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Lowriders in Space #1
Lowriders in Space
Lupe Impala, El Chavo Flapjack, and Elirio Malaria love working with cars. You name it, they can fix it. But the team's favorite cars of all are lowriders—cars that hip and hop, dip and drop, go low and slow, bajito y suavecito. The stars align when a contest for the best car around offers a prize of a trunkful of cash—just what the team needs to open their own shop! ¡Ay chihuahua! What will it take to transform a junker into the best car in the universe?
Striking, unparalleled art from debut illustrator Raul the Third recalls ballpoint-pen-and-Sharpie desk-drawn doodles, while the story is sketched with Spanish, inked with science facts, and colored with true friendship. With a glossary at the back to provide definitions for Spanish and science terms, this delightful book will educate and entertain in equal measure.
Striking, unparalleled art from debut illustrator Raul the Third recalls ballpoint-pen-and-Sharpie desk-drawn doodles, while the story is sketched with Spanish, inked with science facts, and colored with true friendship. With a glossary at the back to provide definitions for Spanish and science terms, this delightful book will educate and entertain in equal measure.
112 pages, Paperback
First published November 4, 2014
72 people are currently reading
1239 people want to read
About the author
Cathy Camper
14 books68 followersCathy Camper is the author of the award-winning Lowriders in Space graphic novel series, the picture book Ten Ways to Hear Snow (2020), Bugs Before Time, and a forthcoming 2021 picture book, Arab Arab All Year Long. Lowriders to the Center of the Earth won the Pura Belpre Award for Latino Illustration in 2017. Her art work has been featured in Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People, by Amy Sedaris. She is a graduate of VONA/Voices writing workshops for people of color in Berkeley, California. Cathy’s a librarian in Portland, Oregon, where she does outreach to schools and kids in grades K-12.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 440 reviews
November 30, 2024
Wonderful writing and fantastic art - want to see more! I was totally lost in the story - after you just accept the premise this book is a fun ride! What I also liked is the strong undercurrent of sticking with your friends that runs through this book. Sometimes you have to stand with your friends - and sometimes they will have to stand with you.
June 4, 2014
There is no review of this book I can write, because I can't transcribe the happy harmonica and friendly growl of War's 1975 classic song "Low Rider." You know the one... "All - my - friends / know the low rider." This book is as funky and relaxed as that song, as obsessed with detail and humor as lowrider culture itself.
Take a little trip, take a little trip - in this case take a little trip to outer space, with your new friends Flapjack (an expert detailer, also an octopus), Ilario (a mosquito who paints the most precise pinstripes), and master mechanic Lupe Impala.
These buddies work in a garage together, but dream of opening their own shop. Their opportunity comes when a car competition is announced! Can they transform the old junker they find into a classic souped-up ranfla? Will it become bajito y suavecito?
Sure it will. But the story is only half the story here - the rest is the hyper, happy, maximally imaginative art. Raul the Third did the whole thing in Bic and Sharpie, with cross-hatching and sparkles right out of a spiral-bound notebook. This is not to say it looks juvenile though - SOMEBODY really knows his page/panel composition options, and uses splash pages, borderless panels, diagonals, curves and insets to action up an already jazzy story.
I love the kooky characters who stroll through the backgrounds. I love the stray cacti in the foreground, bird perched upon it watching the main characters whiz by. I love that the lowrider our friends build has a third eye and a unicorn hood ornament.
I love this book. Lowriders in Space is the one to meet.
Take a little trip, take a little trip - in this case take a little trip to outer space, with your new friends Flapjack (an expert detailer, also an octopus), Ilario (a mosquito who paints the most precise pinstripes), and master mechanic Lupe Impala.
These buddies work in a garage together, but dream of opening their own shop. Their opportunity comes when a car competition is announced! Can they transform the old junker they find into a classic souped-up ranfla? Will it become bajito y suavecito?
Sure it will. But the story is only half the story here - the rest is the hyper, happy, maximally imaginative art. Raul the Third did the whole thing in Bic and Sharpie, with cross-hatching and sparkles right out of a spiral-bound notebook. This is not to say it looks juvenile though - SOMEBODY really knows his page/panel composition options, and uses splash pages, borderless panels, diagonals, curves and insets to action up an already jazzy story.
I love the kooky characters who stroll through the backgrounds. I love the stray cacti in the foreground, bird perched upon it watching the main characters whiz by. I love that the lowrider our friends build has a third eye and a unicorn hood ornament.
I love this book. Lowriders in Space is the one to meet.
September 30, 2017
A kind of wild and unique comic for laughs that has Spanish vocabulary for y'all to learn. Not much plot, but the artwork by Raul the Third is cool, has a combination of old school and trippy about it, with only red and blue and green. An adventure for tweens that captures the spirit of Mexican culture: lucha libre clashes, ancient Aztec legends, missing cats, Lowriders flying in space.
What, you don't know what a Lowrider is??!!
https://www.google.com/search?q=lowri...
What, you don't know what a Lowrider is??!!
https://www.google.com/search?q=lowri...
January 1, 2016
All. My. Friends. Know the low rider. The low rider is a little higher... Gotta love the mellow, groovy, big-hearted, super-cool vibe of this one! Not much plot to be found anywhere, but that is just because things are too far out for such mundane, small-minded concerns. Far-out in an all-ages kinda way, that is. Recommended to the low rider in you! Take a little trip, take a little trip, take a little trip and see...
December 26, 2016
This is one of those books that isn't striving to be serious but brings up some serious questions. It's got a super femme fox (actual fox) of a hero who travels through the universe along with her two sidekicks, a mosquito and octopus (one is a sucker and one has suckers?), to gather materials to help them build a cool car to enter into a competition for cash prizes. They really want to win that competition so they can open their own mechanic shop.
The art is at times quite lovely. It's got a kind of old-school comics feeling to it. And the dialogue has some Spanish phrases, which is great, though in moments it feels like it's trying a bit hard to use the Spanish as entertainment as opposed to letting it exist as part of the bilingual landscape.
And there is a female protagonist who is adventurous, skilled, intelligent. She is also, as I said, a fox, anthropomorphized, and drawn a bit, perhaps, old-school comics pin-up style? Or maybe not? I don't know. I find these things confusing, when the boundary between creating 'strong feminine female' characters, and reiterating tropes that women in comics have to be absurdly feminine, attractive and sexualized seem thin.
I am going to give the book the benefit of the doubt and hope that it is fun and empowering and instructive for the younger audiences who read it.
Interesting interview with the artist.
http://blogs.slj.com/goodcomicsforkid...
The art is at times quite lovely. It's got a kind of old-school comics feeling to it. And the dialogue has some Spanish phrases, which is great, though in moments it feels like it's trying a bit hard to use the Spanish as entertainment as opposed to letting it exist as part of the bilingual landscape.
And there is a female protagonist who is adventurous, skilled, intelligent. She is also, as I said, a fox, anthropomorphized, and drawn a bit, perhaps, old-school comics pin-up style? Or maybe not? I don't know. I find these things confusing, when the boundary between creating 'strong feminine female' characters, and reiterating tropes that women in comics have to be absurdly feminine, attractive and sexualized seem thin.
I am going to give the book the benefit of the doubt and hope that it is fun and empowering and instructive for the younger audiences who read it.
Interesting interview with the artist.
http://blogs.slj.com/goodcomicsforkid...
October 24, 2014
I just received the book from Cathy herself who's a friend of mine and no way does this fact affect my review. There are too few comics that are meant for everyone and comics for kids especially are scarce. As a librarian and a head of a library I so wish there would more comics that are not Donald Duck, so that kids can learn to read pictures with a structure combined with words. Lowriders in Space is great because it's diverse and I was extremely happy to learn more Spanish through it! I didn't really know about the lowrider culture and the cultural notes were magnificent and got me interested in this phenomenon.
I love Lupe! It's great that she's a girl and a mechanic, who has loved cars since she was a kid. Elirio and Chavo were fun too as they were different from everyone else but didn't let that bother them. Instead they turned that to a strength and were themselves till the end. Dreams are important and thus the whole setting of making the best car to win a competition was wonderful. The price money they wanted to use for their own car repair shop. What could be a better lesson? To have dreams, to work for those dreams and then get a reward for the hard work. The idea is simple, but it was made fresh with cultural notes and breaking stereotypical images of gender and race. The art is different to boot and it is amazing! To make art like this with a ballpoint pen, how is this even possible??? It's so different and works amazingly with the story line. Even the chosen colors reflect the story so well.
I really cannot wait for the continuation and I do hope this gets translated into Finnish even if lowriding culture is quite unknown to us. It's yet again something we'd love to learn more about here! Cathy, you're amazing and so is Raúl!
I love Lupe! It's great that she's a girl and a mechanic, who has loved cars since she was a kid. Elirio and Chavo were fun too as they were different from everyone else but didn't let that bother them. Instead they turned that to a strength and were themselves till the end. Dreams are important and thus the whole setting of making the best car to win a competition was wonderful. The price money they wanted to use for their own car repair shop. What could be a better lesson? To have dreams, to work for those dreams and then get a reward for the hard work. The idea is simple, but it was made fresh with cultural notes and breaking stereotypical images of gender and race. The art is different to boot and it is amazing! To make art like this with a ballpoint pen, how is this even possible??? It's so different and works amazingly with the story line. Even the chosen colors reflect the story so well.
I really cannot wait for the continuation and I do hope this gets translated into Finnish even if lowriding culture is quite unknown to us. It's yet again something we'd love to learn more about here! Cathy, you're amazing and so is Raúl!
October 29, 2014
Three friends, Lupe, El Chavo and Elirio, work together in a garage where they fix cars. They dream of one day having their own garage. Lupe loves working on engines and the mechanics. El Chavo washes them until they shine with his octopus arms. Elirio uses his mosquito size and his long nose to detail the cars. Their favorite kind of car are the low and slow lowriders. So when a contest with a large prize comes along, they know they have to enter. Now they just have to turn a junker into the best car in the universe, so they head into space to see what they can do. This is one unique read that combines space, cars and great friendship.
Camper incorporates Spanish into her story, firmly placing this book into the Hispanic culture. Her characters are clever done. The female in the group is the one who loves engines and mechanical things, yet is incredible feminine too. The book seems to be firmly housed on earth until one big moment launches it into outer space. The incorporation of astronomy into the design and art of the car makes for a book that is wild and great fun to read.
The illustrations by Raul Gonzalez have a cool hipness to them that is honest and without any slickness at all. Done in a limited palette of red, blue and black, the art has a vintage feel that is enhanced by the treatment of the pages with stains and aging.
This graphic novel is cool, star filled, rich with science, and has friendship at its heart. Appropriate for ages 7-10.
Camper incorporates Spanish into her story, firmly placing this book into the Hispanic culture. Her characters are clever done. The female in the group is the one who loves engines and mechanical things, yet is incredible feminine too. The book seems to be firmly housed on earth until one big moment launches it into outer space. The incorporation of astronomy into the design and art of the car makes for a book that is wild and great fun to read.
The illustrations by Raul Gonzalez have a cool hipness to them that is honest and without any slickness at all. Done in a limited palette of red, blue and black, the art has a vintage feel that is enhanced by the treatment of the pages with stains and aging.
This graphic novel is cool, star filled, rich with science, and has friendship at its heart. Appropriate for ages 7-10.
October 19, 2014
Terrific! Who could resist a story where an impala, an octopus and a mosquito team up to turn an abandoned old wreck into a champion lowrider??? Of course the scavenged rocket parts makes it blast off into space on its test run. LOVED the illustrations and the primer on Hispanic culture too.
Our teens are going to love this.
Our teens are going to love this.
December 1, 2014
Completely fresh and hip (but extremely kid-friendly) graphic novel about three auto-obsessed pals who trick out their lowrider with moon dust. Ball point pen illos will encourage all talented young doodlers, esp. when ink master Raul the Third points out that he grew up always on the lookout for free pens.
Great for kids, car nuts and fans of Afrofuturism (tho I guess this is Latino futurism).
Great for kids, car nuts and fans of Afrofuturism (tho I guess this is Latino futurism).
February 1, 2015
original story with amazing illustrations
December 29, 2015
Book blurb: Lupe Impala, El Chavo Flapjack, and Elirio Malaria love working with cars. You name it, they can fix it. But the team's favorite cars of all are lowriders—cars that hip and hop, dip and drop, go low and slow, bajito y suavecito.
I'm in search of comics that my 11 year old nephew might like, and that's what got me here. I honestly think I might be too old for this one. Lupe is an anthropomorphic fox, Elirio is a mosquito, and Falpjack is an octopus, and the three of them work in a garage and have dreams of opening up their own joint someday. Hoping to win a car competition with a large cash prize, the three amigos(as?) fix up an old junker while traveling around in space - comets, asteroids, Saturn's rings, etc. are used to detail the car.
I liked the sketchy artwork, the liberal use of Spanish, and the fact that Lupe (the girl foxy one) does not have typical gender roles (but, then she's a fox in tight clothes that show off her curves...). Anyways, just not for me. And suddenly I feel rather old.
I'm in search of comics that my 11 year old nephew might like, and that's what got me here. I honestly think I might be too old for this one. Lupe is an anthropomorphic fox, Elirio is a mosquito, and Falpjack is an octopus, and the three of them work in a garage and have dreams of opening up their own joint someday. Hoping to win a car competition with a large cash prize, the three amigos(as?) fix up an old junker while traveling around in space - comets, asteroids, Saturn's rings, etc. are used to detail the car.
I liked the sketchy artwork, the liberal use of Spanish, and the fact that Lupe (the girl foxy one) does not have typical gender roles (but, then she's a fox in tight clothes that show off her curves...). Anyways, just not for me. And suddenly I feel rather old.
December 20, 2015
Let me be clear. I am 100 percent behind books that represent all of its readers. It should also be noted that my husband is of Mexican and Argentinian descent. I also recognize the importance that graphic novels play in enticing young readers to flip the pages. Lastly, as a proud Texan for over 35 years I have had the honor of teaching children from all walks of life; I was one of the first ESOL certified teachers in my school.
But-
I'm not a fan of Lowriders in Space:
1. There were two grammatically incorrect phrases in the book.
2. While I value the importance of explaining the rich language of the Hispanic culture, this book does not do it justice. In fact, I found it degrading and demoralizing.
Why this one was plucked to be a Bluebonnet for next year when there are plenty of other higher quality literature on the shelves is beyond me.
Given as a gift by a student at our book fair, I will place it on the shelves. Reluctantly.
But-
I'm not a fan of Lowriders in Space:
1. There were two grammatically incorrect phrases in the book.
2. While I value the importance of explaining the rich language of the Hispanic culture, this book does not do it justice. In fact, I found it degrading and demoralizing.
Why this one was plucked to be a Bluebonnet for next year when there are plenty of other higher quality literature on the shelves is beyond me.
Given as a gift by a student at our book fair, I will place it on the shelves. Reluctantly.
February 6, 2017
I found Lowriders in Space in the Texas Bluebonnet Award section of my library. I recognized it from other awards lists and knew I had to scoop it up. This was such a fun graphic novel. The first thing that struck me about Lowriders in Space was the colors used in the graphics. I didn't realize until reading the artist's note at the end that the drawings were all done with red, black, and blue ball point pens. I'm going to have a hard time in the office tomorrow not spending time creating Raul the Third style doodles.
My 10 year old thought Lowriders in Space was weird and confusing. I, on the other hand, really enjoyed the humor and the creative depiction of the lowriding culture. I look forward to seeing what they do in the next installment.
3.5 stars
My 10 year old thought Lowriders in Space was weird and confusing. I, on the other hand, really enjoyed the humor and the creative depiction of the lowriding culture. I look forward to seeing what they do in the next installment.
3.5 stars
November 11, 2014
Super suavecito! A fantastic adventure story about three friends banding together to make their dreams come true. What really makes the whole thing gel together is Raul III's Bic pen (!) illustrations. His style runs the gamut of the great 20th century graphic visual heritage cleverly linking the style and wit of 1920/30's rubber-hose animation (think Felix the Cat turning the question mark over his head into a hook to save himself from falling down a cliff edge) with the anarchy of R. Crumb. Add in the absurdist/ Dadaist sensibility of George Herriman's Coconino County denizens and, well... the book is just magic. Readers will zip from urban desert settings to the edge of a black hole and back again. Enjoy the ride!
April 12, 2015
Can a foxy mechanic and her homies from the barrio, an octopus, a mosquito and their pet cat, turn the aged wreck of a Chevy Impala into a supreme machine that will win them fame and fortune? With a little help from some scrapyard rocket parts, yes, yes, they can.
Using the red, blue, and black ballpoint pens of his youth, illustrator Raúl Gonzales III captures the “retro-nuevo cool” of Camper’s story of three friends building a car that will outshine all others in a grand contest to win themselves enough money to fund their dream of owning their own garage.
The text is in English with Spanish and slang phrases that are translated at the bottom of each page and in an appended glossary. An endnote explains the evolution of lowrider cars.
Using the red, blue, and black ballpoint pens of his youth, illustrator Raúl Gonzales III captures the “retro-nuevo cool” of Camper’s story of three friends building a car that will outshine all others in a grand contest to win themselves enough money to fund their dream of owning their own garage.
The text is in English with Spanish and slang phrases that are translated at the bottom of each page and in an appended glossary. An endnote explains the evolution of lowrider cars.
June 17, 2017
Weirdly charming and fun graphic novel about a gal and her best friends (including a mosquito!) who go to space in their lowrider, but make it back just in time for the big car show. In the course of the story, there are quick lessons on astronomy, the history of lowriders and a smattering of colloquial Spanish (all translated for nonSpanish readers). I picked this up at a book festival a year or so back and be looking for the further adventures of Lupe and her pals.
January 5, 2015
My good pal Cathy Camper's newest book is a super-cool, big-hearted adventure story for kids of all ages, with superbly groovy illustrations by Raul the Third. It's a near-perfect book with typically impeccable production design from Chronicle books -and just because I'm biased doesn't mean I'm not 100 correct.
December 10, 2014
A cute story of three friends who work at a body shop. They dream big, have adventures, and teach some basic Spanish phrases. Cartoonish art, but not bad art.
A cute story for kids. I would recommend it for someone who doesn't know much about Latino culture and is too old for Dora.
A cute story for kids. I would recommend it for someone who doesn't know much about Latino culture and is too old for Dora.
October 16, 2017
A fantastic, out of this world adventure, multicultural history, and brilliant drawings, all done in ball point ink.
July 5, 2016
Three car-loving friends update a car, go on a space adventure, and enter a contest!
The plot is thin, but the characters are fun, and the illustrations (Raul the Third) are freaking amazing.
He used ballpoint pens on brown paper, and talks in the notes afterward that he did this to recall the excitement he felt as a kid when he drew. It's really really beautiful work.
I'm curious if the second volume contains more plot, but probably won't revisit. However, I'll definitely give this to kids who veer toward art!
The plot is thin, but the characters are fun, and the illustrations (Raul the Third) are freaking amazing.
He used ballpoint pens on brown paper, and talks in the notes afterward that he did this to recall the excitement he felt as a kid when he drew. It's really really beautiful work.
I'm curious if the second volume contains more plot, but probably won't revisit. However, I'll definitely give this to kids who veer toward art!
April 22, 2017
Lupe, Flapjack and Elirio are three friends in love with lowriders- customized cars which roll bajito y suavecito, low and sweet. They work at a mechanic shop but dream of winning the Universal Car Competition and taking home the grand prize. Drawn entirely in ballpoint pen, this whimsical tale follows the trio as they cruse the solar system, collecting moondust, Jupitar gas and rings from Saturn to soup up the car of their dreams.
October 9, 2014
Have you not read this yet?
You are missing out on one of the year's most unique and wonderful graphic novels. Thank you Cathy Camper, Raul the Third and everyone between you and Chronicle who made this possible. I hope this Spanglish "out of this world" adventure rides it's way into the hands of young readers, especially those with SoCal and Mexican American roots.
You are missing out on one of the year's most unique and wonderful graphic novels. Thank you Cathy Camper, Raul the Third and everyone between you and Chronicle who made this possible. I hope this Spanglish "out of this world" adventure rides it's way into the hands of young readers, especially those with SoCal and Mexican American roots.
November 27, 2017
This is really cute! Kinda like a less-overtly-educational (but still with some space facts! And Spanish vocabulary words!) Magic School Bus.
I picked it up to maybe do it for a 4th grade readaloud and I think the pages are too dense with panels and footnotes to be a great readaloud; it's something that will reward kids for sitting down and digging in.
I picked it up to maybe do it for a 4th grade readaloud and I think the pages are too dense with panels and footnotes to be a great readaloud; it's something that will reward kids for sitting down and digging in.
May 3, 2015
I just loved this!! Clever and gorgeous!
September 4, 2015
Kids who love cars, imaginative tales, and funny books will enjoy this. Bonus: some Spanish words and phrases included.
August 18, 2017
The artwork deserves 5 stars... the writing, on the other hand, was flat and uninteresting.
November 15, 2020
Bajecito y Suavecito!
Lovely, lovely art, all done with ballpoint pen. (A bit like "My Favorite Thing is Monsters.") The story is more likely to appeal to kids, especially ones who like cars.
Lovely, lovely art, all done with ballpoint pen. (A bit like "My Favorite Thing is Monsters.") The story is more likely to appeal to kids, especially ones who like cars.
December 3, 2014
Sweet!!
December 13, 2016
This was pretty cute.
December 15, 2020
Extra star for awesome drawings that look like time-intensive doodles from high school.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 440 reviews