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The Unicorn Rescue Society #4
The Chupacabras of the Río Grande
The fourth book in the fully illustrated, globe-trotting middle grade fantasy-adventure series about mythical creatures and their cultures of origin, from the Newbery Honor-winning author of The Inquisitor's Tale.
Elliot and Uchennna have only just returned from their most recent Unicorn Rescue Society mission when they (along with Jersey!) are whisked away on their next exciting adventure with Professor Fauna. This time, they're headed to the Mexican border to help another mythical creature in need: the chupacabras!
The Chupacabras of the R�o Grande is co-written with David Bowles, author of the Pura Belpr� Honor-winning book, The Smoking Mirror!
Elliot and Uchennna have only just returned from their most recent Unicorn Rescue Society mission when they (along with Jersey!) are whisked away on their next exciting adventure with Professor Fauna. This time, they're headed to the Mexican border to help another mythical creature in need: the chupacabras!
The Chupacabras of the R�o Grande is co-written with David Bowles, author of the Pura Belpr� Honor-winning book, The Smoking Mirror!
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2019
60 people are currently reading
302 people want to read
About the author
Adam Gidwitz
27 books1,212 followersTo read my bio and learn more about me, and find a FAQ, visit:
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
July 18, 2022
hot take: there needs to be more political children's lit.
March 17, 2019
First book of my #springbreakstack! This 👏🏼 book 👏🏼 is 👏🏼 WONDERFUL!!! @adam_gidwitz and @davidobowles made me feel like I was at home in the #Riograndevalley with all of the code switching, folklore, welcoming friends, and especially the FOOD described in these pages! I am SO happy that it is about helping some chupacabras because they have always been one of my favorite mythical (or not so mythical) creatures! This was a great adventure that I can’t wait to share with my students! #unicornrescuesociety @penguinkids #chupacabrasoftheriogrande #lispyreads #lispyreviews
June 6, 2019
Elliot and Uchenna, along with Professor Fauna, are off on another adventure. This time they are investigating reports of a rogue chupacabras. Meeting a former colleague of the professor's complicates things a bit, but the Unicorn Rescue Society needs all the help they can get. Especially when their efforts to rescue a juvenile chupacabras collide with business interests of their foes, the Schmoke brothers. An entertaining, and informative series revolving around a wide variety of cryptids and the people trying to save them. This is a fun and funny, speculative fiction series perfect for young readers who enjoy fantastic adventures but aren't ready for big, long fantasy tomes. One of the things I especially appreciate about this series is how authentic Gidwitz tries to be regarding the stories and locations he features in his stories. He is so serious about this that each book is co-authored with an expert on that particular location and folklore. A great combination to my way of thinking, and combined with a fun story makes for a fabulous read.
January 28, 2020
I’ve been giving four stars to the books in The Unicorn Rescue Society, but as the series goes on, I think the books have gotten better. I love that Gidwitz writes with different authors who bring their cultural backgrounds into the stories. They include history and current events, and bring up important topics in our society today, like deforestation, and building walls between countries. I’m really excited to meet Adam, my students are all so excited to read this book series!
March 19, 2021
Better than the 3rd book in the series but the humor was more low brow. It had two gender-based jokes, also called someone “dumb” and at one point two characters jokingly call their dad a loser. The other books in the series didn’t have this type of humor and I felt it was misplaced for a book that was pointedly about the border wall between the US and Mexico.
November 8, 2025
Amazing book! Excited to read about the next adventure in book five!
April 12, 2021
A fun series for fans of The Wild Robot and the Dragonmasters books that can be enjoyed and understood without reading them in order or if any at all. Elliot has somehow involved himself in a secret society protecting mythical creatures and this time they are off to protect the chupacabras. I love that there's plenty of fun and adventure but also an underlying message of inclusivity and there's also a timeliness as this tackles building a wall and immigration.
April 22, 2019
When reported sightings of Chupacabras, aka mythical goat suckers, reach the ears of the Unicorn Rescue Society, Eliott, Uchenna, Professor Fauna head down to the U.S.-Mexican Border to see if what they heard is true. Once there, they team up with loca kids, Mateo, Lupita, and their mother, Dr. Alejandra Cervantes to save the chupacabras. Things aren’t so simple, however, when they discover the Smoke Brothers are the ones hired to build the wall that is separating a baby Chupacabra from its family. Can they save the baby chupacabras? Will they find a way to stop the Smoke Brothers. The plot is well-developed, engaging, and easy to read. Characters are easy to like, believable, and draw the reader into the story. Spanish elements and history mixed into the plot are accurate and mix well into the story. The political message in the book, although thought-provoking, tends to overshadow the rescue mission part of the plot and may be turn off some readers. People who like fantasy, mythical creatures, friendship stories, and adventure will enjoy reading this book. Although recommended, it isn’t necessary to read the other books in this series before reading this one.
May 22, 2020
REVIEW: https://livthebooknerd.blogspot.com/2...
I was sent this ARC for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own.
I really enjoyed this addition to the Unicorn Rescue Society series. It's such a great way to educate kids about important issues and immerse them in other cultures. I absolutely adored the setting of the Texas/Mexico border. The issues that were touched upon -- border relations -- are written in a way that children will understand and create their own opinion about the matter. In this story, Elliot and Uchenna head to Laredo, Texas with Professor Fauna to save the chupacabras and preserve their homes. As they are investigating the scene, they meet former Unicorn Rescue Society members, a young chupacabras, and the stinky Schmoke Brothers. This was such a great addition to the series -- definitely one of my favorites-- and I'm eager to see where Gidwitz and Bowles take this series. It's so freaking fun, powerful, and relevant. These books are the stories that I hope young readers find and read...I'll definitely be reading these to my future children.
I was sent this ARC for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own.
I really enjoyed this addition to the Unicorn Rescue Society series. It's such a great way to educate kids about important issues and immerse them in other cultures. I absolutely adored the setting of the Texas/Mexico border. The issues that were touched upon -- border relations -- are written in a way that children will understand and create their own opinion about the matter. In this story, Elliot and Uchenna head to Laredo, Texas with Professor Fauna to save the chupacabras and preserve their homes. As they are investigating the scene, they meet former Unicorn Rescue Society members, a young chupacabras, and the stinky Schmoke Brothers. This was such a great addition to the series -- definitely one of my favorites-- and I'm eager to see where Gidwitz and Bowles take this series. It's so freaking fun, powerful, and relevant. These books are the stories that I hope young readers find and read...I'll definitely be reading these to my future children.
April 8, 2019
Great audio -love the message about borders and walls and family. Also love the collaboration between David Bowles and Adam G to write it.
June 7, 2019
And here is the point the series is no longer worth reading.
What started as light and funny, cute and with a great sense of humor, has become leftist propaganda masquerading as a book for children.
It handles all the subtleties of the border and immigration with the grace of a train.
KIDS ARE SEPARATED FROM THEIR PARENTS!
The answer is obviously open borders. Ignore the huge amounts of crime and drugs, ignore the U.S. losing a national identity, ignore everything that is inconvenient because the world is built on alarmist's screaming.
It's pathetic and it is maddening.
Write a story for children, and if you want to have an intelligent conversation about immigration then add some info in the back and website people can go to. This is a joke. The entire book revolves around how a wall is bad. We don't even learn about the Chupacabras. The kids don't do anything, and the professor is reduced to "likes guacamole."
This is stupid, and will probably be the last I read in the series.
What started as light and funny, cute and with a great sense of humor, has become leftist propaganda masquerading as a book for children.
It handles all the subtleties of the border and immigration with the grace of a train.
KIDS ARE SEPARATED FROM THEIR PARENTS!
The answer is obviously open borders. Ignore the huge amounts of crime and drugs, ignore the U.S. losing a national identity, ignore everything that is inconvenient because the world is built on alarmist's screaming.
It's pathetic and it is maddening.
Write a story for children, and if you want to have an intelligent conversation about immigration then add some info in the back and website people can go to. This is a joke. The entire book revolves around how a wall is bad. We don't even learn about the Chupacabras. The kids don't do anything, and the professor is reduced to "likes guacamole."
This is stupid, and will probably be the last I read in the series.
May 10, 2022
As a newspaper reporter, I was recently typesetting some county dispatch incidents when I came across an item describing a dog that had porcupine quills on its back. Thanks to this book, my immediate thought was, "So, we have chupacabras in Minnesota." Another thing I can thank this book for is correcting the grammar of the word "chupacabra" to the form "chupacabras," singular and plural. I'd never heard that before and I'm hoping it's legit, though we're talking about a piece of Hispanic-American folklore dating all the way back to, like, the 1990s. Anyway, urban myths are myths, and so they have every right to be protected, whatever side of the U.S.-Mexican border (if not both) they lurk on.
Being pulled out of class by the eccentric Professor Fauna, crashing his single-prop plane and encountering legendary creatures has gotten to be a routine deal for Elliot and Uchenna. This time, they're in the border town of Laredo, Texas, trying to find out why the "sucker of goats" has been draining cows of all their blood when, normally, they only take a sip here and a slurp there. It turns out that a baby chupacabras has gotten trapped on the wrong side of a border fence, which the nefarious and follicly challenged Schmoke Brothers are turning into a wall. It's up to the two kids, their slightly mad mentor, and a local family whose mother is a disgruntled ex-member of the Unicorn Rescue Society to set things right, all before Prof. Fauna, Elliot and Uchenna ride off into the sunset (entirely the wrong direction) in an airplane that has no wings.
Like previous installments in this line of stories, the mythical monster turns out to be kind of cute, and the kids learn a little about a foreign language (if you can call Spanish "foreign," which you really can't), and they get caught up in a political controversy (in this case, surrounding the enforcement of border control between two countries). Maybe the big surprise is the amount of room this installment leaves for people of good will to disagree. Nevertheless, the chupacabras is (are) a poster beast for not dividing families.
This is the fourth book of the "Unicorn Rescue Society" series, written by Adam Gidwitz and various co-authors. David Bowles is a professor at the University of Texas and the author of three "Garza Twins" adventures, six "13th Street" books, two "Path" novels, the graphic novel Rise of the Halfling King, the picture book My Two Border Towns, the story collection Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky and the poetry collections They Call Me Güero and They Call Her Fregona.
Being pulled out of class by the eccentric Professor Fauna, crashing his single-prop plane and encountering legendary creatures has gotten to be a routine deal for Elliot and Uchenna. This time, they're in the border town of Laredo, Texas, trying to find out why the "sucker of goats" has been draining cows of all their blood when, normally, they only take a sip here and a slurp there. It turns out that a baby chupacabras has gotten trapped on the wrong side of a border fence, which the nefarious and follicly challenged Schmoke Brothers are turning into a wall. It's up to the two kids, their slightly mad mentor, and a local family whose mother is a disgruntled ex-member of the Unicorn Rescue Society to set things right, all before Prof. Fauna, Elliot and Uchenna ride off into the sunset (entirely the wrong direction) in an airplane that has no wings.
Like previous installments in this line of stories, the mythical monster turns out to be kind of cute, and the kids learn a little about a foreign language (if you can call Spanish "foreign," which you really can't), and they get caught up in a political controversy (in this case, surrounding the enforcement of border control between two countries). Maybe the big surprise is the amount of room this installment leaves for people of good will to disagree. Nevertheless, the chupacabras is (are) a poster beast for not dividing families.
This is the fourth book of the "Unicorn Rescue Society" series, written by Adam Gidwitz and various co-authors. David Bowles is a professor at the University of Texas and the author of three "Garza Twins" adventures, six "13th Street" books, two "Path" novels, the graphic novel Rise of the Halfling King, the picture book My Two Border Towns, the story collection Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky and the poetry collections They Call Me Güero and They Call Her Fregona.
March 22, 2019
I received an ARC of this book and have been reading it with my 7 year old who really enjoyed it and wanted to give it five stars, I would go lower and so I split the difference.
My general over-all review is that it's a fun book with an enjoyable and diverse cast of characters that spend time looking for magical creatures. We had not read any other books in the series so this is the first introduction, and I enjoyed it enough that I'd be fine with picking up the other books in the series.
I really enjoyed the characters and characterizations, I liked the diversity of the entire cast, and the art work that was available (not all of it is in the ARC) was fun, and added to the story. I also liked that it was willing to deal with some challenging current issues such as border security, protests, and strongly held differing opinions.
The quibbles I have by in large were also things I liked, but the writing of did not always work for me. Initially I wasn't 100% sold on bringing the protests and border wall into the story, but I did feel as if this piece was earned in the conclusion of the plot, and made sense. That said, at times the handling of it felt - not bad, but just rough and bordering on didactic. This was not consistent throughout the book, and I'm generally sympathetic to what I felt was the overall message of the book, but I did feel as if it was uneven at times.
I wanted to like the inclusion of Spanish throughout the book, it added to the over-all diversity of the book, made sense in the setting of the story, and I'm always a big fan of giving kids reasons to learn new vocabulary including in other languages. But similarly to above, there were times when it felt jarring within the writing, and it disrupted the flow of the story for me. This is possibly something that would be less true for someone who is bilingual and used to moving back and forth between languages - so I present that caveat and also the recognition that generally I liked it existing, there were just places in the writing that it did not work for me personally.
Basically, I enjoyed this book, enjoyed the characters, Elliot in particular felt very well drawn, and felt like it was a fun story that was generally age appropriate for my 7yo. I would consider the writing at times uneven, and with the material it covers it has a difficult line between providing exposure to and preaching, which it does not always hit imo, and thus four stars instead of five.
My general over-all review is that it's a fun book with an enjoyable and diverse cast of characters that spend time looking for magical creatures. We had not read any other books in the series so this is the first introduction, and I enjoyed it enough that I'd be fine with picking up the other books in the series.
I really enjoyed the characters and characterizations, I liked the diversity of the entire cast, and the art work that was available (not all of it is in the ARC) was fun, and added to the story. I also liked that it was willing to deal with some challenging current issues such as border security, protests, and strongly held differing opinions.
The quibbles I have by in large were also things I liked, but the writing of did not always work for me. Initially I wasn't 100% sold on bringing the protests and border wall into the story, but I did feel as if this piece was earned in the conclusion of the plot, and made sense. That said, at times the handling of it felt - not bad, but just rough and bordering on didactic. This was not consistent throughout the book, and I'm generally sympathetic to what I felt was the overall message of the book, but I did feel as if it was uneven at times.
I wanted to like the inclusion of Spanish throughout the book, it added to the over-all diversity of the book, made sense in the setting of the story, and I'm always a big fan of giving kids reasons to learn new vocabulary including in other languages. But similarly to above, there were times when it felt jarring within the writing, and it disrupted the flow of the story for me. This is possibly something that would be less true for someone who is bilingual and used to moving back and forth between languages - so I present that caveat and also the recognition that generally I liked it existing, there were just places in the writing that it did not work for me personally.
Basically, I enjoyed this book, enjoyed the characters, Elliot in particular felt very well drawn, and felt like it was a fun story that was generally age appropriate for my 7yo. I would consider the writing at times uneven, and with the material it covers it has a difficult line between providing exposure to and preaching, which it does not always hit imo, and thus four stars instead of five.
May 7, 2019
The Chupacabras of the Rio Grande is the fourth book in The Unicorn Rescue Society. Readers follow Uchenna, Elliot and Professor Fauna as they go around the United States investigating sightings of mythical creatures and protecting the animals in their habitats. Along for the ride is a jersey devil who goes by the name of Jersey, a faithful companion to the children and the professor.
This adventure takes them to Laredo, Texas the center of the border wall battle where a chupacabra has been seen in areas around town. While searching for the chupacabra, Uchenna and Elliot meet Lupita and Mateo Cervantes, whose mother, Dr. Cervantes was once part of the Unicorn Rescue Society, but does not believe in the society’s methods of preservation. The Cervantes family teams up with our heroes to help rescue a juvenile chupacabra, who they name Choopi, when he is separated from his family by a border wall.
Each book from this series gets better and better and this was probably my favorite. The authors do a wonderful job of mixing the fantastical with current events without being preachy. This is an excellent book to read-along as there is great potential to discuss what is currently going on at our country’s southern border. I would recommend this book and look forward to the future books in the series.
This adventure takes them to Laredo, Texas the center of the border wall battle where a chupacabra has been seen in areas around town. While searching for the chupacabra, Uchenna and Elliot meet Lupita and Mateo Cervantes, whose mother, Dr. Cervantes was once part of the Unicorn Rescue Society, but does not believe in the society’s methods of preservation. The Cervantes family teams up with our heroes to help rescue a juvenile chupacabra, who they name Choopi, when he is separated from his family by a border wall.
Each book from this series gets better and better and this was probably my favorite. The authors do a wonderful job of mixing the fantastical with current events without being preachy. This is an excellent book to read-along as there is great potential to discuss what is currently going on at our country’s southern border. I would recommend this book and look forward to the future books in the series.
December 8, 2025
I only have read this one book of the series as I love books about chupacabras. The singular of Chupacabras is Chupacabra. Goat Sucker. Not sucker of goatS. The author is trying to make up their own rules for the name and it is wrong.
The actual story of the rescuing of the chupacabra, is just OK. The Society members don't actually do anything useful in helping it, and the guy in charge cares more about eating guacamole than doing his job.
All this is just a backdrop for a political message about how US immigration policy has no purpose other then to break up families, who have members on both sides of the border. This is not only not clear as to why it would do that when anyone can legally cross the checkpoint and visit their family, and anyone who is swimming across the river to get to their family is clearly doing something nefarious. The one vendor, who deals is contraband, says that he does not like the checkpoint as his merchandise is searched and that keeps him from visiting his girlfriend.
It also does not address all the people who don't live directly across the border and could be coming from anywhere carrying anything across and trying to avoid the checkpoint. The book drives home the point repeatedly, not that the few people who live right their are unfortunately suffering due to the policy to keep out others, but that the whole point of the border is to victimize people who live there and it is done by evil people.
The actual story of the rescuing of the chupacabra, is just OK. The Society members don't actually do anything useful in helping it, and the guy in charge cares more about eating guacamole than doing his job.
All this is just a backdrop for a political message about how US immigration policy has no purpose other then to break up families, who have members on both sides of the border. This is not only not clear as to why it would do that when anyone can legally cross the checkpoint and visit their family, and anyone who is swimming across the river to get to their family is clearly doing something nefarious. The one vendor, who deals is contraband, says that he does not like the checkpoint as his merchandise is searched and that keeps him from visiting his girlfriend.
It also does not address all the people who don't live directly across the border and could be coming from anywhere carrying anything across and trying to avoid the checkpoint. The book drives home the point repeatedly, not that the few people who live right their are unfortunately suffering due to the policy to keep out others, but that the whole point of the border is to victimize people who live there and it is done by evil people.
June 17, 2021
Wonderful! There are so many things I love about this series -- the humor, the fantasy, the mythological creatures, the collaborations between authors that brings authenticity and most of all, the ability to talk about real world problems and history in a way that kids can relate to. As a vehicle for big topics, it's hard to improve on, and it's an added bonus that the characters are gaining dimension as the series continues.
This is a particularly bright spark in the series -- illustrating perfectly the struggle of border families to work around imposed divides despite centuries of life before the border existed. It also illustrates one of the huge problems of physical barriers in destroying the ability of endangered species to thrive. Most importantly, it calls out the horrific removal of children from their families and the detention of beings who should have every right to flourish. I also really appreciated the message that people who disagree on one issue can still come together to help their communities. It's a ton of excellent messaging in a silly adventure package. Awesome.
Also partially in Spanish.
This is a particularly bright spark in the series -- illustrating perfectly the struggle of border families to work around imposed divides despite centuries of life before the border existed. It also illustrates one of the huge problems of physical barriers in destroying the ability of endangered species to thrive. Most importantly, it calls out the horrific removal of children from their families and the detention of beings who should have every right to flourish. I also really appreciated the message that people who disagree on one issue can still come together to help their communities. It's a ton of excellent messaging in a silly adventure package. Awesome.
Also partially in Spanish.
December 18, 2022
I found this to be one of the better books in the series. Probably because the plot revolves around the main characters saving a baby chupacabras. Boy, that sure is a hard word to spell! But the story definitely has heart. What could be better than saving a cute baby??
I also enjoyed the little history lesson about these creatures or the history that the author invented anyway.. It is a good idea!
Like the previous book there is definitely crazy zany stuff in here that makes you wonder how in the world their crazy teacher gets away with that stuff? The one scene I will definitely remember is him driving a wingless airplane on the road as if it was a car! And no one notices?? No one says anything? No one calls the cops? Texas must be a weird state! Or in this book it is anyway.
Another thing that surprised me in here was the one local boy was eating a cup of watermelon...except it had chilli on it! What? You put chilli on watermelon?? Why? No idea. I had thought it would be one of those colored ice treats I see sometimes around here but it was something totally different.
The story had a good side story about families being separated by the big fence at the border.
I also enjoyed the little history lesson about these creatures or the history that the author invented anyway.. It is a good idea!
Like the previous book there is definitely crazy zany stuff in here that makes you wonder how in the world their crazy teacher gets away with that stuff? The one scene I will definitely remember is him driving a wingless airplane on the road as if it was a car! And no one notices?? No one says anything? No one calls the cops? Texas must be a weird state! Or in this book it is anyway.
Another thing that surprised me in here was the one local boy was eating a cup of watermelon...except it had chilli on it! What? You put chilli on watermelon?? Why? No idea. I had thought it would be one of those colored ice treats I see sometimes around here but it was something totally different.
The story had a good side story about families being separated by the big fence at the border.
July 14, 2019
As with the previous three books in this series, a middle school girl, Uchenna, and boy, Eliot, attempt to rescue a set of fabled creatures with the help of Prof. Mito Fauna , their dippy mentor in the secret Unicorn Rescue Society. This time, the children travel to the Rio Grande in search of chupacabras. Despite the usual leavening with humor, there is a more serious message this time, as the children discover that the building of fences along the US border with Mexico is dividing mystical families as well as human ones. Black-and-white drawings by Hatem Aly ably assist readers to envision the characters and settings. This continues to be an enjoyable series. I am curious whether the book can escape censorship despite its strong message to stop separating families at the border. Recommend to fantasy and adventure aficionados from grades 3 - 6. This could also be a useful conversation starter for current events in either a book club setting or social studies classes.
April 20, 2019
I'm a big fan of the URS. I love the mix of regional history and culture thrown in with monster adventures. I think that's great. That being said, I felt like this particular installment felt...preachy to me. If you read the series, it's not very hard to tell which way the author(s) lean politically and I'm %100 here for human rights...BUT...this book really felt like it was lacking in any kind of fun adventure. It really felt like the kids didn't do much and kind of made room so the adults could talk about immoral politicians. Look I get it; I'm anti-border wall too. Strongly against it. I just felt like this one was a little too on the nose and might alienate certain children whose parents vote for...certain parties. Then again, maybe I'm thinking about this way too much but it stood out to me.
October 30, 2020
197 pgs. This book has a very mysterious focus on the Chupacabra that is known to act like a vampire in the desert areas of Texas and Central America. This time the Professor takes Elliott and Uchenna to meet someone who is trying to rescue these mythical creatures. I am still looking for the Unicorns that need saving, but they are nowhere to be found. Kids will enjoy this adventure. It was not quite as exciting as the first book, but fans will like the continuation of the story. I am diving into book 5 tonight...hoping adventures will be a bit more exciting. We shall see...Highly recommended for Grades 4-5.
April 11, 2019
I received this ARC from the publisher through SLJ's Middle Grade Magic virtual conference in exchange for an honest review.
As an adult, I am clearly not the target audience for this book. I thought it was just ok. The author tried to bring a lot into this novel history, folklore, current events, etc. and unfortunately it made it feel a little forced and artificial. That being said, I do think a lot of kids will like it and can think of several students who will enjoy this as part of the series.
As an adult, I am clearly not the target audience for this book. I thought it was just ok. The author tried to bring a lot into this novel history, folklore, current events, etc. and unfortunately it made it feel a little forced and artificial. That being said, I do think a lot of kids will like it and can think of several students who will enjoy this as part of the series.
October 9, 2019
This is a fantasy novel with a surprising social issues twist. Elliott and Uchenna end up in Laredo, TX along with their teacher, Professor Fauna, looking for chupacabras (because they belong to the Unicorn Rescue Society). They wind up connecting with one of Professor Fauna's former students, who is now professor in Laredo, and has two kids the same age as Elliott and Uchenna. They end up rescuing chupacabras as well as connecting with people who are struggling with illegal immigration issues and the border wall. A very fun and quick read.
August 18, 2021
It was great to come back to these after reading something else. We were laughing right from page 1, these books are truly funny. My favorite thing about the series is how it seamlessly incorporates social issues at a level appropriate for young kids. This one had a lot to say about immigration, being set on the Texas/Mexico boarder. It makes for really good conversations with my first grader. The story of the chupacabras itself wasn't my favorite in the series, but we'll definitely keep reading!
May 18, 2019
I love this series for my kids and they were so excited about this new release. This story felt a tad too political. I absolutely appreciate the inclusion of a very relevant current political tragedy but aside from having an understanding of family separation my kids were a little confused by the wall politics discussed. We listened to the audio and the significant amount of Spanish was wonderfully executed by the narrator and I felt, largely understood by my children.
June 28, 2019
Uchenna and Elliot go on another adventure, this time to Texas near the Rio Grande and the border with Mexico. The authors bring up several political issues involving the wall and immigration. They aren't subtle in their views. I am unsure whether this is something children need to be made aware of.
The chupacabras end up being interesting little creatures and Jersey tracks one. New members are found for the Unicorn Rescue Society.
quick read. young middle grade reader category.
The chupacabras end up being interesting little creatures and Jersey tracks one. New members are found for the Unicorn Rescue Society.
quick read. young middle grade reader category.
October 19, 2019
I think the most important part of this book was how thoughtfully the manufactured "border crisis" was handled. Children separated from their families, walls separating communities because they happen to be on the Mexican-American border, and people protesting to both build and not build the wall - all included. But I think it was done very well.
And then there's the bonus of chupacabras! I'm looking forward to more books from this series.
And then there's the bonus of chupacabras! I'm looking forward to more books from this series.
July 9, 2019
This is a great story about saving an endangered species. The main characters find themselves in Laredo, Texas, opposing the iron wall that is being build between the United States and Mexico. This book allows readers to understand the issues being debated and announced by politicians. It is and excellent read.
August 11, 2019
The characters of "The Unicorn Rescue Society" and the southwest US setting make this a fun addition to the series. However, while I sympathize with the issues regarding the wall between the US and Mexico, I think its inclusion took away from the kid-appeal of the book. Recommended where other books in the series are popular.
March 8, 2021
I can't express how much I love this series! Learn a bit of mythology. Learn a little Spanish. Learn a little about indigenous cultures. Learn a little about current events and international affairs. Enjoy a goofy (albeit predictably formatted) story with a fun cast of characters. As for this installment, set in Mexico...well, can't do much better than that for me!
March 19, 2021
I read this one to write a book review for the school newsletter. I really enjoy Adam Gidwitz’s books and had not read any of this series. I like the addition of David Bowles as co-author to add an “own-voice” element to this story which tackles the issue of separation at the border. The legend of the chupacabras should interest the students.
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