Mexikid was a 2024 Newbery Honor Book and the winner of several other awards. This is a pretty substantial graphic novel with abundant text to support the visual narrative. It outlines the author’s experience as a child in going to Mexico with his family to collect his aging grandfather and bring him back to the United States. The journey is somewhat of an odyssey with immediate and extended family interactions, some cultural and heritage learnings, and an epic family road trip. Young readers will connect with Peter aka Pedro because the narrative is told from the viewpoint of someone their own age. As a medium, the graphic novel format is an extremely effective and engaging way to bring a memoir to middle grade readers–as memoirs can easily become wandering or dry for a younger (and older) demographic. Mexikid is a visually engaging view into a young person’s experience as the child of immigrants who was born in the United States, but who has strong heritage ties to Mexico.
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 1 religious exclamation; 1 mild obscenity; 1 anatomical term.
Violence/Gore: As a graphic novel, portrayals are through both text and images. References to the Mexican revolution and other uprisings; reference to firing squad; rough-housing amongst siblings, mostly in fun; story about grandfather fighting bandits; extended and serious account in a graveyard where family is relocating a family member’s grave, some imagery of old remains; character fantasizes about his grandfather beating up some kids that hustled him; discussion about killing rabbits with slingshots; several page account where an animal is hit with a vehicle, severely injured and in distress and character is in distress over the situation that ultimately ends in the butcher of the animal for food (not portrayed–but a panel showing image of cleaver, dripping blood and cats lapping).
Sex/Nudity: As a graphic novel, portrayals are through both text and images. Reference to Mexican courting ritual; young character is sweet on an older girl (brief); reference and image of a pee-pee doll (which is basically naked and squirts water).
Mature Subject Matter:
Immigration related matters, relocation of a gravesite.
Alcohol/Drug Use:
Reference to adults drinking tequila; images showing an adult drinking while cutting someone’s hair (implication he is somewhat drunk); reference to adults drinking beer.
