Emergency Quarters

PreS-Gr 3–Ernesto’s mom gives him a quarter each morning as he leaves for school so he can use a pay phone to call if there is an emergency. The quarters gather in his pocket as the week passes by. Each day there is another temptation to spend them—on baseball cards, at the arcade, for a snack. Readers will be amazed at Ernesto’s willpower and wonder how long it will last. When he finally does use the quarters to purchase a delicious empanada while he is waiting on his friend Raoul’s haircut, he tells his mom, “There was an emergency at the barbershop.” Zhang’s vibrant gouache and watercolor illustrations capture the lively urban setting of this memory from the author’s childhood. Warm, rich colors of terracotta tiles, ocher walls, and red chairs in Ernesto’s home are echoed throughout the storefronts and interiors. Elevated trains, food trucks, street vendors, and small shops are all part of the neighborhood he and his friends walk through each day on the way to school, Little League games, and home again. Latinx references add to the diverse setting with the sound of tamboras and marimbas from car speakers, vendors selling tamales and “jugos de frutas,” and the presence of neighbors such as Señora Mayra and Doña Tania.