Lupe Wong Won't Dance

Lupe Wong Won't Dance, also published as Lupe Wong No Baila, is a middle-grade sports novel written by Donna Barba Higuera, illustrated by Mason London, translated to Spanish by Libia Brenda, and published September 8, 2020 by Levine Querido. The book is a Junior Library Guild selection,[1] a Pura Belpré Award honor book,[2][3] and PNBA Book Award winner.[4]

Lupe Wong Won't Dance
AuthorDonna Barba Higuera
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish, Spanish
GenreMiddle-grade fiction
PublisherLevine Querido, Arthur A. Levine
Publication date
September 8, 2020
Media typeHardcover, Paperback, Audiobook
Pages272
AwardsPura Belpre Award honor
ISBN9781646140039 Hardcover edition

Plot

Guadalupe "Lupe" Wong is a half-Chinese, half-Mexican seventh grade student at Issaquah Middle School who dreams of becoming the first female pitcher in Major League Baseball. An opportunity arises for her to meet Fu Li Hernandez, “the first Asian/Latino pitcher in the major leagues,”[5] if she receives straight A's in her classes. Everything goes well until she learns that she'll have to square dance in gym class to earn an A.

Reception

Lupe Wong Won't Dance is a Junior Library Guild book.[1] It received many positive reviews, including starred reviews from Booklist[6] and Publishers Weekly.[5]

Kirkus Reviews applauded the book's diversity in terms of character's interests and ethnicities and how Higuera was able to avoid "'diversity quota' pitfalls."[7]

Selenia Paz, writing for Booklist, called Lupe Wong Won't Dance "[a] laugh-out-loud story about family, friendship, and the beauty in being true to yourself."[6]

Awards and honors for Lupe Wong Won't Dance
Year Award/Honor Result Ref.
2020 ALSC Notable Children's Books Selection [8][9]
Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth Selection [10]
2021 Booklist's Best Middle-Grade Debuts Top 10 [11]
Booklist's Best Sports Books for Youth Top 10 [12]
PNBA Book Award Winner [4]
Pura Belpré Award for Author Honor [2][3]
Sid Fleischman Humor Award Winner [13]

References
  1. "Lupe Wong no baila (Lupe Wong Won't Dance) by Donna Barba Higuera". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  2. Morales, Macey (2021-01-25). "ALA announces 2021 Youth Media Awards". American Library Association. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  3. Morales, Macey (2022-01-24). "Raúl Gonzalez, Donna Barba Higuera and Raquel Vasquez Gilliland win Pura Belpré Awards". American Library Association. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  4. "2021 Book Awards". Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  5. "Children's Book Review: Lupe Wong Won't Dance by Donna Barba Higuera. Levine Querido, $17.99 (272p) ISBN 978-1-64614-003-9". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  6. Paz, Selenia (2020-09-01). "Lupe Wong Won't Dance". Booklist. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  7. "Lupe Wong Won't Dance". Kirkus Reviews. 2020-06-16. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  8. "Notable Children's Books: 2021". Booklist. 2021-03-15. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  9. Schulte-Cooper, Laura (2021-03-30). "ALSC names 2021 Notable Children's Books". American Library Association. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  10. "Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2020". Booklist. 2021-01-01. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  11. Khuri, Ronny (2021-04-15). "Top 10 Middle-Grade Debuts: 2021". Booklist. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  12. Khuri, Ronny (2021-09-01). "Top 10 Sports Books for Youth: 2021". Booklist. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  13. "2021 Golden Kite Award Winners and Honor Recipients Announced". Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
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