Cheech The School Bus Driver

cheechWhy can’t all bus drivers be as cool as Cheech? When the kids on the school bus decide to enter the Battle of the Bands, no one is more excited than Cheech. On the big day, they all pile into the bus and get ready to groove! But when they arrive, they find they’re the only mariachi band in the whole contest—and the rock and roll bands look awesome! In this zany story by beloved performer Cheech Marin, the band tries every trick in the book to make their act mea-sure up—with hilarious results! How will mariachi ever compete against rock and roll?

A Box Full of Kittens

boxRuthie loves Superman. Ruthie wants to be Superman. And when Ruthie is asked to go spend the afternoon with her aunt, who is about to have a baby any day day now and may need some help., Ruthie seizes the opportunity. It could be her chance to be a hero, should the baby come while she’s visiting! But when Ruthie is out fetching a snack for her aunt, she gets so distracted by a box full of kittens in the bodega that she doesn’t hear her aunt calling for her, nor does she notice the policemen running to the apartment or the ambulance pulling to the curb. When she realizes what’s happened, she’s devastated — she’s missed her one chance to be a hero! Or has she? Sonia Manzano, best known as “Maria” on Sesame Street, once again captures the warmth, love, and adventures of her childhood Bronx neighborhood.

500 Years of Chicana Women’s History/Anos de Historia de las Chicanans

500The history of Mexican Americans spans more than five centuries and varies from region to region across the United States. Yet most of our history books devote at most a chapter to Chicano history, with even less attention to the story of Chicanas. 500 Years of Chicana Women’s History offers a powerful antidote to this omission with a vivid, pictorial account of struggle and survival, resilience and achievement, discrimination and identity. The bilingual text, along with hundreds of photos and other images, ranges from female-centered stories of pre-Columbian Mexico to profiles of contemporary social justice activists, labor leaders, youth organizers, artists, and environmentalists, among others. With a distinguished, seventeen-member advisory board, the book presents a remarkable combination of scholarship and youthful appeal. In the section on jobs held by Mexicanas under U.S. rule in the 1800s, for example, readers learn about flamboyant Doña Tules, who owned a popular gambling saloon in Santa Fe, and Eulalia Arrilla de Pérez, a respected curandera (healer) in the San Diego area. Also covered are the “repatriation” campaigns” of the Midwest during the Depression that deported both adults and children, 75 percent of whom were U.S.-born and knew nothing of Mexico. Other stories include those of the garment, laundry, and cannery worker strikes, told from the perspective of Chicanas on the ground. From the women who fought and died in the Mexican Revolution to those marching with their young children today for immigrant rights, every story draws inspiration. Like the editor’s previous book, 500 Years of Chicano History (still in print after 30 years), this thoroughly enriching view of Chicana women’s history promises to become a classic.

Family Pictures, 15th Anniversary Edition / Cuadros De Familia, Edición Quinceañera

Family Pictures is the story of Carmen Lomas Garza\’s girlhood: celebrating birthdays, making tamales, finding a hammerhead shark on the beach, picking cactus, going to a fair in Mexico, and confiding to her sister her dreams of becoming an artist. These day-to-day experiences are told through fourteen vignettes of art and a descriptive narrative, each focusing on a different aspect of traditional Mexican American culture. The English-Spanish text and vivid illustrations reflect the author\’s strong sense of family and community. For Mexican Americans, Carmen Lomas Garza offers a book that reflects their lives and traditions. For others, this work offers insights into a beautifully rich community.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 3, Issue 2

Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez

Cesar Chavez is known as one of America’s greatest civil rights leaders. When he led a 340-mile peaceful protest march through California, he ignited a cause and improved the lives of thousands of migrant farmworkers. But Cesar wasn’t always a leader. As a boy, he was shy and teased at school. His family slaved in the fields for barely enough money to survive.

Cesar knew things had to change, and he thought that–maybe–he could help change them. So he took charge. He spoke up. And an entire country listened.

An author’s note provides historical context for the story of Cesar Chavez’s life.

Nana’s Big Surprise / Nana, Que Sorpresa! (Spanish Edition)

Amada and her family build a chicken coop, hoping that her grandmother, visiting from Mexico, will enjoy raising the chickens and be distracted from her grief at Grandfather’s death.

 

Fiesta Dress: A Quinceanera Tale

It s the day of Lolo’s big sister’s quinceañera party, and suddenly everyone is too busy to play with Lolo. But when she lets her dog Gobi runfree, everyone notices. Vivid illustrations in acrylics and watercolor by Martha Aviles skillfully portray Lolo using her fast feet and wits to outsmart Gobi and save her big sister’s special day!

The Dream on Blanca’s Wall/El Sueno Pegado En La Pared De Blanca: Poems in English and Spanish/Poemas En Ingles Y Espanol

Offers a collection of poems in English and Spanish that tell of a young Mexican-American girl’s dream to overcome her family difficulties and economic hardships in order for her to achieve her goal of becoming a teacher.