Armando y la escuela de lona azul / Armando and the Blue Tarp School

In Spanish. The story of a young Mexican boy living in a colonia (trash dump community) who takes the first steps toward realizing his dream of getting an education.

Buh-beep! Buh-beep! A truck horn sounds through Armando’s colonia, his neighborhood, near the city dump. Señor David is back, setting up school on a blue tarp spread on the ground. Oh how Armando longs to go to this school, but he knows he must help his father pick through trash in the dump for things his family can use, recycle, or sell.

When Armando’s parents decide at last to let him spend afternoons at Señor David’s school, Armando is overjoyed. He’ll learn to read and write. He’ll learn numbers. Best of all, he’ll draw pictures. And one momentous day Armando’s love of drawing helps bring an almost unimaginable treasure to the children of the colonia.

Translated from Armando and the Blue Tarp School, Armando y la escuala de lona azul is a testament to the pursuit of dreams and the power of one person to make a difference in the lives of others.

Edith Hope Fine is a full-time writer of children’s books and stories. Fine’s Under the Lemon Moon, published by Lee & Low Books, was a Parents’ Choice Award Honor book. Fine lives in Encinitas, California. To find out more, visit Edith Hope Fine’s Web site at edithfine.com. Edith, along with co-author Judith Pinkerton Josephson, have created a special site for the Lee & Low Books title Armando and the Blue Tarp School at bluetarpschool.com. Judith Pinkerton Josephson is a full-time writer of children’s books and stories. Josephson’s Growing Up in World War II won first place in the San Diego Book Awards. She lives in Encinitas, California. To find out more, visit Judith Pinkerton Josephson’s Web site at judithjosephson.com. Judith, along with co-author Edith Hope Fine, have set up a special site for the Lee & Low Books title Armando and the Blue Tarp School at bluetarpschool.com. Hernán Sosa was born in Argentina and raised in Paraguay. He received a degree in visual communications from the Colorado Institute of Art. He currently works as an illustrator of children’s books and as a graphic designer focusing mostly on magazines. Sosa and his wife live in Denver, Colorado. His Web site is coroflot.com/hernansosaillustration.