Nino Wrestles the World

Ni–o! To a background of wild cheering and jaunty music, young wrestler Ni–o hears his name and enters an (imaginary) ring. Narrator Adriana Sananes is as animated as the crowd and as pumped up as Ni–o himself. Her voice speeds and slows, rises and falls with the thrill of each bout. One by one Ni–o takes on his opponents--from the Guanajuato Mummy to El Chamuco--and sometimes outwits them with a "tickle tackle" or distracts them with a puzzle to solve. When the three o'clock alarm sounds in the recording, it's time for Ni–o's little sisters--LAS HERMINITAS--to awaken from their nap. And they're Ni–o's biggest challenge of all! The production concludes with notes about the Mexican form of wrestling known as LUCHA LIBRE. A.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2016 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Starred review from April 15, 2013
Morales (Georgia in Hawaii) takes her theme from Mexican professional wrestling, and the resulting story is every bit as fun and campy as the theatrical fighting it’s based on. The stars of “lucha libre,” an afterword explains, wear masks that add to their mystery. Niño—“The Boy”—is ready for action in his red mask, sneakers, and underpants. The story rockets from cero to sesenta as Niño imagines taking on the scary demons and bad guys of Mexican lore and knocking them off, one after another, with his own trademark wrestling moves. He undoes the groaning Guanajuato Mummy with a Tickle Tackle, deceives the child-stealing Weeping Woman with decoy baby dolls, and is taken aback only by Las Hermanitas—his little sisters, who have just woken up from their nap. Truly eerie opponents, Spanish exclamations (“Zok!” “Pachatas!”), a bold design, and a lurid palette all contribute to the in-your-face style. Capsule profiles of the combatants on the endpages (Las Hermanitas’ battle cry is “Constant and loud”) only add to the entertainment. Vivan las luchas! Ages 4–8. Agent: Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency.