MIGUEL MUST FIGHT!

A young aspiring artist must save his community from the fearsome El Dragón.

Miguel’s familia is dedicated to “the deadly art of sword fighting.” His abuelitos, his mami and papi, and even his hermanita, Zulema, devote their time to swashbuckling. Miguel, however, prefers “a gentler kind of art”—one that moves him to sketch and observe the world around him, despite his familia’s strong objections. “You must focus on fighting and winning! That is the García legacy!” Even those in town admonish him for forgoing his duties to protect his community. But one day, El Dragón arrives with a mighty “ROAAAAR!!!!” Miguel’s familia leaps into battle, but soon enough, each sword fighter crumbles against the formidable creature. To save the day, Miguel steps forward, armed with a pencil and sketchbook. Will El Dragón fight back? Familiar in its core premise but delightful in execution, Ofelia’s picture-book debut crackles with a playful text that wraps a self-affirming message in a thrilling mini-adventure, punctuated with Spanish words and phrases throughout. Palacios’ rich acrylic and gouache artwork splendidly favors earthy tones—a convergence of predominantly yellows, greens, and oranges—to ground Miguel’s heroism, which leads to a joyful finale. Characters are brown-skinned and read as Latine.

A maravilloso reminder of being true to oneself.