Muffler Man / El hombre mofle
$7.95
by Tito Campos
Illustrations by Lamberto & Beto Alvarez
ISBN: 978-1-5588-5557-1
Publication Date: 2001
Pages: 32
Imprint: Piñata Books
Ages: 3-7
Trim: 8 ½ X 11
Format: Paperback
* A bilingual picture book about the pursuit of the American Dream
* The book emphasizes the value in discarded and forgotten things.
* Portrays the close relationship of an immigrant family and their community of origin
Available
Battered tin, pieces of metal, and scraps in a muffler shop
inspire a young man and his family to believe in the American dream.
Young Chuy García longs to join his father, who has left Mexico in search of a better life for his family in the United States. To save money for the trip north, Chuy convinces his father’s former employer at the local muffler shop to hire him to do odds and ends. There, Chuy learns something new about his father: he is the artist who made the Muffler Man, a metal statue that stands in front of the shop inviting customers inside.
Once in the United States with his father, though, Chuy is surprised to find that life is more difficult than expected. Inspired by his father’s art, the tin figures fashioned together out of scrap metal pieces found scattered about the shop, Chuy helps his father find a way to prosper in their new homeland.
Muffler Man/El hombre mofle celebrates a unique form of Latino folk art, and the role it plays in the life of a young boy who won’t take no for an answer. This story for readers aged 3 to 7 inspires the dreamer in us all.
