Joe Cepeda
Joe Cepeda is the award-winning author/illustrator of picture books such as Rafa Counts on Papá (Little Brown) and Sumo Libre (Little Brown). Mr. Cepeda has illustrated books by notable authors including Gary Soto, Pam Muñoz Ryan, Arnold Adoff, Julius Lester and Toni Morrison. He’s also illustrated covers for several titles, including Esperanza Rising and Newberry Medal winner, Merci Suarez Changes Gears. Joe received an ALA 2002 Pura Belpré Honor Award and the Recognition of Merit Award for 2000 from the George G. Stone Center for Children’s Books and was awarded a Capstone Fellowship for 2016. His book, I HOP, received a 2021 Theodore Geisel Honor award. Joe is sought after as a public speaker to schools and other groups. He is a past president of the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles and lives in Southern California.
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Max and Kenji go from friendship to feud when they can’t agree on whether lucha libre or sumo is the superior sport until they realize they can have the best of both in this multicultural wrestling mash-up by Joe Cepeda. Readers can learn how friendship and mutual respect create amazing new things by fusing cultures. The story ends with a “sumo libre” move that will surely twist the entire families’ tongues in complexity! Don’t forget to check out the endpapers of the book, where you can learn about different sumo and lucha techniques, complete with illustrations!
