Pedro's Yo-Yos: How a Filipino Immigrant Came to America and Changed the World of Toys
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9781620145746
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Author: Rob Penas
Illustrator: Carl Angel
Publisher: Lee & Low: 2024
Format: Hardcover
Condition: New
ISBN: 9781620145746
For Young Readers and others interested in learning the origins of yo-yo tricks such as "Rock the Baby", Loop the Loop", and "Walk the Dog."
Illustrator: Carl Angel
Publisher: Lee & Low: 2024
Format: Hardcover
Condition: New
ISBN: 9781620145746
For Young Readers and others interested in learning the origins of yo-yo tricks such as "Rock the Baby", Loop the Loop", and "Walk the Dog."
Description
This contextualizing origin story of one of the most successful toys of all time doubles as the biography of Filipino entrepreneur Pedro Flores (1896–1964). Born during Spain’s rule of the Philippines, Flores immigrated to the United States at 15 after the country was sold to the U.S. Arriving in Honolulu, he labored in pineapple fields, then took work on steamships, before heading to high school years later. Working as a bellhop in Santa Barbara, he “felt no better off than when he left the Philippines,” Peñas writes. To entertain the child of a family he stayed with, he carved a wooden yo-yo, a version of a childhood toy he’d played with back home, and taught the boy tricks. Word spread, and Flores soon opened one factory, then more, to manufacture yo-yos. Angel’s uneven digital illustrations capture experiences of colonialism and labor alongside the joy of a new toy in this well-researched picture book affirming ingenuity and perseverance. An author’s note and more concludes. Ages 4–7.
Author
Rob Peñas is a second-generation Filipino-American whose parents immigrated to the United States in the 1960s. He grew up in a house filled with books and playing 16-inch softball. Pedro's Yo-Yos was a New Voices winner and marks his debut. Rob was inspired to write this book when he learned that the ever-popular yo-yo toy was credited to a Filipino. It was important to Rob that Pedro's story and achievement not be left in obscurity. He lives with his family in Kansas, where the prairie is not too far away.
Illustrator
Carl Angel is an artist, illustrator, and graphic designer whose work has been exhibited throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Hawai'i. A Filipino American who grew up in Honolulu, Carl lives in San Leandro, California. He is the illustrator of several books, including Willie Wins, Lakas and the Manilatown Fish, and Lakas and the Makibaka Hotel.
This contextualizing origin story of one of the most successful toys of all time doubles as the biography of Filipino entrepreneur Pedro Flores (1896–1964). Born during Spain’s rule of the Philippines, Flores immigrated to the United States at 15 after the country was sold to the U.S. Arriving in Honolulu, he labored in pineapple fields, then took work on steamships, before heading to high school years later. Working as a bellhop in Santa Barbara, he “felt no better off than when he left the Philippines,” Peñas writes. To entertain the child of a family he stayed with, he carved a wooden yo-yo, a version of a childhood toy he’d played with back home, and taught the boy tricks. Word spread, and Flores soon opened one factory, then more, to manufacture yo-yos. Angel’s uneven digital illustrations capture experiences of colonialism and labor alongside the joy of a new toy in this well-researched picture book affirming ingenuity and perseverance. An author’s note and more concludes. Ages 4–7.
Author
Rob Peñas is a second-generation Filipino-American whose parents immigrated to the United States in the 1960s. He grew up in a house filled with books and playing 16-inch softball. Pedro's Yo-Yos was a New Voices winner and marks his debut. Rob was inspired to write this book when he learned that the ever-popular yo-yo toy was credited to a Filipino. It was important to Rob that Pedro's story and achievement not be left in obscurity. He lives with his family in Kansas, where the prairie is not too far away.
Illustrator
Carl Angel is an artist, illustrator, and graphic designer whose work has been exhibited throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Hawai'i. A Filipino American who grew up in Honolulu, Carl lives in San Leandro, California. He is the illustrator of several books, including Willie Wins, Lakas and the Manilatown Fish, and Lakas and the Makibaka Hotel.