The Case of the Three Kings: The Flaca Files / El caso de los Reyes Magos: Los expedientes de Flaca

$9.95

An entertaining novel for intermediate readers presented in a  bilingual “flip” book format, that is, English on one side, turn it over and the Spanish is on the other side.

by Alidis Vicente
Spanish-language translation by Gabriela Baeza Ventura

ISBN: 978-1-55885-822-0
Publication Date: May 31, 2016
Format: Trade Paperback
Pages: 113
Imprint: Piñata Books
Ages:
 8-12

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Flaca, or Detective Flaca as she prefers to be called, is pleased with her Christmas gifts. Finally, she has the tools needed to do her job: a fingerprint-taking kit, a police-quality mini flashlight, and most exciting of all, police tape to block off crime scenes! However, she is not at all pleased with the airline tickets to Puerto Rico she and her sister La Bruja are given. She has case deadlines to meet! La Bruja isn’t very happy either since their grandmother’s house doesn’t have air conditioning, cable TV or Wi-Fi.

Their parents are sure the girls will enjoy celebrating Three Kings Day, a huge holiday in Latin America that takes place on January 6 and involves putting grass in a box under the bed for the wise men’s camels. Three men on flying camels sounds very suspicious to Detective Flaca, who once again is faced with a case begging to be solved. Where do the Three Kings get the gifts to put in the boxes? Do they steal presents from Santa Claus? Or do they take them from under Christmas trees around the world?

The skinny second grader first introduced in The Case of the Missing Chancleta and Other Top-Secret Cases / La chancleta perdida y otros casos secretos is back on the case in the second installment of the bilingual series, The Flaca Files / Los expedientes de Flaca. Narrated by Detective Flaca in hard-boiled detective style, this short, bilingual novel for intermediate readers will appeal to seasoned and reluctant readers alike.

Click here to listen to an interview with Alidis Vicente about The Case of the Three Kings: The Flaca Files / El caso de los Reyes Magos: Los expedientes de Flaca.

Named to the 2018 Tejas Star Reading List
Finalist, 2017 International Latino Book Awards

“A mystery serving as a gateway into Puerto Rican culture, traditions, and panorama, narrated by a one-of-a-kind Latina gumshoe.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Vicente follows The Missing Chancleta and Other Top Secret Cases with a second bilingual entry in the Flaca Files series. Vicente gives her heroine a fiery personality, and her clashes with her older sister, aka ‘La Bruja,’ will feel familiar to plenty of younger siblings.”—Publishers Weekly

ALIDIS VICENTE is the author of The Missing Chancleta and Other Top Secret Cases: The Flaca Files / La chancleta perdida y otros casos secretos: Los expedientes de Flaca and two picture books, The Coquí and the Iguana (Operation Outreach-USA Press, 2011) and Violet (Operation Outreach-USA Press, 2014). She received her bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and worked for New Jersey’s Division of Youth and Family Services. She lives with her family in New Jersey.

ATOS Interest Level: Middle Grades
Category: Intermediate Reader
LEXILE: 720L
LEXILE Spanish: 670L