorite player with her healthy, frothy fruit drinks.