The Day My Father Became a Bush

A clear-eyed, funny, and off-beat novel about a girl making sense of a baffling world. Toda’s father has gone away to fight in the war. Luckily, he’s read about camouflage and will be able to hide from the enemy by disguising himself as a bush. Toda is sent to stay with her mother where it’ll be safer. Her journey across the border is full of danger and adventure, but she doesn’t give up. She has to find her mother.

A Quetzalcoatl Tale of the Corn

Quetzalcóatl tales are ancient legends from Mexico and Central America that have been passed down through the ages, primarily by oral tradition. A Quetzalcóatl Tale of Corn tells how Quetzalcóatl followed a trail of ants to the Mountain of Sustenance and stole maize from the gods to feed his people.

Alicia’s Fruity Drinks; Las aguas frescas de Alicia

After enjoying a blended fruit drink called aguas frescas during a festival celebrating Mexico’s independence, seven-year-old Alicia and her mother make their own at home, then invite Alicia’s soccer team over to try them.

Alicia’s Fruity Drinks/Las aguas frescas de Alicia has been discussed in My Take/Your Take for September 2020.

The Barking Mouse

Mamá, Papá, Sister, and Brother Ratón go for a picnic on a beautiful day. After a delicious lunch of medianoches and lemonade, Mamá and Papá smooch—eeewww!—and Brother and Sister must find something to do. And what could be more fun than teasing the cat behind the fence? But the fence isn’t as high as they think! Faster than they can say, “Adios, Gato!” Brother and Sister are racing back to Mamá and Papá with the cat in pursuit. The brave Ratón family knows what to do—hide behind Mamá! But what will Mamá do?

A Mango In The Hand

Francisco is finally old enough to journey to the mango grove all by himself to gather the mangoes for a special dinner. But bees swarm the fruit, and Francisco has trouble picking them from the tree. He returns to his father several times, and each time his father shares a different proverb to inspire Francisco to continue trying. “Querer es poder. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!” Finally, Francisco is able to gather some mangoes, and on his way home he stops to visit his uncle, grandmother, and aunt. Francisco shares his mangoes with them, and by the time he gets home he no longer has any! “Es mejor dar que recibir. Sometimes it’s better to give than to receive.” Luckily for Francisco, his generosity does not go unnoticed. “Amor con amor se paga. Love is repaid with love.” Readers are sure to be charmed by this humorous story about problem solving and sharing. The book includes a glossary of Spanish words.

Small Hands, Big Hands: Seven Profiles of Chicano Migrant Workers and Their Families

Seven migrant workers, ranging in age from eleven to sixty-seven, tell what it is like to live in agricultural labor camps.

Maximilian & the Bingo Rematch

Everybody is fighting in sixth-grader Maximilian’s world as his elderly aunts battle for the Queen Bingo trophy, his masked uncles wrestle for the tag-team title of the world, and his sweetheart and the “new girl” battle for Max’s heart.

Maximilian & the Bingo Rematch is the sequel to Maximilian & the Mystery of the Guardian Angel.

The Ogress and the Snake and Other Stories from Somalia

For millennia, Somalia has been crossed and recrossed by camel caravans of merchants bringing stories with them. Elizabeth Laird heard most of these oral retellings in Jigjiga, the capital of Ethiopia’s Somali region, in gardens, bars, small huts and beautiful old Harari houses. Some of them are written down here for the very first time.