Joseph J. Ruiz
Pedro, our little ghost, has a good reason to stick around the tiny mountain community of El Rito in northern New Mexico. And Rebecca Garcia is determined to find out what it is. Many stories had been handed down about how ghosts could be lost in the world of the living and all the other young girls were afraid. But not Rebecca, because she had been told that little Pedro had always been a nice boy and liked by everyone. It doesn’t take her long to unravel the mystery, and in the end she learns something that she-and the entire community-will never forget. Bilingual Edition in Spanish and English. * * * * * When Joseph J. Ruiz was only eight years old, his father died and he and his older brother Ralph were sent to a boarding school in El Rito, New Mexico where they worked for their room, board and schooling. Their sister Mary Lou went to live with an aunt in Albuquerque while their mother worked to pay medical bills and to save enough to eventually reunite the family. In the early days in El Rito Joe used to walk by the village cemetery and wonder about those buried there. These experiences inspired this fictional story about a friendly little ghost. Joseph is also the author of three other bilingual books for children, 'Little Juan Learns A Lesson,' 'Manuel and the Magic Ring,' and 'Angel on Daniel’s Shoulder,' all from Sunstone Press. 3
