"This poignant picture book narrated by a young boy is based on a true story of a New York City teacher who set up a school on a blue tarp spread on the ground near a garbage dump in Tijuana, Mexico.... Without melodrama, Armando's story shows what poverty means and the hope that things can change." -- Booklist

"The well-written text will be an eye-opener for children who take school for granted." -- School Library Journal

"This affecting tale-of a plein-air schoolroom in a deeply impoverished neighborhood populated by pepenadores (trash pickers)-springs from the real deal.... The simplicity of the story is what lets it run deep, its bite of realism; no sermons are being delivered here, just a door thrown open to life under reduced circumstances (though Sosa's artwork, with its look of leaded glass, conveys a benevolent quality to the proceedings). Without patronizing, Señor David defines the essence of humanitarianism, while the pepenadores, ever searching for beauty in the beast, find gold-and prize it." -- Kirkus Reviews

Lasting Connection Title, Book Links
Choices, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Editor's Favorites, The Bloomsbury Review
Skipping Stones Honor Award, Skipping Stones Magazine

Nominee, Picture Book for Older Readers, California Young Readers Medal
Paterson Prize for Books for Young People, The Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College
San Diego Book Awards - Picture Book, San Diego Book Awards Association

Edith Hope Fine is a full-time writer of children's books and stories. Fine's Under the Lemon Moon, published by Lee & Low Books, was a Parents' Choice Award Honor book. Fine lives in Encinitas, California. To find out more, visit Edith Hope Fine's Web site at edithfine.com. Edith, along with co-author Judith Pinkerton Josephson, have created a special site for the Lee & Low Books title Armando and the Blue Tarp School at bluetarpschool.com.

Judith Pinkerton Josephson is a full-time writer of children's books and stories. Josephson's Growing Up in World War II won first place in the San Diego Book Awards. She lives in Encinitas, California. To find out more, visit Judith Pinkerton Josephson's Web site at judithjosephson.com. Judith, along with co-author Edith Hope Fine, have set up a special site for the Lee & Low Books title Armando and the Blue Tarp School at bluetarpschool.com.

Hernán Sosa was born in Argentina and raised in Paraguay. He received a degree in visual communications from the Colorado Institute of Art. He currently works as an illustrator of children's books and as a graphic designer focusing mostly on magazines. Sosa and his wife live in Denver, Colorado. His website is coroflot.com/hernansosaillustration.