An Author Interview with Pedro MartÍn

Pedro Martín is the Newbery Honor Award, Pura Belpre Author and Illustrator Award-winning creator of the graphic memoir MEXIKID, based off his online comic series of the same name. In this extraordinary graphic memoir companion, MEXIKID DREAMS, hilarious family hijinks, immigration patrols, and musical daydreams shape a year of growth and change for a Mexican-American boy. As he learns more about his parents’ and abuelito’s past, and the choices they made in order to open up more choices for him, he starts to understand that freedom isn’t just about leaving the fields – it’s about knowing where you came from and having the courage to draw your own life.

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What three words would you choose to describe MEXIKID DREAMS?

Funny, tragic, and hopeful.

MEXIKID was hit with kids and gatekeepers across the board. How did you decide on what to write next for young Pedro in MEXIKID DREAMS? 

I really wanted to tell the rest of the story when it came to my family. In the first book, we visited a magical place full of history and wonder. It was a road-trip story full of laughter and adventure. In this book, we visit a place where the work was hard and financial survival is always on the line. It’s the same family full of love and laughter, but this time the stakes are higher. 

You’ve done a lot of school visits and have met a lot of readers since MEXIKID won a Newbery Honor and Pura Belpré awards. Did that experience impact how you approached MEXIKID DREAMS? 

Oh my gosh, yes! I wrote the first book in isolation during the pandemic. And for all intents and purposes it was a story I was telling to only one person, my editor, Kate Harrison. But when I ventured out and met the real audience, I was truly humbled. The kids were so enthusiastic and so earnest in their love of that story that I swore to myself I would make sure any future stories I tell will honor their sweet little monkey-souls. 

But the real kicker was when this one kid came up to me and pointed at the cover and said, “That’s me! I’m Mexikid!”

I suddenly realized how important it was for these kids to see themselves represented in literature. It was something I didn’t have growing up. Seeing it suddenly in front of me was very powerful. 

MEXIKID DREAMS has just as much heart and humor as the first book (if not more). How do you balance both of those while also telling the history of a family and community?

Humor in the face of hardship has always been a mainstay in communities that struggle. It’s the one free gift that we give ourselves when faced with obstacles. 

First we laugh at the obstacles, and then, we laugh at ourselves. And then our brothers and sisters laugh at us. And then we get mad at our brothers and start hurling over-ripe strawberries at their heads. It’s more complicated than it needs to be.

What do you hope readers take away from both books?

Empathy.

I hope that by writing a very personal story based on real people, that the readers will come see the world through different eyes. That they’ll come to have compassion for those whose struggles are different from their own and connect with their diverse hopes and fears. We’re at our best when we identify with the humanity of others. We’re at our worst when we demonize and mistreat those who can’t defend themselves.

What’s happening today is a horrific lack of empathy on the part of the state. A movement that strips away the humanity of our friends and neighbors for political gain.

It might be too late to change the hearts of those in power, but it isn’t too late to help the next generation learn about the all the wonderful things that immigrants bring with them when they seek a place to prosper.

About the Author

Learn more about Pedro Martín and his work. >