<DIV><p>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&rsquo;s self-appointed conscience.</p><p><i>Magic realism</i>, you say to yourself. Luis Alberto Urrea says, &ldquo;No, NOT magical realism. It&rsquo;s simply how kids grow up in Mexico. Especially if you&rsquo;re a boy.&rdquo; 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&rsquo;ll steal the villain&rsquo;s pants and paint PERVERT on his naked buttocks. And, finally, one day Mr. Mendoza&rsquo;s paintbrush creates a miraculous event that no one in Rosario ever forgets!</p><p><b>Luis Alberto Urrea </b>is the author of the widely acclaimed novel <i>The Hummingbird&rsquo;s Daughter </i>and a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction for <i>The Devil&rsquo;s Highway</i>. Inducted into the Latino Literature Hall of Fame, Urrea was born in Tijuana, Mexico, to a Mexican father and an American mother. This is his first graphic novel and another great book, like <i>Vatos</i>, that even reluctant readers will love.</p><p><b>Christopher Cardinale </b>is a muralist and artist with a social message. His large-scale murals against globalization and war can be seen in New York, Italy, Greece, and Mexico. He lives in Brooklyn.</p></DIV>