Below you'll find contemporary stories from the Latino/Chicano communities across the rural and urban United States,
as well as a range of authentic folklore from all across Latin America. The emerging voices, established literary
dynamos, and inspired working artists listed below have discovered the magic of writing and creating for children.
These award-winning stories and poems, beautifully rendered in both Spanish and English, will appeal to readers of all ages.
|
 Adventures
of Connie and Diego / Las aventuras de Connie y Diego
A contemporary legend of mixed-race twins who search for a
place to belong.
Angel's Kite / La estrella de Angel
A young boy's kite mysteriously restores a long-missing
bell to the town church.
 Angels Ride Bikes and Other Fall Poems
/ Los ángeles andan en bicicleta y otros poemas de
otoño A renowned Mexican American poet celebrates
autumn in the city and growing up in Los Angeles.
Antonio's Card /La tarjeta de Antonio
With Mother's Day coming, Antonio finds he has to decide what
is important to him when his classmates make fun of the unusual
appearance of his mother's partner, Leslie.
|
Birthday in the Barrio/Cumpleaños en el barrio
When Lazarita's unemployed
father cannot afford a party for her "quinces" her
friends in her Miami Cuban-American community enlist the mayor's
help to plan a surprise block party.
Brother Anansi and the Cattle Ranch
/ El hermano Anansi y el rancho de ganado The wily Brother
Anansi persuades Brother Tiger to go into the cattle-raising
business.
Calling the Doves / El canto de las palomas
The author recalls his childhood in the mountains and valleys
of California with his farmworker parents who inspired him
with poetry and song.
|
Drum, Chavi, Drum! / ¡Toca, Chavi, Toca! Chavi’s
music teacher believes that only boys should play drums in
Miami’s Festival de la Calle Ocho, but Chavi knows she
is a good musician and looks for a way to prove it.
|
Family Pictures: 15th Anniversary Edition/ Cuadros de familia:
Edición Quinceañera
The author describes, in bilingual text and illustrations,
her experience growing up in a Hispanic community in Texas.
This 15th Anniversary Edition includes a new image and text.
Featherless/Desplumado
Although Tomasito's spina bifida keeps him in a wheelchair,
where he often feels as confined as his flightless and featherless
pet bird, he discovers that he can feel free when he is on
the soccer field.
Friends from the Other Side / Amigos
del otro lado Having crossed the Rio Grande with his
mother in search of a new life, Joaquín finds a friend
in a brave young Mexican American girl.
 From the Bellybutton of the Moon and Other
Summer Poems / Del ombligo de la luna y otros poemas de verano
A renowned Mexican American poet revisits and celebrates his
childhood memories of summers, Mexico, and nature.
|
 Grandma
and Me at the Flea / Los meros meros remateros Young Juanito
accompanies his grandmother to the local flea market where
she sells old clothes.
The Harvest Birds / Los pájaros de
la cosecha A young man realizes his dream by listening
to the voice of nature.
 Iguanas in the Snow and Other
Winter Poems/Iguanas en la nieve y otros poemas de invierno
A family frolic in the snow reminds Francisco Alarcón
of the iguanas playing by his grandmother's house in Mexico.
|
 In
My Family / En mi familia Renowned artist Carmen Lomas
Garza recalls her experiences growing up in a Mexican American
community in Texas.
The Invisible Hunters / Los cazadores invisibles
This tale from the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua portrays the
crucial first moments of contact between an indigenous culture
and the outside world.
|
 It
Doesn't Have to Be This Way: A Barrio Story / No tiene que
ser así: una historia del barrio A young boy
becomes involved in a local gang until a tragic event forces
him to make a choice about the course of his life.
 Laughing Tomatoes and Other Spring Poems /
Jitomates risueños y otros poemas de primavera
A renowned Mexican American poet offers humorous and serious
poems about family, nature, and spring.
|
Magic Dogs of the Volcanoes / Los perros
mágicos de los volcanes Magic dogs called cadejos
protect the villagers who live at the foot of the ancient
volcanoes of El Salvador.
|
 Magic
Windows / Ventanas mágicas Award-winning artist
Carmen Lomas Garza portrays her family, community, and ancestors
through papel picado, or cut-paper art.
Making Magic Windows: Creating Papel Picado
In this hands-on workbook, artist Carmen Lomas Garza introduces
readers to the traditional Mexican craft of papel picado,
or cut-paper art.
Moony Luna /Luna, Lunita Lunera
Five-year-old Luna is afraid she'll find monsters at her new school until a kind teacher and her new classmates show her that she has nothing to fear.
|
 A
Movie in My Pillow / Una película en mi almohada
A renowned Salvadoran poet recalls his experiences, dreams,
and memories of his childhood in El Salvador and San Francisco.
Mr. Sugar Comes to Town / La visita del
Sr. Azúcar Mr. Sugar tries to use his truck of
sweet goodies to lure children away from Grandma Lupe's delicious
tamales.
|
|
My Diary From Here to There / Mi diario
de aquí asta allá From the author of My
Very Own Room comes this autobiographical tale of a young
girl's journey with her family from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico,
to their new home in Los Angeles.
 My Colors, My World/ Mis colores, mi mundo
Maya, who lives in the dusty desert, opens her eyes wide to find the color in her world, from Papi’s black hair and Mama’s orange and purple flowers to Maya’s red swing set and the fiery pink sunset.
My First Book of Proverbs / Mi primer
libro de dichos A humorous rendition of well known and
not so known Mexican American and universal proverbs.
|
 My
Very Own Room / Mi propio cuartito A large, loving family
works together to make a young girl's dream of having her
own room come true.
 Nana's
Big Surprise/Nana, ¡Qué Sorpresa! Amada
and her family build a chicken coop, hoping their grandmother,
visiting from Mexico, will enjoy raising the chickens and
be distracted from her grief over their grandfather's death.
From the Pura Belpré Honor award-winning team, comes
an intergenerational tale of love, remembrance, and healing.
Prietita and the Ghost Woman / Prietita
y la Llorona A young Mexican American girl searches for
an herb to cure her mother and is aided by the legendary ghost
woman — la Llorona.
|
 Quinito's
Neighborhood/ El Vecindario de Quinito
Join Quinito on his neighborhood journey, as he introduces
various jobs to readers.
|
 Soledad Sigh-Sighs / Soledad Suspiros
An eight-year-old dreads coming home to her lonely house.
One solution might be to invent an imaginary sister to keep
her company. But a much better answer emerges from the imagination
and curiosity of two good friends from the neighborhood.
|
 The Storyteller’s Candle / La velita de los cuentos
During the early days of the Great Depression, New York City’s first Puerto Rican librarian, Pura Belpre, introduces the public library to immigrants living in El Barrio and hosts the neighborhood’s first Three Kings’ Day fiesta.
|
Super Cilantro Girl / La Superniña del Cilantro
Eight-year-old Esmeralda is transformed into a superhero
and flies off to rescue her mother, who had gone to visit
Mexico and is not being permitted to return to the United
States.
Uncle Nacho's Hat / El sombrero del tío
Nacho Uncle Nacho can't figure out how to make changes
in his life until his niece shows him how.
|
 The
Upside Down Boy / El niño de cabeza The author
recalls the year when his farmworker parents settled in
the city so that he could go to school for the first time.
Where Fireflies Dance / Ahí
donde bailan las luciérnagas Grandmother's stories
of the revolutionary Juan Sebastián inspire a young
girl and her brother to discover their destinies.
The Woman Who Outshone the Sun / La mujer
que brillaba aún más que el sol When a magical
woman is banished from a small mountain village, the villagers'
beloved river follows her.
|
 Xochitl
and the Flowers / Xóchitl, la Niña de las
Flores Xochitl and her family, newly arrived in
San Francisco from El Salvador, create a beautiful plant
nursery in place of the garbage heap behind their apartment,
and celebrate with their friends and neighbors.
|
