Lowriders In Space

Lupe Impala, El Chavo Flapjack, and Elirio Malaria love working with cars. You name it, they can fix it. But the team's favorite cars of all are lowriders—cars that hip and hop, dip and drop, go low and slow, bajito y suavecito. The stars align when a contest for the best car around offers a prize of a trunkful of cash—just what the team needs to open their own shop! ¡Ay chihuahua! What will it take to transform a junker into the best car in the universe? Striking, unparalleled art from debut illustrator Raul the Third recalls ballpoint-pen-and-Sharpie desk-drawn doodles, while the story is sketched with Spanish, inked with science facts, and colored with true friendship. With a glossary at the back to provide definitions for Spanish and science terms, this delightful book will educate and entertain in equal measure.

The lovable trio from the acclaimed Lowriders in Space are back! Lupe Impala, Elirio Malaria, and El Chavo Octopus are living their dream at last. They're the proud owners of their very own garage. But when their beloved cat Genie goes missing, they need to do everything they can to find him. Little do they know the trail will lead them to the realm of Mictlantecuhtli, the Aztec god of the Underworld, who is keeping Genie prisoner! With cool Spanish phrases on every page, a glossary of terms, and an action-packed plot that sneaks in science as well as Aztec lore, Lowriders to the Center of the Earth is a linguistic and visual delight. ¡Que suave!

Aren’t lowriders always gangbangers? And, don’t they always hold high status in their neighborhoods? Contrary to both stereotypes, the people who build and drive lowrider cars perform diverse roles while mobilizing a distinctive aesthetic that is sometimes an act of resistance and sometimes of belonging. A fresh application of critical ethnographic methods, Lowrider Space looks beyond media portrayals, high-profile show cars, and famous cruising scenes to bring readers a realistic tour of the “ordinary” lowriders who turn streetscapes into stages on which dynamic identities can be performed.Drawing on firsthand participation in everyday practices of car clubs and cruising in Austin, Texas, Ben Chappell challenges histories of erasure, containment, and class immobility to emphasize the politics of presence evidenced in lowrider custom car style. Sketching out a partially personal map of the lowrider presence in Texas’s capital city, Chappell also explores the interior and exterior adornment of the cars (including the use of images of women’s bodies) and the intersecting production of personal and social space. As he moves through a second-hand economy to procure parts necessary for his own lowrider vehicle, on “service sector” wages, themes of materiality and physical labor intersect with questions of identity, ultimately demonstrating how spaces get made in the process of customizing one’s self.

"In this prequel to the Lowriders books, Elirio, Lupe, and Flapjack become fast friends after each are bullied by Las Matamoscas, and together they form their own car club. Humor, Spanish words, and lowrider culture come together in this graphic novel for reluctant readers, now in library binding"--

Lupe Impala, El Chavo Flapjack, and Elirio Malaria love working with cars. You name it, they can fix it. But the team's favorite cars of all are lowriders—cars that hip and hop, dip and drop, go low and slow, bajito y suavecito. The stars align when a contest for the best car around offers a prize of a trunkful of cash—just what the team needs to open their own shop! ¡Ay chihuahua! What will it take to transform a junker into the best car in the universe? Striking, unparalleled art from debut illustrator Raul the Third recalls ballpoint-pen-and-Sharpie desk-drawn doodles, while the story is sketched with Spanish, inked with science facts, and colored with true friendship. With a glossary at the back to provide definitions for Spanish and science terms, this delightful book will educate and entertain in equal measure.

The next books in the acclaimed Lowriders series combines comics, Spanish, mixing cultures, science, superheroes, and first loves for an out-of-this-world graphic novel experience. A changing planet means new problems—and new friends—for nuestros amigos favoritos! Meet Lupe, a whip-smart impala with a flair for mechanics Flapjack, a sweet young octopus who can shine up anything with his eight gleaming tentacles and Elirio, a thoughtful mosquito who's fascinated with words and determined to become an artist. What do all three have in common? A love of lowriders—and a passion for solving problems! Nothing is normal in the little town where the Lowriders live. To start, Flappy can't see a thing! He keeps mistaking fire hydrants for sailors and laundry for love interests. Even more worrying, the Upscale Business Association is determined to make more money than ever by tearing down local shops in favor of a brand-new development for wealthy landowners. Most disconcerting of all, the monarchs who usually migrate through town at this time of year are nowhere to be found. But when Sokar, a beautiful young monarch, bikes into town with a broken wing, she has scary news to report: A dangerous wildfire is burning fast and hot and nonstop, leaving the monarchs stranded. Might Sokar and Flappy have more in common than meets the goggles? How can the Lowriders save their town? And exactly how powerful is passion in the face of an overheated planet's furious flames? Humor, Spanish, and lowriders come together in this rollicking journey through the bumpy terrain of new friends, climate change, and standing up for what you believe in. ¡Vámonos! ACCLAIMED SERIES: Books in the Lowriders series have won the Pura Belpré award, and won the hearts of readers and reviewers. Discover why kids—and their adults—love reading about the Lowriders! PERFECT FOR RELUCTANT READERS: Bold illustrated spreads, funny storylines, and lots to look at on every page keep reluctant readers engaged all the way through these delightfully entertaining books. DIVERSE CAST OF CHARACTERS: Latinx and Arab cultures are beautifully celebrated in this book, with fascinating facts about these unexpectedly intersecting cultures. CONTEMPORARY ISSUES FOR KIDS: These books tackle so many contemporary and relevant issues. Readers will learn about monarch butterfly migrations and sustainable energy: The Lowriders refurbish their car to be solar-powered! VISUALLY DYNAMIC: Raúl's unique art style is visually refreshing and extremely engaging for kid readers, especially those who love comics and graphic novels! Perfect for: • Fans of the previous Lowriders books • Comic and graphic novel lovers • Reluctant readers • Educators and librarians looking for diverse books

"This book explores how lowrider car culture allows Mexican Americans to alter the urban landscape and make a place for themselves in an often segregated society"--

The local-level and international contributors of Shifting Positionalities encompass particular common themes through in-depth social science research in an effort to understand the meanings of the reformulation of state discourses and practices in this post-9/11 era. Current conjunctions between sexual, racial and ethnic identities—and the surveillance practices of those identities—calls for a thorough examination of the multiple and usually unexpected meaning-making practices adapted by individuals. Far from being predictable, the latter speaks to the possibility of individuals and communities utilizing techniques of actively resisting—as opposed to passively embracing—the policing of their daily lives. Shifting Positionalities: The Local and International Geo-Politics of Surveillance and Policing addresses surveillance and policing as practices and sites that speak to the various ways in which bio-power, displacement and resistance converge to constitute particular subjectivities across borders.