Mr. Mendoza's Paintbrush: Book summary and reviews of Mr. Mendoza's Paintbrush by Urrea & Cardinale

Mr. Mendoza's Paintbrush Summary

Paperback Original. Be careful growing up in the green, wet, mango-sweet Mexican village of Rosario, where dead corpses rise up out of cathedral walls; where vast silver mines beneath the town occasionally collapse, causing a whole section of the village to drop out of sight; where Mr. Mendoza wields his paintbrush as the town’s self-appointed conscience.

Magic realism, you say to yourself. Luis Alberto Urrea says, "No, NOT magical realism. It’s simply how kids grow up in Mexico. Especially if you’re a boy." And the part about Mr. Mendoza is really true: He brandishes his magical paintbrush everywhere, painting graffiti to singe the hearts and souls of trouble-making boys (especially if he catches a boy peeping at the girls bathing in the river). He’ll steal the villain’s pants and paint PERVERT on his naked buttocks. And, finally, one day Mr. Mendoza’s paintbrush creates a miraculous event that no one in Rosario ever forgets!

Mr. Mendoza's Paintbrush Reviews

"Starred Review. An enchanting exploration of life's myriad mysteries." - Kirkus Reviews

"This lovely comics adaptation of a short story by major Latino writer Urrea may have found the ideal way to present magical realism graphically." - Publishers Weekly

"A gem for libraries, especially those seeking Latino-themed titles. High school age and up." - Library Journal

"Some scenes are laugh-aloud funny, others thrillingly chilling, and the whole a fable-like memoir that should win Urrea and Cardinale a large, welcoming audience." - Booklist

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Urrea & Cardinale Author Biography

Luis Alberto Urrea is a Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction, winner of the Pacific Rim Kiriyama Prize for fiction, the Edgar award from the Mystery Writers of America for best short story and many other literary awards. Born in Tijuana, Mexico to a Mexican father and an American mother, Urrea has published extensively in fiction, short stories and poetry, and is a member of the Latin Literature Hall of Fame. Urrea lives with his family in Naperville, IL, where he is a professor of creative writing at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

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