HOUSTON, TX May 2018—Alidis Vicente’s bilingual “flip” book for intermediate readers, The Case of the Three Kings / El caso de los Reyes Magos, was selected for inclusion in the 2018-2019 Tejas Star Reading List. The Tejas Star Reading List (TSRL) is developed to encourage children ages 5-12 to explore multicultural books and to discover the cognitive and economic benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism. Sponsored by the Texas Library Association, the TSRL is intended for recreational reading and not to support a specific curriculum.
In the second installment of Alidis Vicente’s bilingual series, The Flaca Files / Los expedientes de Flaca, a spunky young Latina investigates the suspicious logistics of Three Kings Day while on vacation with her family. Flaca, or Detective Flaca as she prefers to be called, is not at all pleased with the airline tickets to Puerto Rico she and her sister are given for Christmas. She has case deadlines to meet! Their parents are sure the girls will enjoy celebrating Three Kings Day, which takes place on January 6 and involves putting grass in a box under the bed for the wise men’s camels. Three men on flying camels sounds dubious to Detective Flaca, who once again is faced with a case begging to be solved. Narrated in hard-boiled detective style, this short, bilingual novel for intermediate readers will appeal to seasoned and reluctant readers alike.
ALIDIS VICENTE is the author of The Missing Chancleta and Other Top Secret Cases: The Flaca Files / La chancleta perdida y otros casos secretos: Los expedientes de Flaca (Piñata Books, 2013), The Shameless Shenanigans of Mister Malo / Las terribles travesuras de Mister Malo: The Mister Malo Series / Serie Mister Malo (Piñata Books, 2017), and two picture books, The Coquí and the Iguana (Operation Outreach-USA Press, 2011) and Violet (Operation Outreach-USA Press, 2014). She received her bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and worked for New Jersey’s Division of Youth and Family Services. She lives with her family in New Jersey.