The first book, simply named Skippyjon Jones, was released in 2003, with the latest entry so far, Snow What, released in 2014. The book series is intended to introduce basic Spanish to English-speaking children, although it has attracted controversy for allegedly being offensive to Mexicans through a very insensitive and stereotypical depiction of Mexican culture.
Tropes found in the books:
- Anti-Education Mama: In "Class Action", Skippy expresses the desire to go to school, but his mother Mama Junebug insists that only dogs go to school and that cats are above this. Skippy gets around this by going on a make-believe adventure to school with Los Chimichangos.
- Art Shift: Whenever Skippyjon takes a glimpse at mirror, his reflection is substituted with a picture of an actual Chihuahua.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Skippyjon Jones absolutely believes he's a Chihuahua, thus refuses to act like a proper cat and more like a dog, which Junebug does not like. And then there's his imaginary adventures with Los Chimichangos.
- Continuity Nod: Remember the first villain of the series, El Blimpo Bumblebeeto Bandito? Well, he, an ordinary piñata, can be found in Skippy's closet in In The Doghouse.
- El Spanish "-o": There's plenty of Mock Spanish, such as English words having "-o", "-to", or "-ito" at their ends to give them a Spanish-esque effect.
- Fantastic Racism: In Class Action, Mama Junebug tells her son that he can't go to school because it's for dogs.
- Gratuitous Spanish: The books use Spanish words frequently, as they intend to teach basic Spanish. Unlike other picture books with this trope, there's no glossary, which means context clues must be used to figure out their meanings.
- Hairball Humor: In one book, Skippyjon is asked to solve a riddle, but doesn't know the answer. He coughs up a hairball and the dogs, thinking he has a virus, write a limerick about it.
- Imaginary Friend: Los Chimichangos to Skippyjon Jones.
- Informed Species: The titular kitten doesn't look much like a Siamese cat due to his weirdly deformed physique.
- Limited Wardrobe: Zig-zagged. While Skippito wears the same mask and cape, he wears them differently in each book (for example, sometimes he wears the mask like pants, and sometimes he'll wear the cape like a kerchief).
- Moral Guardian: In Mummy Trouble, Junebug declares that the National Geographic magazine about the curse of the cat mummy is "taboo".
- Mr. Imagination: All of Skippyjon's crazy adventures with Los Chimichangos are all products of his imagination.
- Mundane Made Awesome: Closets have never been so adventurous.
- Nothing Is Scarier: In Mummy Trouble, we never get to see what King Rootin Tootin Kitten Kabootin looked like coming out of his sarcophagus due to Skippito running out of the tomb for his life.
- Oh, Crap!: Skippito's reaction upon meeting any antagonist.
- Pun: "ACHOO PICHU!"
- Riddling Sphinx: There's an Egyptian Sphinx parody called The Finx in Mummy Trouble.
- Running Gag: '-ito' being added to certain words (sound effects, exclamations, et cetra.).
- Space Episode: Lost in Spice.
- Those Two Guys: Poquito Tito and Don Diego.
- Too Dumb to Live: Averted. Skippito is too scared to do anything no sane person would do. Not that Los Chimichangos care.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Skippyjon loves mice and beans.
- And Los Chimichangos love rice and beans.
Poquito Tito: "Red beans, black beans
Boston baked and blue—
Cocoa, coffee, kidney beans
Pinto and jelly too!" - Unexpectedly Obscure Answer: Because Skippito was too nervous to answer the Finx's riddle ( the answer is Skippito himself), he coughs up a furball instead. Don Diego lampshades this.Don Diego: You call that an answer, dude?
- Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: Darwin from Big Bones is a pretty scary-looking fella. After all, no one messes with Darwin.
