Frustrated by his poor financial situation and hoping to impress a smart girl, seventh grader Trino falls in with a bad crowd led by an older teen with a vicious streak.

Everybody loves a birthday party, and there's a lot to enjoy at Papa Luis' fiesta The children excitedly count the candy that will fill the pinata. The nieces bring the candles for the birthday cake that Mama Marta baked. Family and friends begin to arrive, and soon, they surprise Papa Luis with his special celebration. Told in lively verse, this cumulative tale builds from one page to the next as popular children's book author Diane Gonzales Bertrand presents a charming look at a big family gathering that celebrates the patriarch's birthday. Like her previous award-winning book, The Empanadas that Abuela Made/Las empanadas que hacia la abuela, Diane Gonzales Bertrand gives emerging readers another book that creates confidence and skills through repetition and sentence building. Accompanied by Alejandro Galindo's whimsical illustrations of big-eyed children and elderly family members dancing and enjoying each other, this fun-filled fiesta is sure to delight children ages 4 - 8. After reading this appealing bilingual story, kids will eagerly begin planning their own birthday parties.

Told in the style of a cumulative folk song, a grandmother makes empanadas, a traditional Hispanic treat, for her family. Includes recipe.