Nino Wrestles the World (Module 3)

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Morales, Yuyi. 2013. Nino Wrestles the World. New York: Roaring Book Press. ISBN: 9781596436046.

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Nino fights many fantastical foes as a lucha libre fighter and defeats them all. His worst foes, his twin sisters, then wake up from their nap, and he has to figure out how to win with them as well.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Morales uses a digital collage of multiple artforms to create a fun comic book style art work. Nino is a lovable hero wearing his lucha mask and underwear, and there are a lot of comic-type fighting words featured, like “Whunk,” “Slish,” and “Bloop.” The action is so exciting that it doesn't always fit completely on the page (especially when we are introduced to some new foe) which makes the reader want to keep turning pages. Some of the foes may be a bit scary for sensitive younger children (like the mummy and wailing mother ghost that steals children), but overall, they are illustrated in a style that makes them seem more harmless and silly. Nino's methods of defeating them are clever with a bit of pun involved that will also make children laugh, like using the “Puzzle Muzzle move” on the Olmec head to blow his mind. “It is a real skull-cracker!”.

There is a great interspersing of English and Spanish. The opponents' names are all in Spanish as well as many of Nino's exclamations during the fights. A glossary of sorts is on the inside covers with “cards” set up for each luchador giving a pronunciation of his or her name and fun facts, like temperament, lucha style, and battle cries. Readers unfamiliar with lucha libre will soon be fascinated by this form of wrestling.

The reader will be surprised to find the worst foes are real “opponents,” Nino's sisters. The solution of joining with them is a great idea that takes sibling fighting and turns it on its head. This book emphasizes an aspect that all kids with siblings will identify with and reinforces the common theme of strong familial ties of this culture. A fun and adventurous book, Nino Wrestles the World packs a one-two punch with its comedy throughout and feel good ending.


4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

• Kirkus Reviews: "Sure to be a smash."
• School Library Journal: "In comic-book fashion, the bold portrayal of each match includes dialogue bubbles and sound effects printed in decorative fonts (“whunk,” “bloop,” “krunch”)."
• Publisher's Weekly: "Morales takes her theme from Mexican professional wrestling, and the resulting story is every bit as fun and campy as the theatrical fighting it's based on."

5. CONNECTIONS

• Have students think about real life problems that they also have. Brainstorm fun ways to solve that problem. Each student can create his or her own comic book in the style of the book, Lucha Libre. The comic books can be on paper (use printable templates) or look at some of the online comic book maker tools like readwritethink's interactive comic.
• Students should research lucha libre masks. Each one is unique and holds meaning for the fighter. Use the instructions at Firstpallette.com, including multiple templates, to have students draw out their own masks (for younger kids, there are templates they can simply color in). Students can write a paragraph explaining the symbols and colors they chose to have on their mask and why.
• Author Yuyi Morales has a webpage that can lead you to information about her and her books. A link to her YouTube page can take you to how she learned English through Sesame Street as an adult and a wonderful video called “Why I love picture books.” The Nino Wrestles page has a template for a lucha mask for each character and Pinterest board.