Latino Literature

A Compilation of Lists by ALSC, Healdsburg High School and YALSA-BK

English, Karen. Speak English For Us, Marisol! Illus. by Enrique O. Sánchez. Albert Whitman, 2000. (Gr. 1-3)

Bilingual Marisol helps her Spanish-speaking relatives communicate with the English-speaking world around them.

Ewing, Lynne. Party Girl . Knopf Books for Young Readers, 1998. (Gr. 8-11)
The death of her best friend Ana in a drive-by shooting causes
fifteen-year-old Kata to question her position in the Los Angeles gang life.

Figueredo, D.H. When This World Was New . Illus. by Enrique O. Sanchez. Lee & Low, 1999. (K-Gr. 3)

A recent immigrant, Danilito dreads starting school where Spanish is not spoken, but his first experience with snow helps quiet his fears.

Galindo, Mary Sue. Icy Watermelon/Sandía fría . Illus. by Pauline Rodriguez Howard. Piñata Books, 2001. (PreS-Gr.2)

Three generations of a family enjoy eating watermelon together while Grandfather tells of selling melons as a young man and meeting the woman who became his wife.

Garza, Carmen Lomas . In My Family/En mi familia . Illus. Children's Book Press, 1996. (PreS-Gr.2)

Through text and illustrations, artist Carmen Lomas Garza retells her childhood experiences growing up in a Mexican American community.

Hernandez, Irene Beltran. The Secret of Two Brothers. Piñata Books, 1995. (Gr. 6-9)

A blend of mature themes and clear language with an action-packed story about two Mexican boys who overcome severe difficulties.

Hernandez, Jo Ann Yolanda . White Bread Competition . Piñata Books, 1997. (Gr. 8+)

When Luz, a ninth-grade Latina student in San Antonio , wins a spelling competition, her success triggers a variety of emotions among family, friends, and the broader community.

Herrera, Juan Felipe . CrashBoomLove . University of New Mexico Press, 1999. (Gr. 8+)

After his father leaves home, sixteen-year-old Cesar Garcia lives with his mother and struggles through the painful experiences of growing up as a Mexican American high school student.

Herrera, Juan Felipe. Grandma and me at the Flea/Los meros meros remateros . Illus. by Anita De Lucio-Brock. Children's Book Press, 2002. (PreS-Gr.2)

When Juanito helps his grandmother at a Southern California flea market, he enjoys the friendship and camaraderie he finds there.

Hoyt-Goldsmith, Diane. Migrant Worker: A Boy from the Rio Grande Valley . Photographed by Lawrence Migdale. Holiday House, 1996. (Gr. 3-5)

In a photo-essay, Ricardo describes his life as a fifth-grade student and migrant worker in Texas .

Iguana Dreams : New Latino Fiction . HarperPerennial, c1992. (Adult)

An anthology of contemporary Latino fiction, featuring the work of 29 writers who live in the United States and write in English.

Jiménez, Francisco. Breaking through . Houghton Mifflin, 2001. (Gr. 5-8)

Having come from Mexico to California ten years ago, fourteen-year-old Francisco is still working in the fields but fighting to improve his life and complete his education.

Jiménez, Francisco. The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child . University of New Mexico Press, 1997. (Gr. 5-9)
"'La frontera'...I heard it for the first time back in the late 1940s when Papa and Mama told me and Roberto, my older brother, that someday we would take a long trip north, cross la frontera, enter California, and leave our poverty behind." So begins this honest and powerful account of a family's journey to the fields of California -- to a life of constant moving. Seen through the eyes of a boy who longs for an education and the right to call one place home, this is a story of survival, faith, and hope.

Jiménez, Francisco. La Mariposa . Illus. by Simón Silva. Houghton Mifflin, 1998. (PreS-Gr.2)

When Spanish-speaking Francisco joins an English-speaking classroom in first grade, the caterpillar in a jar beside his desk distracts him from the difficulties of his situation.

Johnston, Tony. Any Small Goodness: A Novel of the Barrio . Illus. by Raúl Colón. Blue Sky Press, 2001.(Gr. 4-6)

Eleven-year-old Arturo and his Mexican American family begin to connect with their new community in Los Angeles .

Johnston, Tony. Uncle Rain Cloud . Illus. by Fabrico VandenBroeck. Charlesbridge, 2001.(PreS-Gr.2)

After his family moves from Mexico to Los Angeles , Carlos wonders why his uncle has become so grouchy.

Joseph, Lynn . The Color of My Words . HarperTrophy, 2002. (Gr. 5-8)
When life gets difficult for Ana Rosa, a twelve-year-old would-be writer living in a small village in the Dominican Republic, she can depend on her older brother to make her feel better--until the life-changing events on her thirteenth birthday.

Krull, Kathleen. Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez . Illus. by Yuyi Morales. Harcourt, 2003. (PreS-Gr.2)

This picture-book biography tells the story of Cesar Chavez, whose peaceful protests led to better working conditions for California 's migrant workers.

Lachtman, Ofelia Dumas. Leticia's Secret . Piñata Books, 1997. (Gr. 3-6)
Rosario resents the special attention that her cousin receives from their older relatives, until Leticia confides that she has cancer.

Lachtman, Ofelia Dumas. Summer of El Pintor . Arte Publico Press, 2001. (Gr. 5-8)

Monica reluctantly moves back to Los Angeles with her widowed father to the barrio house her mother grew up in. There Monica uncovers some secrets from her mother's past.

Lopez, Loretta. The Birthday Swap . Illus. Lee & Low, 1997. (K-Gr. 2)

After Lori helps with preparations for her older sister birthday party, she finds that her sister has turned the tables with a wonderful surprise.

López y Fuentes, Gregorio. El Indio . Continuum, 1937. (Adult)

A tale of Mexican Indians who are caught between their native ways and the new white civilization that is both alien and hostile to them.

Love to Mamá: A Tribute to Mothers . Ed. Pat Mora. Illus. by Paula S. Barragán. Lee & Low, 2001. (Gr. 3-5)

In this anthology, thirteen Latino poets celebrate their mothers, their grandmothers, and their roots in Cuba , Mexico , Puerto Rico, and Venezuela .

Martinez, Floyd. Spirits of the high mesa . Piñata Books, 1997. (Gr. 8+)

The sometimes fierce clash between the past and the future colors this moving coming of age novel set in rural New Mexico .

Martinez, Manuel Luis. Drift . Picador, 2003. (Gr. 9+)
At sixteen, Robert Lomos has lost his family. His father, a Latin jazz musician, has left San Antonio for life on the road as a cool-hand playboy. His mother, shattered by a complete emotional breakdown, has moved to Los Angeles and taken Robert's little brother with her. But Robert's got a plan: Duck trouble, save his money, and head to California to put the family back together. Trouble is, no one believes a delinquent Mexican American kid has a chance-least of all, Robert himself.

Martínez, Rubén. Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail. (Adult)

A powerful account of migrant culture traces the Chavez family as they leave their southern-Mexican town and embark on a perilous journey through the underground railroad to the tomato farms of Missouri , the strawberry fields of California , and the slaughterhouses of Wisconsin.

Martinez, Victor . Parrot in the Oven : Mi Vida : A Novel . HarperCollins Publishers, 1996. (Gr. 8+)

Manny relates his coming of age experiences as a member of a poor Mexican American family in which the alcoholic father only adds to everyone's struggle.

Mikaelsen, Ben. Tree Girl . Rayo, 2004. (Gr. 7-12)
When, protected by the branches of one of the trees she loves to climb, Gabriela witnesses the destruction of her Mayan village and the murder of nearly all its inhabitants, she vows never to climb again until, after she and her traumatised sister find safety in a Mexican refugee camp, she realizes that only by climbing and facing their fears can she and her sister hope to have a future.

Mora, Pat. Rainbow Tulip . Illus. by Elizabeth Sayles. Viking, 1999.(K-Gr. 3)

A little girl from a Mexican American family brings her Spanish-speaking and English-speaking worlds together at the school Maypole dance.

Mujica, Barbara. Frida . Overlook Press, 2000. (Adult)

In this novel, Frida Kahlo's younger sister narrates the colorful life of the contentious, exciting painter who married Diego Rivera and helped define 20 th century art.