Ricardo Cortes

Included in Publishers Weekly's Spring 2020 Children's Sneak Previews"The book succeeds in helping parents send two important messages: marijuana has a long history and various uses, and whereas adults can use it responsibly, it is not to be used by children."--from the afterword by Marsha Rosenbaum, PhD"It's Just a Plant gives a glimpse of what enlightened drug education could be."--Dr. Andrew Weil, author, founder of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine"I highly recommend this little book... It's a jewel."--Ethan Nadelmann, founder of the Drug Policy Alliance"Funny...offbeat...a riot, with a series of characters explaining the glory of cannabis to a young girl and her mother."--New York Post"Ricardo Cort s, an author and illustrator based in Brooklyn, New York, is a pioneer in the genre of children's books on cannabis]... He was active in drug policy reform advocacy and wanted a tool to help people look at pot from a new perspective."--Merry JaneIt's Just a Plant is a children's book that follows the journey of a young girl as she learns about the marijuana plant from a cast of characters including her parents, a local farmer, a doctor, and a police officer. Marijuana can be hard to talk about. Many parents have tried it, millions use it, and most feel awkward about disclosing such histories (often ducking the question), for fear that telling kids the truth might encourage them to experiment too. Meanwhile, the "drug facts" children learn in school can be more frightening than educational, blaming pot for everything from teenage pregnancy to terrorism. A child's first awareness of drugs should come from a better source. It's Just a Plant is a story for parents who want to discuss the complexities of pot with their kids in a thoughtful, fact-oriented manner. The book also features an afterword by Marsha Rosenbaum, PhD, founder of the Safety First Project for drug education and director emerita of the San Francisco office of the Drug Policy Alliance, the nation's leading organization working to end the war on drugs.

Included in Publishers Weekly's Spring 2019 Children's Sneak PreviewsThree girls--Pam, Beth, and Sue--attend a party to celebrate the publication of the first of the Nancy Drew mystery books. There are many distractions at the fancy affair: flower arrangements, partygoers, refreshments, and lots and lots of marble. Suddenly, the oldest girl, Pam, sees what can only be described as something truly...bilious...not good Beth sees it too. The youngest, Sue, does not, and as usual she has a hard time getting anyone to tell her anything. Party: A Mystery is a beautifully drawn adventure story that promises questions that will grab children, but does not guarantee an answer. The story's language builds and swings between lyrical and snappy--packing a wallop.

"This book is an incredible work of artistic journalism. Armed with color pencils and an eye for detail, Cortes has produced a beautiful and subversive history of how that bottle of Coke ended up in your fridge. Cortes weaves his people's history with meticulously and gorgeously crafted drawings--many of them recreations of the primary documents he uses to tell his story. The end product is a damning, epic tale of hypocrisy: while the US government leads the charge to criminalize the 10 million people who chew coca, it has simultaneously conspired with a multinational beverage giant to ensure an endless supply of coca to fuel its profits." --Jeremy Scahill, author of "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army" "Ricardo Cortes has unearthed documentation of the astonishingly cozy historical relationship between Coca-Cola executives and antidrug czars, along with coverage of the expensive and unwinnable war on drugs." --Mark Pendergrast, author of "For God, Country & Coca-Cola" and "Uncommon Grounds" "As works of art, Cortes's illustrations are stunning and intricate. As reportage, the book is obsessive in all the right ways, nailing down hidden facts to reveal a truth I never would have expected. It is rare to find serious reportage that reads like a novel; Cortes has pulled off the mind-boggling trick of making it read like a children's book." --Tracie McMillan, author of "The American Way of Eating" "A nicely illustrated bit of history about three plants and the fascinating story of people's relationships with them." --Dr. Andrew Weil, author of "From Chocolate to Morphine" and "The Natural Mind" "A Secret History of Coffee, Coca & Cola" is an illustrated book disclosing new research in the coca leaf trade conducted by The Coca-Cola Company. 2011 marked the 125th anniversary of its iconic beverage, and the fiftieth anniversary of the international drug control treaty that allows Coca-Cola exclusive access to the coca plant. Most people are familiar with tales of cocaine being an early ingredient of "Coke" tonic; it's an era the company makes every effort to bury. Yet coca leaf, the source of cocaine which has been banned in the U. S. since 1914, has been part of Coca-Cola's secret formula for over one hundred years. This is a history that spans from cocaine factories in Peru, to secret experiments at the University of Hawaii, to the personal files of U. S. Bureau of Narcotics Commissioner Harry Anslinger (infamous for his "Reefer Madness" campaign against marijuana, lesser known as a long-time collaborator of The Coca-Cola Company). "A Secret History of Coffee, Coca & Cola" tells how one of the biggest companies in the world bypasses an international ban on coca. The book also explores histories of three of the most consumed substances on earth, revealing connections between seemingly disparate icons of modern culture: caffeine, cocaine, and Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola is the most popular soft drink on earth, and soft drinks are the number one food consumed in the American diet. Caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive substance. Cocaine . . . well, people seem to like reading about cocaine. An illustrated chronicle that will appeal to fans of food and drink histories (e.g., Mark Kurlansky's "Salt" and "Cod"; Mark Pendergrast's "For God, Country & Coca-Cola"), graphic novel enthusiasts, and people interested in drug prohibition and international narcopolitics, the book follows in the footsteps of successful pop-history books such as Michael Pollan's "The Botany of Desire" and Eric Schlosser's "Fast Food Nation"--but has a unique style that blends such histories with narrative illustration and influences from Norman Rockwell to Art Spiegelman.