Sumo Libre

PreS-Gr 2–Max is obsessed with lucha libre. Kenji, his new next-door neighbor, is just as obsessed with sumo wrestling. When they get together to try their moves on each other—readers will guess that it doesn’t go well. Apologies are made via paper airplanes, plans are hatched for a big event that will how the best of both worlds, and the whole neighborhood pitches in to help make the first-ever Sumo Libre match a success! This is a cute, all-ages appealing story about cultures coming together in a fun, unexpected way. Cepeda’s illustrations are wonderfully detailed in bright oil and acrylic. Characters of all different skin colors and ethnicities are drawn with care; there is amazing attention to details such as Max’s bedroom walls painted to look like a wrestling ring, while Kenji has a dohyo painted on his bedroom floor.