Chave, a grown woman, recalls her childhood trips from her border home in Brownsville, TX, to her grandparents’ ranch in northern Mexico. Large, bright drawings show young Chave, her brother, and their cousins racing around the ranch, sliding down dirt hills, herding baby goats, riding wooden barrels, and listening to a ranch hand tell stories.
Mexico
Materials from Mexico
The King Of Things/El Rey de las Cosas
As he plays with lottery cards and looks at the pictures, three-year-old Lalo thinks that he owns the world, including the sun, a big train, and a frog.
Uno, Dos, Tres: One, Two, Three
Pictures depict two sisters going from shop to shop buying birthday presents for their mother. Rhyming text presents numbers from one to ten in English and Spanish.
Magda’s Piñata Magic/Magda y la piñata mágica
When Tio Manuel brings home a very special piata for Gabriel’s birthday party, his sister Magda figures out an ingenious way to preserve it and still make the party guests happy.
Dear Primo
From first-time Mexican author and illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh comes the story of two cousins, one in America and one in Mexico, and how their daily lives are different yet similar. Charlie takes the subway to school; Carlitos rides his bike. Charlie plays in fallen leaves; Carlitos plays among the local cacti. Dear Primo covers the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of two very different childhoods, while also emphasizing how alike Charlie and Carlitos are at heart. Spanish words are scattered among the English text, providing a wonderful way to introduce the language and culture of Mexico to young children.Inspired by the ancient art of the Mixtecs and other cultures of Mexico, Tonatiuh incorporates their stylized forms into his own artwork.
A Piñata in a Pine Tree
An award-winning author and a rising star artist have put a festive Latino twist on “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” populating it with piñatas in place of partridges, plus burritos bailando (dancing donkeys), lunitas cantando (singing moons), and much more, all displayed in the most vivid colors imaginable. In this version a little girl receives gifts from a secret amiga, whose identity is a sweet surprise at the book’s conclusion. There are things to find and count in Spanish on every page, with pronunciations provided right in the pictures and a glossary and music following the story. This joyous fiesta will warm even the coldest of hearts.
Star in the Forest
After eleven-year-old Zitlally’s father is deported to Mexico, she takes refuge in her trailer park’s forest of rusted car parts, where she befriends a spunky neighbor and finds a stray dog that she nurses back to health and believes she must keep safe so.
Marcelo in the Real World
Marcelo Sandoval, a seventeen-year-old boy on the high-functioning end of the autistic spectrum, faces new challenges, including romance and injustice, when he goes to work for his father in the mailroom of a corporate law firm.
Strange Parents
This compelling novel about immigration for intermediate readers details the difficulties encountered by children separated from their parents
The Party for Papa Luis / La fiesta para Papa Luis
A cumulative tale in which Papa Luis’s family and friends make preparations for his birthday fiesta, complete with pinata, cake, and a clown.