This is an enjoyable book. It is written in comic strip style and the excellent illustrations are clear enough to encourage a reluctant reader. The story tells of some struggles children face when straddling two cultures. It is fun yet touching and has plenty of action packed moments. It guides the reader to a better understanding of how being an immigrant might feel.

A beautifully illustrated, moving story.

My children are starting out with graphic novels and this one didn't disappoint.

It was very interesting as it was about a culture we don't have much experience with being from the UK.

The story involved Pedro and his large family. Their adventures are funny and touching.

Highly recommend.

WOW, what a book this is! A funny, moving, stunningly illustrated intergenerational story and one of the best graphic novels of its kind. This book had me at the name, the cover, and the concept (Pedro Martin's memoir in graphic novel form) and it didn't disappoint. I'm so happy that Guppy Books has brought this one to the UK! It's absolutely wonderful in every possible way.

There's a lot to like about Mexikid, a graphic memoir (ages 10+) about Pedro, a American boy of Mexican heritage, and his big family (11 members in all, enough for a full mariachi band as wryly observed by a waiter in the novel). The illustrations: energetic and boldly coloured, largely in comic-style but also in realistic, swirling watercolours. The characters: engaging, relatable and so well-developed that even though there are so many of them, you don't ever feel lost or confused. The setting: the pre-Internet days of late 1970s America/Mexico, peppered with nostalgic references (at least to much older readers like myself) to popular tv shows (Happy Days), iconic technology (cassette tapes), and questionable comestibles (Pop Rocks). The culture: Mexican food, drink, music and warm, Spanish-speaking families (all big of course!). And lastly, the story: a humorous account of an epic family road trip by secondhand winnebago to transport Pedro's elderly (yet extremely robust) abuelito from Mexico to the USA. As a kid, I used to watch a tv show called The Waltons and it made me wish I came from a big, rambunctious, bickering, jostling family. Mexikid made me feel the same way, all over again. A lively and engrossing read that will appeal to middle graders, in particular boys obsessed with superheroes, imaginary or real.

Review to come September 23rd on my blog//goodreads//other places.

I received this book from the publisher/Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I just couldn't resist it when I saw this graphic novel up on Netgalley, it looks so good and so fun! And it was just oodles of fun~

+I loved reading about the family, not just about Abuelito and his history (and he had quite an awesome history/lore), but also about the kids (some born in Mexico, others in the States), about the parents. See them together (and go between lots of love to arguments/teasing). About the family they met along their way and the family in Mexico. Love that we got extra information on the family at the end and photographs.
+Loved that there were translations for a lot of the Spanish parts, I took a course on Spanish years ago but life got in-between, so I am pretty rusty and a lot of books with people who use Spanish these days apparently think everyone knows Spanish. Not here at least, it wasn't even taught in school here when I was in school, not sure how it is now. So I am happy that this one either just kept it English or gave for most a translation.
+The road trip and all that happened there was fantastic! So much chaos. I just love those typical American road trips, long long winding roads through the states with tourist attractions here and there. I would love to do one, even though I would get carsick very fast. Though this one had a big amount of bananas, haha.
+I loved getting information on Mexico/Mexican. Like that sound they can make (and I was rooting our MC would also be able to do it). Or about music and traditions.
+The art was fantastic and I love the style!
+The ending made me smile and I was so happy to see Abuelito go from a more silent person to more open and actually smiling. He really flourishes when he is with his family.

Recommended! I learned many new things and I just love books about family like this one.

This was tricky to read because of the font choice, but I did make my way through it eventually. An interesting story, but it was a lot at times.

“Mexikid” is a graphic memoir about Family, intergenerational relationships, the meaning of Home, and the challenges of being the child of two different cultures. Hilarious, chaotic but also tender, and at times heartbreaking, it proves once again how powerful the graphic form can be at conveying diverse human experiences, offering perfect windows into lives we might not be familiar with.
The artwork offer points of reference that encourage a better understanding of unfamiliar situations; we open our eyes to life experiences which we may struggle to imagine without visual clues; the detailed (and hilarious) drawings of the motorhome are a great example of this. Unusually for a graphic novel, the narration is first person, and is carried a lot through captions, rather than dialogue. So while the text seems to be mainly one sided as we hear what Pedro thinks and experiences, visually, we exist outside of the action, watching it unfold. This creates a multi-layered narrative which is incredibly effective and draws the reader in in a very unique way and allows the reader to develop a lot of empathy for Pedro. This sophisticated structure may sound complex for young readers, but there is no limit to how long they can spend on each page (or indeed frame), which allows each reader the space and time to make connections and develop a deeper understanding, something that can be much tricker with traditional prose. This is why the graphic form is so successful at telling stories such as the one in “Mexikid” and this is a particularly triumphant example of this. Highly recommended.

I wasn’t familiar with Pedro Martin’s work but I was lured into Mexikid by the splendid cover design and intriguing description. The artwork was absolutely sublime, no space was wasted as there is so much detail on each page. You can, with some graphic novels, just glance at the designs but not with Martin’s work. I laughed at his tales of misadventures on his unconventional road trip and being a geeky sort, I shouted with him that they are not dolls but action figures! But when his memories take a turn for the melancholy, your heart aches for Martin & his family and the generations that strive to find their place in the world.

One of the many joys of being part of the NetGalley community is the opportunities to discover gems like this that you wouldn’t stumble over in my local bookshops in Scotland. Books contain the power to educate and entertain, and Mexikid triumphs at both.

I’ve now looked into his website and I can’t wait to read more of his online cartoons.

This book is about a kid with ‘two feet planted on the American side of the border while one heart belonging to both sides’ and how he came to truly appreciate it.

This mostly humorous tale of Pedro Martin’s life also took on extremely sensitive subjects with beauty and compassion. One particular scene sticks out in my mind which left me crying with a warmed heart. Martin very cleverly portrayed his experiences with the same childhood thoughts and feelings he had back then which, along with the humour of the book, will make it appealing to both kids and adults. Kids may just need some clarification on who the Fonz was - particularly with the brilliant aaaaaaaayy references!

A fun read accompanied by eye-appealing illustrations. It is full of action and makes the reader want to learn more about Mexican culture. Stunning.

Just how much love Pedro Martin has poured into his first graphic novel for children - titled Mexikid - is evident on every page of this magnum opus.

The panels are packed with content, and the closer look invariably reveals new and interesting details. The stories that he tells are delicious in the frank and hilarious sharing of them, and the art is terrific.

Born and raised in the USA by Mexican immigrants, Pedro has heard many stories of his legendary grandfather, Abuelito, whose personal history includes the Mexican revolution. But the boy is not entirely thrilled to hear that the grandfather is coming to live with them, because his jampacked family already consists of his parents and their nine children!

To make things even stranger, his father decides the entire family is going to pick up his grandfather from Mexico and bring him home to stay with them. This is the story of an epic road trip, which takes no prisoners in the telling - and from snot to coffins, nothing is off limits...

So buckle in and prepare for the ride of your life. This is a story about how a young boy comes to recognise his origins and realise who he is. And it's a story about family life - in all its wild and wonderful madness. Delightful.