Mexikid 2: Electric Boogaloo. Truthfully, It’s Called Mexikid Dreams. Look, I’m Just Excited to Talk to Pedro Martín Today.

I’m in an awkward position. Remember when Mexikid by Pedro Martín was released and it won a Newbery Honor and we were all just thrilled about it? I mean, legitimately thrilled? Graphic novels don’t win many Newberys (and even fewer Caldecotts) so to see that incredible story given its due in such a public way by such a storied institution as the ALA was a rewarding experience, to say the least.

So why am I in an awkward position? Because I just read the sequel. It’s called Mexikid Dreams, it came out on the first of this month, and, people, we have a problem. Because Mexikid Dreams, and I mean this sincerely, is actually BETTER than Mexikid.

Ugh. This is the worst. It was rare for the Newbery committee to even give the first book an Honor, being a graphic novel and all. There’s no way they’ll give the sequel any kind of attention. Sequels aren’t supposed to be better than their predecessors, but look at this thing! Look, here’s how the publisher describes it:

Pedro Martín is sick of strawberries. Since he was seven, he’s spent every weekend and summer picking berries with his family under the hot sun. Sometimes it’s not so bad—Pedro’s an ace at “strawberry wars” with his siblings, and when a good song comes on the radio, the fields can come alive with music. But mostly, Pedro wishes he could just stay home watching Saturday cartoons, head to the beach like other kids, and not worry about immigration patrols. When his older brother gets a job away from the farm, freedom suddenly seems within arm’s reach: Pedro just has to prove to his dad that he’s ready to follow a different path! Maybe he can be a trombone player, or a cartoonist—if that’s even a real job. But as Pedro learns more about his parents’ and abuelito’s past, and the choices they made in order to open up more choices for him, he starts to understand that freedom isn’t just about leaving the fields—it’s about knowing where you came from and having the courage to draw your own life.

Okay. Now here’s how I would personally describe it:

The last thing Pedro wants to do with his Saturdays is pick strawberries with his whole family. But getting out of the job means finding his passion. Is it music? Or something else entirely different? Granted, while this particular book does not contain a sequence in which a boy decides he’ll prove his manhood by cutting off a living deer’s foot (as found in its delightful predecessor, the Newbery Honor winning Mexikid) this book stands ENTIRELY on its own. More to the point, you needn’t have read the first book to read the second. What’s so interesting about this follow-up is how beautifully (it looks effortless on the page) Martín is able to meld incredibly serious subject matter (his father was friggin’ tattooed by Americans so that if they caught him crossing the border again they’d arrest him) with the light-heartedness we’ve come to expect. Plus his art is just extraordinary. Each one of these books is an absolute joy to read.

However you choose to describe it, it’s impossible not to note that this particular book has four starred reviews so far and is beyond any of these descriptions.

Today, I talk to Pedro about his latest title. I can only hope that what we discuss is able to do it justice:

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Betsy Bird: Pedro! Man. This is like when a superhero arises when people are at their greatest need. We’ve a dire set of circumstances facing us in 2026, but here, gleaming and bright, is a brand new MEXIKID book to lift our spirits once more. So tell it true. Did you always intend to follow up MEXIKID #1 with another graphic novel in the same vein, or were you just as surprised as the rest of us by this sequel? 

Pedro Martín: Wouldn’t that be the best superpower? To be able to use storytelling to change the hearts and minds of the despicable tyrants currently abusing an entire population? From your lips to God’s ears.

When I sold the first story, my apá wanted to get in on the deal. He decided to call me almost every day at what he called tequila o’clock to tell me more stories that he thought I could sell. He’d say “Hey, Peder (He and my amá call me “Peder.” It’s their mash-up of Peter and Pedro) I got a new story for you! I bet you can get ten thousand for it!”

After he’d tell me the story, I would tell him what I thought I could get for it. “Mmm, seems like a seven thousand dollar story, ‘pa.” I only said that to keep him motivated. All his stories are worth millions and millions to me.

Anyway, even before I finished Mexikid, I had the follow-up in my back pocket thanks to my apá. I remember pitching it to my agent (Top-agent Dan Lazar) right after I turned in the final artwork for Mexikid. He asked me to sit on it until we saw how Mexikid did. Which I think was wise. It needed time to cook.

BB: It was a smart move. And, for the record, I feel like your apá comes off SO well in these books (his movie star looks in the photo in the back of this book don’t hurt). You know, some book creators talk about a certain level of fear or hesitation they feel after their debut wins one of the biggest awards in the land. In your case, MEXIKID comes out and the next thing you know it’s won a Newbery Honor (deserved). So did you feel any writer’s block or hesitation diving into book #2 or does it all come naturally at this point?

Pedro: I felt ALL the feelings! Joy, pride, crushing anxiety. Those awards opened a lot of doors. And behind those doors were a ton of people who I did not want to disappoint. Especially the kids. Once I went on the road and met the kids and saw what this book meant to them, I knew I had to bring everything I had to the next book. Really the only hesitation I had was, “Is it good enough.? Will the kids like it?” Other than that, I was really excited to give them another look into the life of a Mexican American kid growing up in the mid-to-late 1900’s in the strawberry fields of California. You know, like they’ve been clamoring for!

BB: Disappointment is NOT an option with this book. I’ve also been a big time fan of the small MEXIKID adjacent comics you’ve done on your Instagram account, always kind of hoping they’d become a book of their own someday. Of course, in those stories you’re younger than you are in MEXIKID DREAMS. Your main character has aged up here and, to a certain extent, I think the subject matter has aged up with him. It’s a little more complicated and sophisticated than its predecessor. Did you have that at all in mind as you wrote it? 

Pedro: I loved doing those Mexikid Stories (The Instagram series). Even though they were meant to be fun, light-hearted stories from my childhood, I found that as I continued to write them, these weird little hidden truths started to reveal themselves to me.

When I got free from the twenty-panel, mostly black and white format and into the graphic novel space, I really started to feel like I could tackle a lot more complicated truths. Having Pedro a little bit older made sense. He needed to feel like he was the right age to process bigger, life-altering events.

My wife Gina was always reminding me how fragile a kid can be at that age and that throwing him into a really dark space was unsettling. She would say “Take care of that little guy! I don’t want to see him hurt.”

If you look at the more recent Mexikid Stories, you can see that I’ve slightly aged him up there too. Even though the stakes aren’t as high in those stories, I still want to be able to address bigger concepts without it being too scary for the little guy.

By the way, my original book pitch WAS just a compilation of all my stories. Most people were skeptical of the idea. They didn’t have the vision you have, Betsy! Hey, everybody… let’s run things by Betsy now and again! She knows things!

BB: See, I like the way you think, man. Yeah, let’s do a spin-off graphic novel series of those strips! And you’re just so doggone good at taking a concept that some kids may already be vaguely familiar with (like picking strawberries) and others may be intimately familiar with, and making it funny and personal and touching. But most of all real. For the book-lovers, some kids are just going to associate the work of picking crops with historical fiction titles like ESPERANZA RISING. Which is a great book, no question, but it feels far removed from their own reality. Your book is also technically historical, but it feels contemporary and really really real. How do you balance the elements that are amusingly old-fashioned (like, say, Neil Diamond) with stuff that kids will completely identify with now? 

Pedro: I’m always hyper aware about bringing up unfamiliar concepts to young readers. I know it’s gonna take a moment to get the idea into a place where it will make sense for them. You hate to slam on the brakes of a good story to explain an old goof-ball concept. Luckily, I LOVE a good “explanatory story.” An “explanastory” if you will.

I know, I know, that’s not a word. But it’s what I used to call the Mexikid Stories that focused on describing Mexican food or Mexican traditions. Explaining a foreign concept is always a place where humor works well. Especially if it’s done out of love. And if you do it in funny, peer to peer kind of way, the kids will feel like they’re in on the joke later when you eventually subvert the concept you just taught them.

BB: For that matter, did you have a clear cut sense of where the book was going to go when you started? Are you a person who writes by the seat of your pants, or do you plan out every little element before you set pen to paper (so to speak)?

Pedro: Well, since it was based on actual events, I had a good idea of where I wanted to start and where it would end. The thing I had to wrestle with was making it make sense. There were things that happened prior to the timeline of the story that had to be introduced in a way that kept the story going forward. Luckily I had my brilliant editor Kate Harrison to help guide me and ask all the right questions. Sometimes when I have to explain myself to Kate, it opens up a whole new branch of the story that is oftentimes infinitely more emotionally important than my original path. At that point I pivot and the focus of the story changes.

So in a sense, my writing involves both plans AND flying pants-seats!

BB: The book ends with an Epilogue that shows what happened to all of your family members but…. c’mon. Could a MEXIKID 3 be possible? Maybe? Kinda? Sorta?

Pedro: Why you asking me? I’m not the publisher!

(But between you and me… why not? There’s always more stories to tell, right?. Pedro hasn’t even kissed a girl yet or hid in a trunk in order to sneak into a drive-in movie theater.

BB: Exactly! And for that matter, what else are you working on these days? What’s next for you?

Pedro: Well, I have a couple of Ideas going. Mexikid Dreams is kind of a love letter to my father, so I’d love to do something about my mom. She’s a bagful of surprises. I’ve also wanted to try doing a science fiction graphic novel. Same sense of humor but a lot more action adventure. And heart… you gotta have heart.

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Aw, man. That’s great stuff. And I was serious when I said that I’d like to see it get some Newbery love. Some Mock Newbery love at the very least. Mexikid Dreams is out now so seek it out in any bookstore or library you so choose.

Filed under: Best Books, Best Books of 2026, Interviews