Salvador Vidón was a new student at Culeco Academy of the Arts in Miami, Florida. He was also a wizard with some really cool powers. When fellow student Gabi Reál discovered that Sal could open portals to other universes, she knew she was in for an interesting day at school!
If that sounds too bizarre to be true, you’re right. Sal and Gabi aren’t really opening portals in the universe we live in. They are fictional characters and the stars of a series of time- and space-traveling books by Cuban American author Carlos Hernandez.
Hernandez’s books blend science fiction and everyday events with observations about Cuban American and Latinx food and culture. Critic Joy Sanchez-Taylor said he writes in “a masterful mashup of science, magic, and cultural belief.”
Hernandez has been working for a long time to learn his craft. In first grade, he wrote a poem that was so good his teacher let him read it over the school’s loudspeaker. By fourth grade, he was reading his own stories on a radio show. Hernandez studied literature in college and now teaches at the City University of New York. He has published 30 books and collaborated on a new computer game, Meriweather.
In 2019, Hernandez gave middle-grade fiction a try for the first time with Sal and Gabi. In his first book of the series, Sal and Gabi Break the Universe, the title pair meets in the principal’s office. A dead chicken has mysteriously appeared, then disappeared, in the locker of Gabi’s friend Yasmany (how?). Soon, Sal and Gabi are having adventures across multiple universes. In the second book in the series, Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe, a duplicate Gabi pops in and out of Sal’s world. Text messages, smartwatches, and a “remembranation machine” are all part of the story.
The Sal and Gabi books are full of fun. However, they also explore serious issues, including bullying and illness. For example, Sal has Type 1 diabetes. In each book, he has to check his blood sugar levels by pricking his finger. “Latinos in the United States are one of the fastest-growing groups for diabetes… and I wanted to showcase it,” Hernandez says.
The high school the kids attend is a mashup, too—kind of like Hogwarts meets Fame. The author said that he saw it as a place “where students from the Latinx communities could… celebrate life and have great opportunities to feed their imaginations.”
Hernandez says that he likes magic, culture, technology, and games. He’s brought all of them into his Sal and Gabi books. You could say he’s created a universe of his own!
Kat woke up feeling unsure on the morning of school picture day, though it was usually a day that she loved. She thought it was cool to wear something besides the boring school uniform she had to wear every other day. And it was fun that everyone got to leave class early to get their photos taken. Today, however, Kat felt disappointed as she looked at the outfit that her parents had picked out the night before.
Hanging on her door was a pretty lilac dress, to be worn over a girly white blouse and paired with white flats. To top it all off, her mother had selected a big purple bow to clip into her dreadlocked hair. Kat reluctantly put on the outfit and looked at herself in the mirror as she straightened the bow. She frowned at her reflection.
“Ugh, I don’t want to wear this dress,” Kat said to herself as she fiddled with it. “I wish I could just wear my pants.” Suddenly, she had an idea. She went to her older brother Charles’s room, slowly pushing open the door and peering inside to make sure he wasn’t there. The coast was clear. Kat scanned the messy bedroom and her eyes landed on his closet. “Hmm…we’re about the same size,” Kat murmured as she opened Charles’s closet. Her eyes widened at the options.
***
“Kat! Breakfast!” her mother yelled from downstairs. Kat went to the kitchen where her family—her parents, brother, and her grandparents who were visiting from Trinidad—were all having a lively conversation. The chatter stopped as Kat entered the kitchen in the outfit she had picked out: a navy-blue suit with her locs slicked back into a ponytail.
“Kat, honey, what are you wearing? Why aren’t you dressed for picture day?” her grandmother asked with a faint accent.
“Hey! That’s my suit!” Charles exclaimed.
“I borrowed it,” Kat responded. “This is what I want to wear today.”
“What?” her mother asked, feeling confused. “I picked out such a nice dress for you. You don’t like it? We can pick out a different one.”
“I don’t want to wear any dress. I want to wear a suit.”
“But usually we only see boys wearing suits on picture day,” said her father. “Your classmates might not be so nice about you wearing that.”
“Dad, come on!” Kat said, rolling her eyes. “Clothes are just… clothes. Besides, I feel way more comfortable in this suit than I do in that dress.”
Kat’s family was silent for a moment before Charles chimed in, “I think you look great in my suit!” Kat smiled gratefully in his direction.
“You know, Charles is right,” said Kat’s mother, straightening the shoulders on Kat’s suit jacket. “You do look good. Would you like your father to show you how to tie a tie?” She looked over to Kat’s father, who nodded and raised his eyebrows in Kat’s direction.
Kat grinned. “Got any cool patterns?”
**
When Kat walked into the gymnasium later that day, she noticed a few kids pointing and staring at her outfit. Some kids were even whispering about it. Maybe I made a mistake, she thought as she looked down at the navy blue wool of her suit.
Kat gulped nervously as a group of classmates came over. When her friend Anna glanced at her silently, Kat held her breath. “Wow,” Anna said, softly, “I love your suit.” Anna pointed down at her own dress and added, “I wish I could have worn pants today.”
“Yeah, your tie is really cool, too,” added Kat’s classmate Tyrone.
Kat exhaled deeply, then said “Thanks! My dad helped me tie it.”
“Cool!”
The classmates started chatting all about their mornings as they waited to be called up by the photographer. Soon, it was Kat’s turn to get her photo taken. She sat on the stool, adjusted her tie, and beamed her widest, happiest smile at the camera.
The fourth graders’ school day was coming to an end. Wilson was filling his backpack when a voice came out of the loudspeaker.
“Good afternoon, students. This is a reminder that the All-City Math Contest will be in two weeks. The contest is open to fifth and sixth graders, and the top prize is fifty dollars. Please speak to your teacher if you’d like to participate.”
“I could do really well in that contest,” Wilson thought, just as the bell rang and the class flooded into the hallway. Seeing that his teacher was still at her desk, Wilson went to speak to her.
“Ms. Jones?” he began, “I want to be in that math contest.”
Ms. Jones looked up from her papers and said, “That’s wonderful, Wilson, but I’m afraid that this contest is for fifth and sixth graders only. Besides, our class hasn’t studied most of the things that they’ll be asking you.”
“But you know that I’m good at math!” Wilson protested. “I do math problems with my brother all the time—and he’s in sixth grade! I think I could do really well!”
“You are a very good math student, Wilson, but rules are rules. I’m sure that you can enter next year.”
***
Wilson came home angry, stormed upstairs without saying a word to his mother, and slammed the door to his room shut. His mother quickly appeared at his door, knocked, and came in.
“I know you aren’t slamming doors in my house,” she sternly told her younger son. “Did something happen today?”
Wilson was quiet for a minute, then it all came out. In a burst of emotion, he told his mom about the contest, how excited he was to enter, and how furious he felt when his teacher told him that he wouldn’t be allowed to do so this year.
“It’s just not fair, Mom,” he complained. “I know I could really do well on it. Why won’t they let me?”
Wilson’s mother put her hand on his shoulder. “Sometimes, son,” she said softly, “people follow rules even when they don’t make sense. Maybe you can convince your teacher this is one of those times when the rule should be bent… or even broken.”
Wilson perked up: he had an idea.
***
The next day, Wilson arrived at school an hour before class began. He went straight to his classroom and found Ms. Jones already at her desk.
“Good morning, Ms. Jones,” he said. “I’ve brought one of my brother’s sixth-grade practice tests. If I take this test now and do a good job, can I be in the contest?”
His teacher was startled to see any of her students at school so early, let alone ready to take a practice math test without being asked to. But then she looked over the test and replied, “As I told you yesterday, Wilson, rules are rules. But… if you really are able to do well on that sixth-grade exam, I will talk to the principal and see what he can do.”
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Ms. Jones!” Wilson exclaimed.
“Don’t thank me yet,” she answered, laughing. “There’s less than an hour before everyone else gets here, so you had better work fast!”
Wilson nodded, sat down at one of the empty desks, pulled out a pencil and started working on the test. He carefully went through the questions—dividing fractions by fractions, multiplying decimals, finding the areas of different shapes—all kinds of topics they hadn’t gotten to yet in class, but that he’d worked on with his brother.
Forty minutes later, he handed the test to Ms. Jones. She immediately pulled out her red pen and started to review his answers—but when she finished looking the test over, she hadn’t used that pen once.
“I’m impressed, Wilson,” she told him. “Even most sixth graders wouldn’t get everything right… but you did. Well done!” She paused, then added, “I’ll show this to the principal later today. I’m really hoping that we might be able to make an exception for you.”
“Thank you so much Ms. Jones!” Wilson said excitedly. He even gave his teacher a hug.
She laughed, then said, “No, Wilson, thank you. I’m happy that you care so much about my favorite subject! I don’t feel this way often, but in this case, I think a little rule-breaking may be in order.”
Wilson couldn’t help but smile at that.
Why does Wilson want to participate in the All-City Math Contest?
What problem does Wilson face when he tries to sign up for the math contest?
Read the following sentences from the text.
“Wilson was quiet for a minute, then it all came out. In a burst of emotion, he told his mom about the contest, how excited he was to enter, and how furious he felt when his teacher told him that he wouldn’t be allowed to do so this year.
‘It’s just not fair, Mom,’ he complained. ‘I know I could really do well on it. Why won’t they let me?’
Wilson’s mother put her hand on his shoulder. ‘Sometimes, son,’ she said softly, ‘people follow rules even when they don’t make sense. Maybe you can convince your teacher this is one of those times when the rule should be bent… or even broken.’”
What conclusion can you draw from this evidence?
How does Wilson persuade Ms. Jones to try to change the rules for the contest?
What is one main theme of this story?
What did Wilson do to try and convince Ms. Jones?
How does Wilson feel after speaking to Ms. Jones about the contest?
Who wrote the fictional series about Sal and Gabi?
How does the author describe the Sal and Gabi books?
Read the following description of the Sal and Gabi series.
“Soon, Sal and Gabi are having adventures across multiple universes. In the second book in the series, Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe, a duplicate Gabi pops in and out of Sal’s world.”
What can you conclude about the series based on this information
The author says that Hernandez wanted to include a character in his books with Type 1 diabetes because Latinos in the United States are one of the fastest-growing groups with Type 1 diabetes. Based on this information, what might be one goal for Hernandez with his books?
What is the main idea of this text?
What kind of fiction does Hernandez mainly write?
What does the term 'mashup' refer to in the passage?
What does Hernandez want to showcase in his books?
What event is Kat dressing up for?
How does Kat feel when she looks at the dress that her parents picked for her to wear?
Read the following sentences from the text.
“'But usually we only see boys wearing suits on picture day,' said her father. 'Your classmates might not be so nice about you wearing that.'
'Dad, come on!' Kat said, rolling her eyes. 'Clothes are just… clothes. Besides, I feel way more comfortable in this suit than I do in that dress.'”
What can you conclude about Kat based on this information?
How did Kat’s classmates make her feel about her outfit?
What is the main idea of this text?
Why did Kat decide to borrow her brother's suit?
How did Kat feel after getting compliments on her suit?