They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems by David Bowles

They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems Reviews

• 
  Edith

  I think what I like most about They Call Me Güero is that it’s not a book about a young boy who’s too good or too bad, who’s trying to save the world or even find his place in it. He’s just a boy being a boy doing stupid stuff boys do, hanging with his friends, enjoying school and spending time with his family. Written actually as a collection of poems, the book provides glimpses into Güero’s life as he enters the 7th grade. If you looking for poverty, abuse, gangs and crime then, you’ll need to look elsewhere. This is a solid middle class family and he’s kid who likes school, asks a girl to fight for him and loves playing with his friends and cousins.
  
  This is clearly an #OwnVoices story, one that serves as a mirror for some and a window for others. Bowles positions TexMex culture, politics, food and language at the center of the story and it’s the joy with which he writes about Güero’s antics that pulls us in, not whether we can relate to the family structure, love of dogs or freckled face. I certainly knew little about life along the Texas border, but this story provided an easy visit.
  
  The skill here is not just in storytelling or poetry, but in the precision that builds an entire world that is accessible to middle grade readings with clarity and energy. Organization is an essential part of this as well. Bowles is quite skilled.
• 
  Manybooks

  Although I certainly have found the featured blank verse offerings of David Bowles' 1919 Pura Belpré Honour They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems both enlightening and educational (often also quite massively heartbreaking and thought-provoking, and this is especially the case for that one painful poem dealing with refugees from South America and indeed, how precarious not only their lives prior to trying to escape to the USA generally are, but that the journey to the latter is or at least can be in and of itself a potential horror story), I do indeed have to wonder if it might actually be better (and more informative) for the author, for David Bowles to have penned They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems in prose and not in poetry. For indeed, while I was reading twelve year old Güero's imagined verses (and of course at the same time also trying to get into his mind, his life, his culture), more often than not I for one really and truly did want and even at times absolutely require more information and details than simply a page or two maximum of episodic lyric musings (that I was often left more than a bit disappointed at there not being more, that They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems did a times somewhat feel like I was being inundated with multiple feelings, with emotion, but not with nearly enough necessary background information, not to mention that in my opinion, there was not always a smooth transition from one poem to the next either).
  
  However and that all being said, I have still very much enjoyed They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems (especially the Spanish inclusions and that there is a Spanish/English glossary at the back of the book, although I could actually figure out the vast majority simply from textual context). It is just that for me to really get to know and appreciate Güero, his family, the borderlands etc. on a deeper and more personal level, I do think and believe that I would need a bit more than just short episodic snippets of poetry, that I would definitely require considerably more factual information and detail (and likely also rendered either in prose or in much longer poetry sections).
• 
  Ana

  I loved this book. I saw myself and my husband... my very own Güero... in this book. I saw my familia and our traditions and our costumbres (customs) and even the dichos (traditional sayings) my Mom is so fond of imparting on us. I saw fragments of my hometown in México and the border city in Texas that embraced us when we first moved to the United States. I saw a protagonist straddling and balancing two cultures and I understood. I saw memories reflected back to me... and boy, did this make my heart smile.
• 
  Rachel

  I bought this for my 12 year old, but ended up reading it first. Güero's story is timely and engaging. His words are in turns funny, sweet, clever, and moving. I loved the palpable joy in Güero's family, his unabashed nerdiness, his three friends Bobby, his abiding awareness of his roots, and his fledgling forays into young adulthood. Güero's thoughts are adroitly rendered in verse by Bowles, and the whole story hangs together cohesively, despite the wide ranging topics and forms of the poems. I'm looking forward to sharing this with my son and other kids in my life as well.
• 
  Adriana Martinez Figueroa

  Güero lives in a town near the border between Mexico and the U.S. He’s constantly absorbing the way the border affects him and those around him. Describing himself as a border kid, Güero observes his family life, his friends, and has long accepted the way his identity is shaped by a culture divided by a border.
  Though the book (
  They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems) is written in verse,
  David Bowles manages to pack narrative and emotion to each of the entries, all from Güero’s point of view. In the opening poem, Border Kid, Güero’s dad says to him:
  

  “You’re a border kid, a foot on either bank.
  Your ancestors crossed this river a thousand times.
  No wall, no matter how tall, can stop your heritage
  from flowing forever, like the Rio Grande himself.”

  
  This first poem reiterates that Güero, though he identifies as a Mexican-American, a border kid, he still struggles with coming to terms with such. Güero’s identity crisis happens a handful of times throughout the book, especially since he is white passing and the kids mock him for it.
  There’s a conversation between Güero and his dad about a quarter of the way through, actually titled They Call Me Güero, where his dad confronts Güero’s light-skinned privilege in an honest and unflinching way:
  

  “M’ijo, pale folks catch all the breaks
  here and in Mexico, too. Not your fault.
  Not fair. Just the way it’s been for years.
  Doors will open for you that won’t for me.”
  
  My eyes fill with tears. “But I didn’t ask
  anyone to open them for me!”
  
  Dad squeezes my hand. “No, but now
  you’ve got to hold them open for us all.”

  
  From the beginning of the book, his family’s already thrusting upon him all the wishes and desires of a first-generation student, and though they do so gently and in a loving way, it doesn’t become clear-cut until Güero listens to his uncle Joe’s stories. The following form Uncle Joe’s History Lessons:
  

  “Don’t let them stop you, chamaco.
  Push right through them gates.
  It’s your right. You deserve a place
  at that table. But when you take your seat,
  Don’t let it change you. Represent us, m’ijo,
  All the ones they kept down. You are us.
  We are you.”

  
  By the end, we don’t know if Güero actually comes to grips with his identity. However, we get the feeling that since he’s still a seventh-grader, still growing, still maturing, he’ll come face to face with many other obstacles. The ending is still hopeful. Güero still sees the beauty in everything that surrounds him.
  The book is quite short, the ARC was less than 120 pages, and 100 of those were of poems, the rest with a glossary. I would’ve liked to see Güero develop more, because we did see an emotional arc between him and Joanna, I wanted to get more of his feelings towards his family. We get that he feels proud of and loves his family. In fact, there are times when he feels intimidated by family members. But I just wanted to read more. I don’t know if that’s me being greedy, but I loved Güero. He’s a child of a modern era; a boy growing up at the border and who’s learning about his place in this world of his. He’s soaking up online culture at the same time he’s learning about his own.
  Maybe we’ll see more of Güero in the future as he continues learning and keeping his heart on his sleeve.
  An eARC was provided by the author in exchange of a free and honest review. Thank you!
• 
  Cheryl

  I think this must be aimed at children who don't like to or have trouble reading, or have limited time. Which makes sense. The audience who is likely to benefit the most would be children of immigrants, ESL students, and children from underserved communities. Brief poems can speak to a reader's heart even when they can't reveal a lot of history or cultural studies.
  
  But I'm not the target audience, and I admit that I wasn't moved. On the plus side, I liked that mostly our boy was just another American kid and didn't have overwhelming challenges. On the minus side I understood most of the Spanish words from context (and from my HS Spanish) but the few times I looked in the glossary for specific words, they weren't included (an incomplete glossary frustrates me more than seeing none at all).
  
  My appreciation may be enhanced by the fact that I have known children of immigrants, lived in apartments among families who would travel for holidays 'back home' and have to deal with border issues etc.
  
  Recommended to educators and school librarians for most of their students (no matter what community of the US), but not necessarily to other adult readers like me.
• 
  Katy O.

  This 2019 Pura Belpre Award winner is one I meant to read right when I got it in my school library last spring and than, as often happens, it got shelved and slipped my mind. I’m so happy I got to it now though! It’s a slim almost-novel in verse written in a combination of English and Spanish about being a border kid ~ a middle school boy doing everyday middle school boy stuff and also grappling with race and identity and the injustices of Mexican-American border policies. I really sank into it while reading and just wish it could have been longer!
• 
  Ruben Degollado

  I loved reading this book! We cheer with Güero as he overcomes bullies and celebrates family traditions. Bowles weaves this tale of growing up in our beautiful RGV, expertly using different poetry forms. He gives such incredible detail about what it’s like growing up here. If I were a character in this book, I know I’d be traviesos with Güero and Los Bobbys. Well done!
• 
  Leslie Clingan-Come Read With Me

  As a gringa living on the on the El Paso, Texas-Juarez, Mexico border, I speak a fair amount of Spanglish or Tex-Mex. But when I read the title of this to myself (thank goodness, not aloud), I was pronouncing güero as guerro - the word for war in Spanish. Rolling those double Rs the best I could. I was kind of put out by my (mis-) translation of the title, thinking the title was "They Call Me War". And the cover art showed a pre-teen boy stomping? up a hill or mountain in the desert. The subtitle is "A Border Kid's Poems" so I (mistakenly) imagined this book to be an angry pro-illegal immigration/anti-wall/anti-Border Patrol collection of essays.
  
  But I had pledged (to myself) to read or at least try to read as many of the Bluebonnet Award nominees on this year's list as possible. I opened the book and began to read the first - poem - "Border Kid." And like that, I was enchanted.
  
  While I am not a border kid, I am border adult. And I may not be a güera (blonde), a word I realized I knew when I looked it up. But in my career as an elementary school librarian, I have known oodles of border kids (and adults). This book perfectly depicts the life of a Mexican-American child whose roots stretch from the homeland of his ancestors across the border and into his own homeland, the U.S.
  
  Funny poems about his 3 amigos, the Bobbys. Poignant poems about leaving Mexico to return home after a visit to maternal grandparents and a 'recharging' of his Mexican culture, identity. Poems about celebrations that are a mix of the old country and the new. Christmas Eve's tamale-making and football. This freckle-faced red-headed Latino extending friendship to a new immigrant to the country and his classroom. His sister's quinceañera or 15th birthday party, old wives' tales and stories told by his Mimi or grandmother. I was swept away into the collective lives of my former students. Some of the poems and anecdotes so very familiar and others new to me.
  I will be buying this book to add to my own personal library. Even though I rarely read books twice. Even though I am trying to cut back on the books that I buy these days.
  
  I will buy this book to hold onto a little bit of all of the children, my students, my babies that I loved so much in my 25 years in El Paso schools. And to be reminded not to judge a book (or anything else) by its (perceived) cover.
• 
  Jenny G

  This book received the Pura Belpré Award in 2019. It is a very unique book in that the format is solely poems. The story follows the life of a 7th grade boy who grew up on the border. He talks of every day experiences such as going shopping with his mom, to starting to like a girl, to adventures with his friends. The language the author uses really allows you to make a connection with the character. With Spanish phrases sprinkled throughout, it provides an authentic view into the boy's life living on the Mexican border. (There is a glossary provided to help with Spanish phrases) It also includes some heavier topics such as immigration, security at the border and challenges with going back and forth. I think this would be a great text to use in the classroom for a variety of purposes. It would be a great text to introduce poetry, point of view, and culture.
• 
  Mary Thomas

  Great collection of poetry that paints a portrait of life on the border (literally and metaphorically). I really loved the richness of the characters and places. I would definitely teach with this one if I were still in the classroom! Recommend for 4th grade & up.
• 
  Heather

  Carrying on Gary Soto's tradition.
• 
  Ellen Stumbo

  Loved this book of poems. Perhaps my favorite is the poem of the same name as the book “The Call Me Güero.” That poem moved me to tears as I relate to being a white presenting Mexican. This book was nostalgia for a culture I miss with my bones.
• 
  Aubrie

  This was a book that hit kind of close to home. I am mixed race, not fully Mexican, not fully white, but like Güero, I am very pale and white-passing. There are several moments in here that remind me of my own family, getting together, making food, and so on, but most especially when Güero talks to his uncle Joe:
  
  "Es más, when I was in elementary
  they didn't let me call myself José!
  It was Joseph this and Joseph that.
  So I became Joe. And forget using Spanish.
  They caught you saying a single word, y
  ¡PAS! You got smacked."
  
  I have to tell people that don't know, that for my family, Spanish was literally "beaten" out of them. This happened to my grandpa when he was in school. He didn't teach his children Spanish. By the time I was in school, taking a foreign language was a requirement. I chose Spanish because it was part of my roots. However, I was also going to school in a very small and, perhaps, small-minded town. I wasn't allowed to speak it outside of class. The phrase "You are in America, speak English," was so commonly said to me back then. I did know people who spoke Spanish. Unfortunately, if I tried speaking with them, they just told me it wasn't good enough. There are many Latinxs who believe that if you don't speak it, you aren't actually Latinx. The fact is that Spanish is no longer spoken in my family. It doesn't mean we aren't Latinx, it just means we were victims of a form of cultural genocide that began when my great grandparents moved to America. This little snippet brought me to tears.
  
  Another thing about being white-passing are the privileges that come with it. Güero's father sheds a bit of wisdom on the matter:
  
  “M’ijo, pale folks catch all the breaks
  here and in Mexico, too. Not your fault.
  Not fair. Just the way it’s been for years.
  Doors will open for you that won’t for me.”
  
  My eyes fill with tears. “But I didn’t ask
  anyone to open them for me!”
  
  Dad squeezes my hand. “No, but now
  you’ve got to hold them open for us all.”
  
  I always felt guilty for being lighter, and that I shouldn't speak up because, since I look white, I don't have the same experiences. But the thing is, I'm also an outsider looking in. I've seen the sort of things that happen to my brother, my cousins, and my friends for having darker skin. It makes me angry and I should definitely talk about it with others, especially those who won't even talk to my family or friends. Over time I have learned to be more vocal about it, but this book just makes me want to do more.
  
  Of course, this book isn't just about the more complex issues. Much of the book was just about family and friendship. How they spent summer holidays, or getting together for Tamalada (my family would make ONE HUNDRED DOZEN tamales during Christmas time), or goofing around in the library at school.
  
  To conclude, this book was fun in the best ways and serious when it needed to be. This is actually considered a children's book, but I think that it was written well enough to be read by people of any age. It held a bit of nostalgia for me and I let a friend of mine borrow it because we share sort of the same background. I would also recommend this to those who are more curious about Mexican culture or who are mixed like me.
• 
  Nicole

  Inspired by his English teacher, a twelve-year-old Mexican-American boy, nickname Guero by his friends and family, writes a variety of poems reflecting on his life experiences growing up in the United States near the boarder of Mexico. These poems reflect on the anger him and his sister feel when their family gets stopped at checkpoints, the experiences of new friends, and considering his father a hero.
  
  One of the most important features of this book is the use of Spanish words mixed into the mainly English text. This reflects the bilingual abilities that most children living near the Mexican border of the United States hold. Because of the poetry aspect of the text, readers are able to create a mental picture of the life that Guero, and children like him, lives. They live in a dual cultural society in which they are both American and Mexican at the same time. They are too American for the native people of Mexico and too Mexican for the native people of America (as weird as that sounds since everyone living in America is technically an immigrant except the Native Americans). This book also has a glossary to define and help readers pronounce the Spanish phrases included in the narrative.
  
  This book is geared towards middle school readers as the main character is a twelve-year-old boy. However, I do believe that this book could be used in high school as well. This book is a new book published in 2018 as a response to the political tension on Mexicans who come to the United States illegally. In both middle school and high school, this book could be used to either help Mexican-American students identify with a text read in class or to help non Mexican-America students explore the language, beliefs, life, and challenges of this culture. I think this subject would be very controversial in school, and would require more texts to help the students fully understand this culture though.
  
  This book can be described as a culturally specific text. It gives specific information on different aspects of the Mexican-American culture. Because it is written as poetry, the focus of the text is the feelings of Guero. This helps build rapport between the character and the reader, which makes the reader feel for the character and the experiences he goes through. However, because of the poetry set up, I think that many students would have a hard time staying engaged in this book, especially since I did as an adult. I also think that students living in an area where not many Mexican-Americans are treated how they are treated in the border states might make it hard for some students to fully believe that this is what their life is truly like.
• 
  Diana

  How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!
  
  This was SUCH a beautiful collection; there was joy, heartbreak, comfort, harsh realities, and laugh-out-loud silliness, but most of all, there was TRUTH. Bowles captures every nuance of life on this border - a place I love and where I've lived and worked and socialized and defended passionately for almost 45 years. While I am not Mexican-American myself (I am of Spanish/Italian/French descent), I have deeply absorbed the cultural texture of this area: its language, its food, its customs, its daily celebration of life and love - as well as the anger and heartache of the oppression and slings and arrows that have been aimed at these beautiful people that I have come to regard as mi familia!
  
  Tamaladas at Christmas, crossing the bridge to go shopping or have lunch "en el otro lado," passing the checkpoint 80 miles north of here (I remember my mother having to show her green card, clutching her passport, too), trips to Monterey - reading about these experiences through Guero's voice transported me to my own growing up years. Such vivid descriptions!
  
  What I loved most about the book, however, was how Guero breaks all the stereotypes: he's a nerd, who loves and writes poetry, who shows affection for his dad (and a dad who shows that affection back). This is a collection that ALL middle and high school kids (boys and girls alike, but especially boys like Guero) should read; it will show them that there is no ONE way to "be a man."
  
  My particular favorite poems in no particular order:
  Los Bobbys, or the Bookworm Squad (brilliant!)
  Ms. Wong and the Rabbit (Exhilarating)
  The Refuge on the Ranch (Sublime)
  Losing Puchi (Sob-inducing - how could you David!!)
  Carne Asada (Mouth watering and brings back such memories!)
  La Mano Pachona (Hilarious!)
  The Newcomer (This one will stay with me a LONG time!)
  They Call Me Guero (Heart-achingly beautiful)
  
  I am truly IN AWE of this book! Thanks for writing it, David!!
  
  (Disclaimer: the author is a colleague and friend at the university where I work - but this is a truly HONEST review!)
• 
  Edith

  Choose a character you'd like (or not like) to have as a
  friend. Tell why?
  
  I would like to be Güero’s friend because he seems like a respectful, responsible guy. He started reading at a young age and many people call him a “nerd” because of how smart he is. I feel like I missed out on having a “book smart” friend. If I could be his friend I would simply because he is a very family orientated fictional character. He visits his dad every Saturday and is always spending time with his whole family. His family always seems to have parties and carne asada’s which are my favorite! His family seems a lot like mine so I wouldn’t mind spending time with his family, I think it would be supper fun! I almost feel like he is my cousin.
  
  Rationale: I chose this book in general because when I read the title I felt like I would connect with the book. I also got the freedom of choosing what I wanted to read. Professor Phillips just gave us two requirements it has to be intermediate level and it has to be a multicultural book. On page 128 of The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller there is a section called "select one theme or concept that students are expected to understand.."I had the choice of what to read and once I began reading this book I couldn’t put it down. The reason why I chose this activity alternative is because I really felt like I knew Güero and I felt like he could be my friend. I connected with this character because I am also hispanic with a big family. I know what its like to be family oriented and always have a party/ carne asada.
• 
  Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book*

  They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems by David Bowles 111 pages. POETRY Cinco Puntos Press, 2018 $13 Content: G
  
  MS - ESSENTIAL
  
  AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
  
  12-year-old Güero is a light skinned Mexican American who lives on the border, literally and figuratively. He is as comfortable speaking Spanish as he is speaking English, and he has family on both sides of the river. This year he is starting 7th grade with some great friends, a wonderful teacher who gets his poetry, and maybe a girlfriend.
  
  I expected this to be about the problems of living on the border, and, while there were poems which addressed crossing between the United States and Mexico, and dealing with generational racism, for the most part it is about a middle school boy enjoying his family traditions, getting in trouble with his friends and negotiating adolescence. Although not technically a novel in verse, the poems are organized beautifully, so we feel we've spent some quality time with this boy and his friends and family. I loved this collection and can't wait to recommend it in my library. There is a lot of Spanish incorporated into the English poetry, so the author has included a five page glossary and pronunciation guide.
  
  Lisa Librarian
  
  https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2019...
• 
  Suzanne

  This is a solid middle grade novel-in-verse but it seemed more like a series of snapshots that resulted in world-building than a novel. Of course, this could be the intended function and it does well at that. I enjoyed the slices of life that the book captures and loved the seamless integration of Spanish words. Some of my favorite words I learned were fregona “tough girl” from the poem introducing Joanna and also papacho “loving cuddle” hugs from his abuelos.
  
  Update: I was still thinking about the book and recalled how the poems are supposed to be written by Güero, which does a lot to explain the snapshot effect.
• 
  Amanda

  2019 Reading Challenge this my read it in a day book.
  
  I loved that I could see my family and my cousins Ivan and Stacy reflected in it. The tamalada, cascarones and sense of home, family and friendships resonates. Seeing the words huerco and chamaco was a first for me. My favorite poem was Refuge on the Ranch reminds me of home and Uncle Joe’s History Lesson resonates a truth about my family’s lived experiences.
  
  Highly recommend!! David Bowles ¡Bravo!
• 
  Amber Lea

  I feel like you have to be an amazing writer if you're going to chose poetry as your format because it requires way more creativity than normal writing and you have to work extra hard to make it worth reading.
  
  I don't think the prose added anything here.
  
  Also, every time the author used slang it felt like this:
  
  
• 
  Sean

  2.5-3?
  
  I think I came into this one with the wrong expectations. I was expecting a chapbook/poetry collection, but this is actually just a really short novel-in-verse.
  
  The last few poems really picked up in clarity and weight. I wish it either continued that momentum or built it up earlier in the text.
• 
  Mike

  Reading this, I find myself wishing I could have had a comparable book about a Japanese American kid when I was young. I really do think that it’s a great time for literature, especially children’s and middle-grade lit.
• 
  Lovey

  An intense read about a young boy living on the border. His insight into family is both charming and funny. There are rocky points, but he is clear on the love of his parents and extended family. Use the entire book or just selected poems. Relevant to topics of today.
• 
  Megan

  I went into it thinking it was a novel in verse, and kept looking for the narrative. When I finally realized (slow of me, I know!) that it was simply and beautifully a book of poems, I enjoyed them so much more!
• 
  Debbie Armbruster

  Ok, but not what I had hoped for.
  
  While I liked that the poems were snapshots of the life of a 12 year old boy, I found the end abrupt. 2.5 stars
  
• 
  Ernesto Cisneros

  Reading this book brought back so many fond memories for me. I'm sure it will do the same for many more.
• 
  Wendy

  Not quite a novel in verse, but more than a poetry collection, this book took awhile to win me over, but by the end I was sold. 4.5 stars.
• 
  Mariya Ortiz

  This novel in verse transported me right back to the Rio Grande Valley with its references to Joya and tamaladas con chisme.