Cayendo Hacia Arriba title screen

Cayendo Hacia Arriba

The Spanish Edition of a true story about finding happiness in the last place left to look.

Based on the author’s best-selling, award-winning book, Falling Uphill: The Secret of Life children’s edition is re-imagined and re-illustrated by elementary students in Argentina.

Cayendo Hacia Arriba. El Secreto de la Vida. By Scott Stoll.

Cayendo Hacia Arriba
El Secreto de la Vida

By Scott Stoll
Illustrated by elementary schools of Argentina
Children’s chapter book
Ages 5-12+

Este es el libro independiente de mejor venta, Cayendo Hacia Arriba, re-imaginado e ilustrado por escuelas primarias de Argentina.

Sinopsis: Cayendo Hacia Arriba es la historia real de un hombre que viajó por el mundo en bicicleta en búsqueda del secreto de la vida. Si bien el autor descubrió innumerables maravillas durante su viaje, regresa a su hogar desalentado para descubrir recién allí el secreto en el último lugar que le quedaba por buscar.

“Si pudiera hacer cualquier cosa, ¿qué haría?”

About Falling Uphill for kids

More ways to order

  1. Order at your favorite local bookstore. I recommend Bookshop.org. They donate 100% of the profits back to your favorite local bookstore.
  2. Order at your local library. Try Hoopla to get the e-book from your library. It’s free.
  3. Order on Amazon. This is a great option if you would like to leave a review and help the book find an audience.
  4. More e-book options.
  5. Add to your Goodreads list.
  6. Even more ways to order.

Part of the Make-A-Book Project

This book was part of the Make-A-Book Project. The books are meant to be inspirational, educational and entertaining. The stories are written by Scott and illustrated by elementary students and jam-packed with fun surprises and suggested activities. The black and white pages leave plenty of room so children can add their own drawings and colors.


Seal of the United States Department of State
Seal of the United States Department of State

As featured on Infobae and dozens of other sources throughout the Americas.

More about this book: Scott was honored by the US Embassy in Argentina as the Cultural Ambassador for the 2011-2012 school year. This project was part of the outreach activities sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires to build bridges between the people of Argentina and the United States through educational and cultural exchanges; and, it was especially exciting since Buenos Aires was chosen as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) 2011 World Book Capital. It has been the honor of a lifetime to be invited by the US Embassy and the schools of Argentina to collaborate on this special Spanish edition featuring all-new illustrations from the point of view of the Argentina culture and several new pages just for the Spanish edition. Once again the kids have been so creative that the book truly turned out better than I could have imagined, and now with a whole new level of meaning.

Read about the step-by-step creation of this book in Argentina, including some great videos by the embassy.

Testimonial: Hello from Buenos Aires, Argentina! I came across a signed copy of your beautiful book, “Falling Uphill: The Secret of Life” yesterday… I loved your tale of your adventure and how accessible you made it. It will touch many hearts and give wings to many dreams, as it did mine! I wish you continued success and just wanted to send you a quick note to let you know that across the oceans, you are inspiring dreamers to dream bigger. ~ Yamilee B.


Inspirational, Educational and Entertaining

Every book in the Make-A-Book project has three main themes. First, they are meant to inspire students. Second, they educate students, so students can put their inspiration into action. And third, they are entertaining, which serves as a hook to get the students involved. You can see these themes in the pages below.

Scott getting lost in the maze of the tombs underneath the Egyptian pyramids
Scott getting lost in the maze of the tombs underneath the Egyptian pyramids. This fun drawing really evokes the feeling of being lost. I like how I am riding my bicycle through the maze.

Below is one of many pages inspired by Argentina. This is from the story of Scott getting stuck in the mud. Ramero used to tease him that anacondas love to eat bicyclists.

Scott and his bicycle inside a big snake that ate them.
This illustrates a story that the locals told me while in South America. I love it because reminds me of a picture in the classic book, “Le Petit Prince.”
A boy in bed underneath a rainbow.
This text and drawing remind us that when there are cloudy skies that it is the best time to look for rainbows. This is a metaphor for one of the secrets of life that Scott discovered while riding a bicycle around the world.

Highlights of my trip to Argentina as the Cultural Ambassador

Students from Argentina holding their certificates of achievements and their copy of "Cayendo Hacia Arriba," the book that we created together.
Students from Argentina holding their certificates of achievements and their copy of “Cayendo Hacia Arriba,” the book that we created together. Deputy Ambassador Jefferson Brown traveled across Argentina distributing books.

The video below, the Ambassador and Deputy Ambassador are distributing the books to all the kids. I love minute 1:44. And the last video is a TV interview partially in English.

Go here for more videos and stories about my time as Cultural Ambassador.

Acknowledgments

Once long ago while traveling through Argentina on bicycles, my friend, Dennis, and I got stuck in the mud of the Chaco. We couldn’t move and were running low on food and water. Fortunately, on our second day, an Argentine family rescued us and took us to their home. We lived with them for five days and everyone in the community welcomed us. Dennis and I worried about how to repay their kindness, so we thanked the family profusely and awkwardly, but the father, grinning as usual, said, “No, thank you for showing my village and my children that the impossible is possible.” For me, it was one of the first times I began to see that happiness was right in front of my eyes. So, for Dennis and myself, this book has special meaning: it is a way of “paying forward” the kindness and wisdom of that one family, and the opportunity to sow the seeds of dreams amongst everyone who may read this book.

Read all the acknowledgments in English and español.


The Spanish edition. Cayendo Hacia Arriba: El Secreto de la Vida.

More ways to order

  1. Order at your favorite local bookstore. I recommend Bookshop.org. They donate 100% of the profits back to your favorite local bookstore.
  2. Order at your local library. Try Hoopla to get the e-book from your library. It’s free.
  3. Order on Amazon. This is a great option if you would like to leave a review and help the book find an audience.
  4. More e-book options.
  5. Add to your Goodreads list.
  6. Even more ways to order.

Author: Scott Stoll
Publisher: TheArgonauts
Format: Paperback and e-book. 108 Pages.
Age group: 5–12+
Publication: Anniversary edition © 11-6-2011
ISBN-13: 978-0982784235
Language: Spanish 

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