Little Lobo is eager to drive his new camión to the big celebration, taking with him piñatas, cakes, fireworks, presents, and a musical group called Ranita y sus Lily Pads. But in order to get there, he has to cross the bridge, which astute readers will realize is the bridge over the Río Grande that connects two border towns, Juárez and El Paso. During the hours-long wait on the bridge, Little Lobo remarks on all of the sights and sounds, and as night falls, when he realizes they aren’t going to make it in time for the celebration, they decide to have a celebration right there on the bridge. As with the author/illustrator’s previous books about Little Lobo, there is a lot to look at in the boldly colored illustrations, which are filled with humorous details. An endnote recalls the author’s childhood memories of frequently crossing the bridge, by car and on foot; his mother was born in Juárez and his father in El Paso, so they had family on both sides of the border.
(Ages 3-8)