Americas

Materials from the Americas

Bird House

On a snowy day, a grandmother and grandchild find an injured bird. They take it home and care for it until it can fly around the living room. It is fantastic—just like everything at Abuela’s house! But a fantastic moment is also bittersweet, for the little bird’s recovery means that it’s time to let it fly free. Drawing inspiration from a formative childhood experience, Blanca Gómez crafts a deceptively simple story that is morally and emotionally resonant and is brimming with love, wonder, and a deep respect for the natural world.

Ojalá Supieras/ I Wish You Knew

Un cuento oportuno y conmovedor sobre la incertidumbre que siente una joven cuando deportan a su padre―y la empatía que crece cuando compartimos y nos escuchamos unos a los otros.
A timely and moving tale about the uncertainty a young woman feels when her father is deported and the empathy that grows when we share and listen to each other.

Un Tren Llamado Esperanza/ A Train Called Hope

Years later, after his parents have gone far away in search of work and a better future, the boy rides in a real train to join his family. This one is loaded with hundreds of children traveling alone, just like him. There are frightening strangers, others along the way who want to jump on and, scariest of all, a boy who almost falls off the roof because he can’t stay awake any longer.

Orca Rescue!: The True Story Of An Orphaned Orca Named Springer

A captivating account of the only successful orca rescue and reunion in history told in first person by Donna Sandstrom, a citizen participant of the rescue.In 2002, a young orca was spotted alone in Puget Sound near Seattle — lost, underweight and 300 miles away from her home waters in Canada. Donna Sandstrom, an orca enthusiast in Seattle, eagerly joined the volunteer effort to help. Here she tells the riveting story, from identifying the orca as a missing calf named Springer; through making the decision to try to transport her home; to planning and organizing the trip; to, finally, releasing her near Vancouver Island, where Springer was reunited with her family.

El Cucuy Is Scared, Too!

Ramón is a little boy who can’t sleep. He is nervous for his first day at a new school. El Cucuy is the monster who lives in Ramón’s cactus pot. He can’t sleep, either. It turns out that El Cucuy is scared, too! This gentle, perceptive story explores the worries that can accompany moving to a new place and beginning a new journey—and reveals how comfort, bravery, and strength can be found through even the most unexpected of friendships.

Aristotle And Dante Dive Into The Waters Of The World

Aristotle and Dante continue their journey to manhood in this achingly romantic, tender tale set against the backdrop of the AIDS epidemic in 1980s America. In Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, two boys fell in love. Now they must learn what it means to stay in love-and to build their relationship in a world that doesn’t seem to want them to exist. In their senior year at two different schools, the boys find ways to spend time together, like a camping road trip they take in the desert. Ari is haunted by his incarcerated older brother and by the images he sees on the nightly news of gay men dying from AIDS. Tragedy feels like his destiny, but can he forge his own path and create a life where he can not only survive, but thrive?

How Moon Fuentez Fell In Love With The Universe

When her twin sister reaches social media stardom, Moon Fuentez accepts her fate as the ugly, unwanted sister hidden in the background, destined to be nothing more than her sister’s camerawoman. But this summer, Moon also takes a job as the “merch girl” on a tour bus full of beautiful influencers and her fate begins to shift in the best way possible.

Living Beyond Borders: Growing Up Mexican in America

In this mixed-media collection of short stories, personal essays, poetry, and comics, this celebrated group of authors share the borders they have crossed, the struggles they have pushed through, and the two cultures they continue to navigate as Mexican Americans. Living Beyond Borders is at once an eye-opening, heart-wrenching, and hopeful love letter from the Mexican American community to today’s young readers.

Latinitas (Spanish Edition): Una Celebración De 40 Soñadoras Audaces

Descubre cómo cuarenta latinas influyentes se convirtieron en las mujeres que hoy celebramos. En esta colección de biografías cortas de personajes de toda América Latina y de Estados Unidos, Juliet Menéndez explora los primeros pasitos con los que estas latinitas iniciaron su camino. Con hermosas ilustraciones, hechas a mano, Menéndez pone en relieve el poder que tienen los sueños de la infancia.

A Life Electric: The Story Of Nikola Tesla

Born at the stroke of midnight during a lightning storm, Nikola Tesla grew up to become one of the most important electrical inventors in the world. But before working with electricity, he was a child who loved playing with the animals on his family’s farm in Serbia.