The Chupacabras of the Río Grande (The Unicorn Rescue Society, Band 4) - Hardcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Adam Gidwitz is the author of the critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling Grimm trilogy. He spent six years researching and writing his Newbery Honor-winning The Inquisitor's Tale, including a year living in Europe. Adam lives with his family in Brooklyn, NY. Find Adam online at adamgidwitz.com or @AdamGidwitz.

David Bowles is a Mexican American author from south Texas, where he teaches at the University of Texas, Río Grande Valley. Recipient of awards from the American Library Association, Texas Institute of Letters and Texas Associated Press, he has written several titles, most notably the Pura Belpré Honor Book The Smoking Mirror.

Chris Lenox Smith is the Creative Director and cofounder of Mixtape Club, an award-winning audiovisual creative studio. Mixtape works with a range of brands and artists, including Google, HBO, ESPN, Spotify, Primus, and They Might Be Giants, to create memorable, narrative-driven films. Chris is a two-time winner of the ADC Young Guns Award for animation and music composition, his work spans across media, from short films and commercial work to musical scores that marry influences from the precomputer era with modern techniques.

Jesse Casey is the Managing Director and cofounder of Mixtape Club, an award-winning audiovisual creative studio. Mixtape works with a range of brands and artists, including Google, HBO, ESPN, Spotify, Primus, and They Might Be Giants, to create memorable, narrative-driven films. Drawing from his twin backgrounds in computer programming and printmaking, Jesse's work embraces contemporary technology as a means to re-create the craft and artistry of classic film and animation.

Hatem Aly is an Egyptian-born illustrator whose work has been featured on television and in multiple publications worldwide. He currently lives in New Brunswick, Canada, with his wife, son, and more pets than people. Find him online at metahatem.com or @metahatem.

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Unicorns are real.

At least, I think they are.

Dragons are definitely real. I have seen them. Chupacabras exist, too. Also Sasquatch. And mermaids—though they are not what you think.

But back to unicorns. When I, Professor Mito Fauna, was a young man, I lived in the foothills of Peru. One day, there were rumors in my town of a unicorn in danger, far up in the mountains. At that instant I founded the Unicorn Rescue Society—I was the only member—and set off to save the unicorn. When I finally located it, though, I saw that it was not a unicorn, but rather a qarqacha, the legendary two-headed llama of the Andes. I was very slightly disappointed. I rescued it anyway. Of course.

Now, many years later, there are members of the Unicorn Rescue Society all around the world. We are sworn to protect all the creatures of myth and legend. Including unicorns! If we ever find them! Which I’m sure we will!

But our enemies are powerful and ruthless, and we are in desperate need of help. Help from someone brave and kind and curious, and brave. (Yes, I said “brave” twice. It’s important.)

Will you help us? Will you risk your very life to protect the world’s mythical creatures?

Will you join the Unicorn Rescue Society?

I hope so. The creatures need you.

Defende Fabulosa! Protege Mythica!

Mito Fauna, DVM, PhD, EdD, etc.

CHAPTER ONE

It was a peaceful morning in Miss Vole’s class­room.

Miss Vole was giving a lecture about the Mexican-American War.

Every student was absolutely silent. Not be­cause they were mesmerized by Miss Vole’s lec­ture. They were absolutely silent because pretty much every single student was fast asleep.

Pai Lu had her head on her desk, her eyes were shut, and she was rhythmically breathing through her black-lipstick-covered lips.

Janey was bent backward over her chair, her mouth wide-open, as if she were dead.

Jasper and Johnna were leaning against each other, Jasper’s head nestled in the crook of Johnna’s neck. They were gently snoring in harmony, like two blenders of different sizes, running at the same time.

Jimmy was doubled over on himself, his head between his knees.

Uchenna sat directly behind Jimmy. She was awake, because Jimmy kept silently farting in his sleep. She wanted to poke him and tell him to stop farting, but every time she reached out her finger to poke him, another fart wafted in her direction, making her curl up in a ball and whimper.

Elliot was also awake. He was furiously tak­ing notes on Miss Vole’s lecture. He was pretty sure that some portion of it would be on the test. If there was a test. Which Miss Vole had never mentioned. But he wanted to be ready. Just in case.

“In the year 1836,” Miss Vole was saying, “more than one hundred and eighty years ago, Texas and California were a part of Mexico’s territories. Have you heard of Texas and Califor­nia, children?” Miss Vole always talked to the class like they were kindergartners. It drove El­liot crazy. And, apparently, it put everyone else to sleep. “Texas and California are states. In the United States. But they didn’t use to be! You see—”

BOOM!

Every kid in Miss Vole’s classroom sat straight up.

Janey snapped forward and hit her head on the table.

Pai Lu said, “Werewolves?! Zombies?! Vam­pires!? What’s happening!?” And then she said, “Please let it be vampires!”

Jasper and Johnna pulled away from each other, disgusted that they’d been cuddling without realizing it. And then they each took a breath. They spun around in their seats and faced Jimmy. “Ugh!” Johnna moaned. “What did you eat this morning?!”

Jimmy sat up and grinned.

Then they all turned to the source of the booming sound.

The classroom door had been thrown open. Standing in the doorway was a tall, thin man in a tattered tweed suit. He had hair like a tidal wave, a beard streaked with black and white, and eye­brows you could lose a pen in.

“Perdón, Miss Vole,” said Professor Fauna, the most eccentric social studies teacher on the planet—and the founder of the secret Unicorn Rescue Society. “I need Uchenna and Elliot. Right away.”

Miss Vole looked unhappy. “Professor Fauna, you’re always taking those two. They have missed far too much class already. Whatever you’re tak­ing them for, it can’t possibly be—”

“It is very important, Miss Vole. I need them to watch television with me.”

Miss Vole squinted. “What?”

All the kids stared at Professor Fauna. Elliot and Uchenna included.

“Yes!” Suddenly, Professor Fauna seemed less confident. “Uh . . . you see . . . television is very important! There is much information that can be gath­ered from TV! You can watch the news, the sports, the weather, the fake news, the fake sports, the fake weather. Muy importante.”

“Can I come?” Jimmy asked. “I want to watch TV!”

The professor looked at Jimmy. “What? In school? Are you kidding? TV rots your brains! Besides, you look like you watch too much TV already. Try reading a book, young man. Elliot and Uchenna, ¡vámonos!”

And he left the room.

Elliot and Uchenna quickly collected their backpacks and walked to the classroom door. El­liot turned back to the class and waved sheepishly before following Professor Fauna down the hall.

Miss Vole shook her head, as if waking up from a dream, and then turned back to the class. “Where was I? Oh yes! Did you know that Cali­fornia and Texas are states?”

Twenty children instantly fell asleep.

CHAPTER TWO

Uchenna and Elliot hurried to keep up with the long strides of the professor. He swept down a staircase, and then down another one, and they followed, until they were in the subbasement of the school. As they strode past large, hum­ming air-conditioning units and yellow buckets on wheels with mop handles sticking out, Elliot tried to ascertain just what was going on.

“Do you really want us to watch TV with you, Professor?” Elliot asked, practically running to keep up. “I mean, while TV is safer than trying to rescue a dragon or a sasquatch, I’m not sure we should be missing class for it.”

Professor Fauna stopped in front of a door with five dead bolts running down one side. The sign on the door read janitorial supplies. But pasted over that was a piece of paper that said, mito fauna, dvm, phd, edd, social studies department. “You do not understand, Elliot,” Professor Fauna said as he unlocked the dead bolts, one by one. “On the TV is something about—”

“A mythical creature that needs our help?” Uchenna blurted out.

Professor Fauna nodded. “At least, so I be­lieve.”

He pushed the door open and revealed a tiny office, no bigger than a mattress, lined floor to ceiling with bookshelves. Against one wall was a small desk, and above that was a series of maps and charts with crazy scribbles all over them. Pro­fessor Fauna walked to a bookshelf and pushed some books to one side, revealing a tiny televi­sion. He turned it on. A tiny black-and-white pic­ture appeared. On the screen, a barrel-chested man with a giant cowboy hat was talking to a reporter. The words bob braunfels, rancher ran across the...