Our new kitty likes to hide. A nuestra nueva gatita le gusta esconderse. She hides under the table, Se esconde debajo de la mesa, inside a flowerpot, dentro de una maceta and behind the curtains. Y detrás de las cortinas. We call out to her, La llamamos, pero . . . but will she ever come close enough to pet? ¿se acercará lo suficiente como para acariciarla? Here, kitty, kitty! ¡Ven, gatita, ven! This third book in Pat Mora’s bilingual My Family/Mi familia series will delight children with its mischievous kitty, playful illustrations, and engaging story. Este tercer libro de la serie bilingüe My Family/Mi familia de Pat Mora entretendrá a los niños con una gatita traviesa, ilustraciones graciosas y una historia encantadora.
Realistic Fiction
Realistic Fiction genre
Goodnight, Papito Dios / Buenas noches, Papito Dios
“Papá, I don’t want to go to sleep. I’m scared.” Everyone knows that the trick to putting children to bed is creating a bedtime routine, and in this new children’s story from Victor Villaseñor, he recreates his own family’s bedtime tradition. Papá tells his son that every night when he was a boy, his mother would sing him to sleep with the turtledove song. “Coo-coo-roo-coo-coooo,” he sings, and tells the little boy about his very own Guardian Angel who will take him through the night sky to be reunited with God, or Papito Dios. “Then in the morning, you’ll come back refreshed, rested, and powerful as the wind.” As Papá sings the turtledove song to his son, he reminds the child that Mamá loves him, the dog and the cat love him, and his brothers and sisters love him too. Even the trees and grass and the flowers that dance in the wind love him. Gradually, the boy drifts off to sleep, feeling safe and warm in God\’s love and dreaming of the day when he will sing the turtledove song to his own children.
Messed Up
Fifteen-year-old RD is repeating the eighth grade, planning to have an easy year, but after his grandmother walks out her boyfriend is no longer able to care for him, which leaves RD to fend for himself while avoiding being caught.
My Little Car
Teresa loves to show off her shiny, new, pedal-powered lowrider car from Grandpa, but the toy soon looks old when she neglects it. When it helps her escape from a neighborhood dog, she is reminded of how much she loves it. And her grandpa is just the person to help her fix it up. After all, he’s old, too, but he’s still fun to play with. This shows kids that it’s important to take care of the things (and people) you love.
The Skirt
When Miata leaves on the school bus the skirt that she is to wear in a dance performance, she needs all her wits to get it back without her parents’ finding out that she has lost something yet again.
Truth And Salsa
A spirited young girl must travel far from home to finally find herself. MEXICO IS A LONG WAY from Kalamazoo–and not just in terms of miles. Almost-thirteen-year-old Hayley Flynn is spending six months with her eccentric grandmother in the rural mountain town of San Cristobal. Her father recently deserted the family and Hayley’s mom needs time to, as she puts it, “work things through.” Down in Mexico, everyone calls Hayley by her new, more glamorous chosen name, Margarita, and life is surprisingly exciting–exotic birds, beautiful butterflies, holidays, colorful fiestas, and new friends like Lili. Hayley and Lili even win parts as extras in a Hollywood movie being filmed in the town. But there are also difficult lessons to be learned. Poverty and unemployment send Lili’s father and other men from the village to Michigan to work as migrant workers so they can send money back home to their anxious families. Meanwhile Hayley is on the lookout for la fantasma (the ghost) that is said to haunt her grandma’s house. With Lili’s help she solves the mystery–and prepares for a new life with her mom back in the States.
Someone Like Summer
Annabel first sees him playing soccer near her house. His name is Esteban—she sees it on the back of his team shirt. He notices her, smiles, then looks back over his shoulder at her again.
It is the beginning of summer in the resort town of Seaview. It is also the start of a romance between a young Colombian who came to town to work and the daughter of a local contractor whose crews are entirely Latino—new immigrants who are changing the face of Seaview.
This is the summer of war in Iraq, and of Hurricane Katrina. But in Seaview there are other concerns. In Annabel’s house her new boyfriend is at the top of the list. And Esteban’s sister has harsh words for his choice of a girlfriend.
M. E. Kerr weaves a compelling story of star-crossed love and a small-town problem of nationwide significance.
My Name Is Sangoel
As a refugee from Sudan to the United States, Sangoel is frustrated that no one can pronounce his name correctly until he finds a clever way to solve the problem.
Read more about My Name Is Sangoel in WOW Review.
This book has been included in WOW’s Language and Learning: Children’s and Young Adult Fiction Booklist. For our current list, visit our Booklist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.
My Abuelita
Abuelita’s hair is the color of salt. Her face is as crinkled as a dried chile. She booms out words as wild as blossoms blooming. She stuffs her carcacha–her jalopy–with all the things she needs: a plumed snake, a castle, a skeleton, and more. Her grandson knows he has the most amazing grandmother ever–with a very important job. With her booming voice and wonderful props, Abuelita is a storyteller. Next to being a grandmother, that may be the most important job of all. Sprinkled with Spanish and infused with love, My Abuelita is a glorious celebration of family, imagination, and the power of story.
See the review in WOW Review, Volume 4, Issue 1.
Bait
When a guy in his class looks at him funny, Diego punches him in the face, and ends up on probation. At first he wants nothing to do with his probation officer. But as Diego starts to open up, he begins to realize that Mr. Vidas is the first person in his life who ever really wanted to listen to him. With Vidas’s help, Diego begins to make real progress in controlling his anger. He even opens up enough to tell Vidas about the shark tooth that his stepfather gave him that he uses to cut himself. But only if Diego can find the courage to trust Vidas with the darkest secrets from his past will he be able to heal completely. In this story of a boy trying to grow beyond a painful past, award-winning author Alex Sanchez calls upon his personal experience as a probation officer to reveal the complexities of one of his most genuinely realized characters to date.