Don't Eat the Birthday Boy!

In this second installment of 'The Unlikely Aventuras of Ramón and El Cucuy,' Newbery Medal-winning author Donna Barba Higuera delivers a delightful blend of humor, light spookiness, and heart. El Cucuy, a monster with a soft spot for his human friend Ramón, finds himself in a pickle when the rules between monster and human worlds break down. An assortment of terrifying boogeymen descend upon Ramón's birthday party, eager to feast on the unsuspecting guests. It's up to El Cucuy and Ramón to outwit these new threats and ensure the birthday boy and his friends don't get eaten. Perfect for readers aged 8-12, this illustrated chapter book explores themes of friendship, bravery, and staying true to oneself, even when your ancient duty calls for terror.

A young monster and his human child reunite for a new horror—Ramón’s birthday party!—in this spooky-funny chapter book from Newbery Medal–winning author Donna Barba Higuera, with two-color illustrations throughout by Juliana Perdomo It’s a monster’s ancient duty to inflict unimaginable horrors on misbehaving kids. But El Cucuy doesn’t want to terrorize his assigned human, Ramón—in fact, he’s desperate to get back to the human world to spend more time with his new friend. Unfortunately, back in the monster world, the contract between humans and boogeymen has broken down, and with it, the rules that allow them to coexist in relative peace. When El Cucuy finally makes it back to Ramón, so do a terrifying assortment of boogeymen from other realms. And to those monsters’ delight, they find lots of children gathered in one place: a birthday party! Can El Cucuy and Ramón beat the other boogeymen at their own games—and make sure the birthday boy and his party guests don’t get eaten along the way? Featuring two-color illustrations throughout and perfect for fans of Jon Klassen’s The Skull, this chapter-book series from Newbery Medal–winning author Donna Barba Higuera and acclaimed artist Juliana Perdomo delightfully blends sly humor, light spookiness, and lots of heart.