A posada is an important Latino holiday tradition that happens all over the world on each of the nine nights before Christmas. There’s a lot to do every night before the party can begin, and here a little girl guides us through each step—from putting out poinsettias to hanging the piñata—as she counts to ten in English and Spanish. Young readers can follow along by counting the different items mentioned. An author’s note at the end of the story further explains the origins of the posada. Sprinkled with Spanish vocabulary and filled with lively illustrations, this is a posada no one should miss!
Realistic Fiction
Realistic Fiction genre
Alamo Wars
Josephine “Miss Mac” McKeever had taught English and Theatre Arts at Rosemont Middle School for so long that her colleagues sometimes joked that she would die in the classroom. So when she does just that, students, teachers, and administrators are stunned. After getting over the initial shock of losing their colleague, the staff agrees that they need to do something very special to acknowledge Miss Mac’s fifty-one years of dedication to the students at Rosemont and suggest naming the school’s auditorium after her. When Mrs. Frymire, her long-time colleague and friend, discovers a play written by Miss Mac years before, she knows that it would be the perfect memorial to present the play, Thirteen Days to Glory: The Battle of the Alamo, in the school’s auditorium named after her friend. But the teachers quickly learn that presenting a play isn’t as easy as Miss Mac had always made it seem, and soon the entire school community is in an uproar as conflicts related to the play emerge. Seventh-grader and Golden Gloves boxer Marco Diaz is, at first, excited to be chosen to play Jim Bowie, the brave Texan who defended the Alamo against Santa Anna’s Mexican Army. But his friend Raquel, an undocumented immigrant, calls him a sell-out because she believes the play makes heroes out of the people who stole her ancestors’ land. And Sandy Martinez, Miss Mac’s much younger replacement, finds the Mexican characters’ dialogue not only politically incorrect but downright offensive. Miss Mac’s friends, though, are adamantly opposed to making changes. Ms. Martinez also tries to convince them that giving certain students plum roles in exchange for their parents’ contributions is wrong, but ends up leaving the production in frustration. Meanwhile, rehearsals only serve to increase the tension between Marco’s friend Izzy Pena and the school bully Billy Ray Cansler. And it’s only a matter of time before Billy Ray corners Izzy when Marco isn’t around to protect him. Weary from struggling with disruptive kids, teachers and kids dropping out of the play, and parents with unreasonable expectations, everyone begins to wonder if they should just give up and cancel the production. Is it too much to expect everyone to work together to pay homage to a long-time friend and teacher?
El Regalo Mágico
Missing his family home in the Dominican Republic, young Jaime Ramos attempts to make friends in New York City despite his inability to speak English, and his great aunt’s gift of a special conch shell helps him to acclimate.
Snapshots from the Wedding
Maya attends a family wedding and captures it all on film, from her cousin getting rice in his eye to the cake that tasted as delicious as it looked, in a beautifully illustrated tale of a special family day.
Tyrone’s Betrayal (Roosevelt High School)
Drinking and fighting are nothing new in Tyrone’s house, but this time, his dad leaves and doesn’t come back. Tyrone’s anger at his father’s desertion finds an outlet through violent eruptions at school. Life at home is no better as his mother begins working a night job to pay the bills and expects him to take care of his siblings. Instead, he starts partying with older kids, skipping school, and sneaking home in the early morning hours. But when his younger brother is caught stealing candy, Tyrone realizes that he will have to take on the responsibility whether he wants to or not. Settling in to his new role, Tyrone is furious when he learns that his father wants to come home. He just doesn’t understand how his mother can forgive his father so easily. With the help of his friends and counselor, Tyrone begins to deal with his feelings of anger and betrayal as the son of an alcoholic, absentee father. This book is the seventh novel in Gloria Velasquez’s popular Roosevelt High School series, which features a multiracial group of teenaged students who must individually confront social and cultural issues (such as violence, sexuality, and prejudice) that young adults face today.
Lasso the Moon
In a compelling story by the author of Lizard, April cannot stop thinking about Fernando, her father’s patient from El Salvador, but when she hears two different stories of his life she wonders which one is the truth.
First Day in Grapes
All year long, Chico’s family moves up and down the state of California to pick fruits and vegetables. Every September, Chico starts at a new school. Often, the other kids pick on him — maybe because he’s always new, or maybe because he speaks Spanish sometimes. But third grade promises to be different. He likes his teacher, and she recognizes his excellent abilities in math — he may even get to go to the math fair! When some fourth-grade bullies tease him, he surprises them with strengths of his own.
This book has been included in WOW’s Kids Taking Action Booklist. For our current list, visit our Boolist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.
Call Me Henri
Enrique, a young boy in Peralta Middle School, faces abuse at home and danger on the barrio streets. Yet he is driven to succeed by the desire to join that “other America” he sees on TV and in the movies, and is aided in his quest by compassionate teachers. His ambition finds expression in his determination to drop his ESL class in favor of taking French, and his story begins, “Call me Henr.”
Lorraine Lpez (author of Soy la Avon Lady and Other Stories) has created a vivid picture of barrio life, filled with honesty, insight, and humor for young adults. She paints a balanced and detailed landscape of Enrique’s world. Although Enrique is confused and angered by his mother’s refusal to stand up for him against the abuse of his stepfather, he also draws strength from the supportive and loving family of his friend Francisco. While some of his teachers are uncaring or inept, others provide help and encouragement at critical moments in his life.
When Enrique witnesses his friend Horacio gunned down in a drive-by shooting and is seen by the assailants, gang members set out to kill him. As the novel reaches its climax, Enrique must make some agonizing decisions.
Although specifically about barrio life, this novel is universal in its themes-the drive for success, the desire for love and family support, and the need for true friendship. Lpez’s fully delineated characters provide a rich and credible mural of our human comedy.
Lorraine Lpez‘s Soy la Avon Lady and Other Stories was selected for the Marmal Prize, and also won the IPPY Award for Multicultural Fiction.
First Person Fiction: Call Me Maria (First Person Fiction)
Maria is a girl caught between two worlds: Puerto Rico, where she was born, and New York, where she now lives in a basement apartment in the barrio. While her mother remains on the island, Maria lives with her father, the super of their building. As she struggles to lose her island accent, Maria does her best to find her place within the unfamiliar culture of the barrio. Finally, with the Spanglish of the barrio people ringing in her ears, she finds the poet within herself. In lush prose and spare, evocative poetry, Cofer weaves a powerful novel, bursting with life and hope.
Honey Blonde Chica
Evie Gomez is one chill chica.She and her best friend, Raquel, hang with the Flojos, a kick-back crew named for their designer flip-flops. And their habit of doing absolutely nothing.But the return of long-lost amiga mejor Dee Dee wrecks Evie and Raquel’s Flojo flow. A few years in Mexico City have transformed their shy, skinny, brunette Dee Dee into a Sangro nightmare. Dee Dee has reinvented herself as “Dela,” complete with tight designer threads, freaky blue contacts, and that signature blond hair.When Raquel wants precisely nada to do with the new Dela, Evie finds herself caught between two very different friends. At heart, is Evie a Cali-casual Flojo chick, or a sexy Sangro diva?How’s a chica to choose?