Authors on the Airwaves: Larissa Mercado-López

Mercado-López chosen as May 2017’s “Author of the Month” on Houston Public Media

Houston Public Media radio host Eric Ladau interviewed Mercado-López 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:

LARISSA MERCADO-LÓPEZ, a Texas native and the mother of four children, is a professor of Women’s Studies at California State University, Fresno. She received her doctorate in English/Latina literature from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Esteban de Luna, Baby Rescuer! / Esteban de Luna, ¡Rescatador de bebés! is her first book for children.

About her latest book, Esteban de Luna, Baby Rescuer!

Esteban wears his green cape every day. He wears it to breakfast. He wears it to the park. He even wears it to the grocery store. The only problem is that it doesn’t do anything. It doesn’t help him fly or become invisible. He decides to sell it.

Just then his mother tells him that they’re going to the park, so Esteban puts his cape back on. At the park, he sees a baby doll on the swings. Suddenly a storm blows in, and Esteban’s mom calls him to run home. If Esteban leaves the doll, it will get wet and dirty. So he wraps the doll in his cape and ties it back on. “Don’t worry, baby! I’ll save you!”

On the way home he jumps over puddles and walks under awnings to keep the baby dry. At home, he wears the doll in his cape as he plays and does his chores. That night—with the baby clean and dry—the boy feels like a superhero. He will not sell the cape after all. “From now on, I am Esteban de Luna, Baby Rescuer!”

With whimsical illustrations by Alex Pardo DeLange that depict a kind and compassionate boy, this charming bilingual picture book for children ages 4 – 8 will generate dialogue about what it means to be a boy while broadening the definition of masculinity to include tenderness and caring.