Training Day: El Toro & Friends

By Raúl the Third

"Bursting with imagination and creativity! Your kids will go loco for El Toro!" —Jeff Kinney, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series

From New York Times bestselling, three-time Pura Belpré Award–winning author-illustrator Raúl the Third, Training Day finds El Toro preparing for his wrestling match in Spanish and English in this graphic-novel-style El Toro & Friends reader from the Eisner-nominated World of ¡Vamos!

Little Lobo introduced readers to his wrestling hero El Toro in ¡Vamos! Let’s Go to the Market! Now El Toro is off on his own adventures in this early reader graphic novel series!

Getting out of bed isn't always easy, especially for Mexican wrestling star El Toro. But his coach, Kooky Dooky, knows that it’s important for the wrestler to stay in shape and keep training—even when he doesn't feel like it.

Can Kooky Dooky raise El Toro’s spirits and get him to practice before his next big wrestling match?

With unique, detailed illustrations and easy Spanish and English vocabulary words, sports fans and comic book fans alike will fall in love with El Toro on his training day adventures in this fun early reader graphic novel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: May 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9780358392651

Raúl the Third

Raúl the Third is the New York Times bestselling, three-time Pura Belpré Award–winning author-illustrator of the World of ¡Vamos! and the illustrator of Schneider Family Award honoree Stuntboy, in the Meantime, written by Jason Reynolds. He lives in Medford, Massachusetts, with his New York Times bestselling collaborator, Elaine Bay.

Book preview

Reviews for Training Day

[sweetiegherkin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

El Toro wants to win against The Wall in an upcoming match, but he also doesn't want to sleep in instead of training. Can his trainer Kooky Dooky convince him to get moving?This was an entertaining book, especially for kids who like sports and high-action content. It reminds them that while hard work isn't fun, the payoff can be worth it. The overall message about dedication is a positive one.The text is a mix of English and Spanish, with context clues and repetition of the same idea helping to cue the reader in on the meaning of the words. (No glossary is provided.) English words are presented in black ink while Spanish ones use a purple ink. This is a good way to help readers increase their vocabulary of Spanish words or English words, as the case may be. However, for monolingual readers, this may make this otherwise early reader style book a little more challenging to read on their own. The illustrations are quite interesting. They are not really my preferred style, but they remind me of vintage comics mixed with an art style I am blanking on currently. They are full of fun small details, make use of many colors, and convey lots of action, so kids are sure to like them.