The Crossing

Thirteen-year-old Manny, a street kid fighting for survival in a Mexican border town, develops a strange friendship with an emotionally disturbed American soldier who decides to help him get across the border.

Adios, Anna (Friends And Amigos)

adiosSaying goodbye for the summer to her Spanish friend, Anna, who is going away on vacation, Sarah plans to use a special library book to learn Spanish, but her plans are thwarted when the book is inadvertently left locked in Anna’s house. Original.

A Sunburned Prayer

sunburnedAs he makes a 17-mile pilgrimage to the Santuario de Chimayo that he hopes will save his grandma from cancer, 11-year-old Eloy is joined by a friendly dog that helps him keep going.

Cesar Chavez

cesar¡Viva la causa!
¡Viva César Chávez!
Up and down the San Joaquin Valley of California, and across the country, people chanted these words. Cesar Chavez, a migrant worker himself, was helping Mexican Americans work together for better wages, for better working conditions, for better lives.
No one thought they could win against the rich and powerful growers. But Cesar was out to prove them wrong — and that he did.

Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Springs Into Action

In this sequel, Freddie has shoes that give him super speed. It’s hard to be a superhero and a regular kid at the same time, especially when your shoes give you even more power! Freddie needs an on/off switch for his super speed, so Mr. Vaslov, who created the shoes, decides to invent a remote control, but he gets more than he planned. When his young neighbor’s ball goes missing, Freddie uses his new powers to find it… and save Mr. Vaslov!

Tortilla Sun

When twelve-year-old Izzy discovers a beat-up baseball marked with the words ‘Because magic’ while unpacking in yet another new apartment, she is determined to figure out what it means. What secrets does this old ball have to tell? Her mom certainly isn’t sharing any especially when it comes to Izzy’s father, who died before Izzy was born. But when she spends the summer in her Nana’s remote New Mexico village, Izzy discovers long-buried secrets that come alive in an enchanted landscape of watermelon mountains, whispering winds, and tortilla suns. Infused with the flavor of the southwest and sprinkled with just a pinch of magic, this heartfelt middle grade debut is as rich and satisfying as Nana’s homemade enchiladas.

Amigas #1: Fifteen Candles

amigasQuinceaeras are the fantastic parties thrown for Latina girls turning 15 years old and are a staple of the Miami social scene. But for Alicia Cruz and her three best friends, Carmen, Jamie, and Gaz, they were also just part of the background–until now.

Amigas #2: Lights, Camera, Quince!

quinceFour friends. One quince. Miami is heating up! Amigas Incorporated is officially open for business! Alicia, Jamie, Carmen and Gaz managed to throw an amazing quince for their new friend Sarita. But now that they are sophomores AND in the quince planning business, things are going to get more complicated. There is competition to deal with, not to mention pushy fifteen year olds and their overbearing mothers. Luckily, one of their own is having a quince. Carmen is turning fifteen and the rest of the friends are determined to throw her the best party ever. But in Miami, the heat is always on–and so is the drama. When the group agrees to be part of a reality show competition featuring young and upcoming party planners, Carmen begins to feel like her quinceanera is no longer in the spotlight. Will the friends find a way to balance everything? Or, will Amigas Inc go off the air?

Mexican Whiteboy

Sixteen-year-old Danny searches for his identity amidst the confusion of being half-Mexican and half-white while spending a summer with his cousin and new friends on the baseball fields and back alleys of San Diego County, California.

I Wanna Be Your Shoebox

Because Yumi RuÍz-Hirsch has grandparents from Japan, Cuba, and Brooklyn, her mother calls her a poster child for the twenty-first century. Yumi would laugh if only her life wasn’t getting as complicated as her heritage. All of a sudden she’s starting eighth grade with a girl who collects tinfoil and a boy who dresses like a squid. Her mom’s found a new boyfriend, and her punk-rock father still can’t sell a song. She’s losing her house; she’s losing her school orchestra. And worst of all she’s losing her grandfather Saul.Yumi wishes everything couldstay the same. But as she listens to Saul tell his story, she learns that nobody ever asks you if you’re ready for life to happen. It just happens. The choice is either to sit and watch or to join the dance.National Book Award finalist Cristina García’s first middle-grade novel celebrates the chaotic, crazy, and completely amazing patchwork that makes up our lives.