Parrot in the Oven Mi Vida For Manuel Hernandez, the year leading up to his test of courage, his initiation into a gang, is a time filled with the pain and tension, awkwardness and excitement of growing up in a mixed-up, crazy world. Mannys dad is always calling him el perico, or parrot. Its from a Mexican saying about a parrot that complains how hot it is in ... more »the shade while all along hes sitting inside the oven and doesnt know it. But Manny wants to be smarter than the parrot in the ovenhe wants to find out what it means to be a vato firme, a guy to respect. From an exciting new voice in Chicano literature, this is a beautifully written, vivid portrait of one Mexican-American boys life.
1998 Pura Belpre Author Award
1996 Americas Award for Childrens and Young Adult Literature
1997 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)
1996 National Book Award for Young Peoples Literature« less