A Song of Frutas

English & Spanish 3+ Intergenerational Stories Visting Family Fruit Vendors Cuban-American Authors Mexican Illustrators Margarita Engle & Sara Palacios summary For the first day of Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month, I wanted to share a book that’s fun. In A Song of Frutas, a young girl loves to visit her abuelo because it means she…

The Heart of Mi Familia

Written By: Carrie Lara Illustrated by: Christine Battuz For Ages: 4-8 Language: English & Spanish Topics Covered: Multilingual Families, Bicultural Experiences, Latinx, Social-Emotional Learning. Summary: This book follows a young girl as she talks about the two different sides of her family: her father was born in Central America and her abuela still lives there;…

Juana & Lucas

Written & Illustrated by: Juana Medina For Ages: 5 years and up Language: English & Spanish Topics Covered: Latinx Families, Own Voices, Colombia, Growing Up, Single Parent Families, Language Learning, Pets. Summary: I loved this book! Juana is such a fun character and her humorous narrative style felt like a quirky family member was telling…

Martin McLean, Middle School Queen

Written By: Alyssa Zaczek Cover Art by: Risa Rodil For Ages: YA Middle Grades Language: English & some Spanish Topics Covered: LGBTQ, Family, Growing Up, Self-Confidence, STEM, Self-Expression, Friendship, Crushes, Latinx Families, Interracial Marriage, Single Parent Families. Summary: So when I said earlier in the summer that the best part of 2020 so far was…

Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border

Written by: Mitali Perkins Illustrated by: Sara Palacios For ages: 3-8 years Language: English & some Spanish Topics Covered: Family, Immigration, Border Patrol, POC-Centric Narratives, Latinx, Mexican-American, Culture & Traditions, Love, Growing Up, Global Community. Summary: Even though this is a story centering around Christmas, we felt the need to share it sooner rather than waiting for December to come around! This…

Sofia Valdez, Future Prez

Written by: Andrea Beaty Illustrated by: David Roberts For ages: 4-8 years Language: English, minor Spanish.  Topics Covered: Community Action, Environmentalism, Girls Outdoors, Creativity, Feminism, Girls in Leadership, Latinx, Activism.  Summary:  Sofia Valdez loves her community, and she especially loves helping her community be better.  When her Abuelo injures his ankle slipping on trash and can’t walk Sofia to school anymore,…

Barely Missing Everything

Written by: Matt Mendez Cover Art by: Dana Ledl For ages: Young Adults Language: English Topics Covered: Growing Up, Latinx Identities, Racism, Sports, Alcohol & Marijuana Use, Family, Incarceration, Filmmaking, Friendship, Police Brutality, Pregnancy.  Summary: This book was one of those stories that everything I anticipated to happen did not happen, I was constantly surprised at the deft storytelling of Mendez’s…

They Call Me Güero; A Border Kid’s Poems

Written by: David Bowles Cover Art by: Zeke Peña For ages: YA upper elementary/middle grades Language: English & Spanish Topics Covered: Growing Up, Mexican-American Experience, Immigration, Prejudice, Culture & Traditions, Poetry, Own Voices, Latinx.  Summary: Our narrator is a twelve year old boy known only as Güero, a slang term/nickname for a person with red hair and freckles.  He lives near…

The Piñata that the Farm Maiden Hung

Written by: Samantha R. Vamos Illustrated by: Sebastià Serra For ages: 3 years and up Language: English & Spanish Topics Covered: Latinx Identity, Rhyming, Hispanic Culture & Traditions, Summary: This book reads like a rhyming poem, set up in a style that adds to the pages before to create mouthfuls of rhymes and jumbles.  It’s very similar to the…

Sound Off Saturday Featuring: Mama Tortuga!

Happy Saturday!  We are thrilled to have been able to connect this week with Johana, also known as Mama Tortuga!  She is a powerhouse of bilingual and herbal activism and knowledge, with a flair for business.  Johana is a hustler and has tons of fantastic projects that she’s currently working on.  We hope you enjoy…