"Madcap antics and adventures." -- KIRKUS
"A fun adventure tale with a lot of personality." -- SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
"I want to tell you a story about being a student ambassador, but that will be boring. So instead, I'll tell you about the time I almost got eaten by a crocodile."
When eight-year-old student ambassador Joseph Bazan wins a photo op with the President of the United States, he doesn't quite know what to expect, but it certainly isn't hanging out with the leader of the free world in a secret compartment inside the resolute desk! Joseph's pluck and kid logic not only charm the president, but they soon help resolve a thorny trade dispute. This gives POTUS an idea. Across the ocean, eight-year-old boy king Nang Nukatau III has taken his father's crown and clumsily stumbled into an international incident, and now Joseph's got a pressing mission: talk the tiny dictator back from the brink of war!
The diplomatic slumber party soon goes from awkward to scary as the castle is stormed and the boys are lost across South Korea and Japan where they have to outrun bad guys, learn to read Hangul, unravel the riddle of Gyeongbok Palace, break out of an abandoned bathhouse, befriend an army of snow monkeys, and crack the Case of the Missing Dragon, all while showing Nang how to live in a world where everyone doesn't always bow to you. Can a kid with a C+ in social studies solve the mystery and teach a king to be a kid?
Student Ambassador is a globe-trotting action-adventure set in the real world where dangers mount, the stakes are high, and smarts save the day!
Ryan Estrada is an artist/adventurer who has traveled the globe and currently resides in South Korea. He mostly writes and draws webcomics, but he also writes prose. He is the author of BANNED BOOK CLUB (with Kim Hyun Sook), POORCRAFT: WISH YOU WERE HERE, Learn to Read Korean in 15 Minutes, Ryan Made Mistakes, Broken Telephone, Aki Alliance, and many other comics.
Axur Eneas won Mexico's National Young Graphic Novelist Award in 2017 for his books Este Comic no es Arte and Dibuja una Casa. He has been a colorist for Sonic the Hedgehog (Penguin), a designer for the animated feature Top Cat Begins, and an illustrator for the series Amalteado.
Eisner & Ringo nominated author at @WorkshopBooks @IronCircusComix @Scholastic @StarTrek @KingFeatures @RISKshow @TheMoth & more. Repped by @jan_kam & @wme
Congrats to the Makuhari International School student who won the @sakuramedal Graphic Novel Art Contest! Every year they choose the best student art and best book, and the art is part of the award sent to the winning author! Student Ambassador: The Missing Dragon is nominated! https://t.co/GWruDeiDEN
"A Korean travelogue with madcap antics and adventures . . . sure to appeal to reluctant readers." -- KIRKUS
"A fun adventure tale with a lot of personality, this is a strong addition to middle grade graphic novel adventure collections." -- SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
"Estrada's talent comes to the fore, showing a steady hand with character design, a great sense of humor, and an astonishing skill when it comes to delivering unexpected surprises." -- THE A.V. CLUB (Broken Telephone)
"This might be the best concept I've heard for a comic book in a long time. . . . Take note of the lengths Estrada has gone through to research some of the crimes and schemes he writes about." -- MENTAL FLOSS (Broken Telephone)
"Binge-reading through this book is such a joy and it becomes akin to watching the newest Marvel movie." -- PANELS ON PAGES (Broken Telephone)