The author describes his boyhood summers spent at his grandmother’s apartment in Spanish Harlem where she intoduced him to the sounds and steps of the merengue and the conga and told him stories of Puerto Rico.
Americas
Materials from the Americas
The Civil War: 1840s-1890s (Hispanic America)
Describes Hispanic American participation in the United States Civil War and how Hispanics in New Mexico and other acquired territories transitioned to becoming a part of the nation.
Benito’s Bizcochitos: Los Bizconchitos De Benito
This bilingual fairy tale for children ages 4 to 8 relates the story of Benito, who runs away from home only to learn that the rest of the world isn’t nearly as friendly as his family’s farm.
Return to Sender
After his family hires migrant Mexican workers to help save their Vermont farm from foreclosure, eleven-year-old Tyler befriends the oldest daughter, but when he discovers they may not be in the country legally, he realizes that real friendship knows no borders.
Featured in WOW Review Volume XI, Issue 3
Voices In First Person: Reflections On Latino Identity
This eclectic, gritty, and groundbreaking collection of short monologues features 21 of the most respected Latino authors writing today, including Sandra Cisneros, Oscar Hijuelos, Esmeralda Santiago, and Gary Soto. Their fictional narratives give voice to what it’s like to be a Latinx teen in America. These voices are yearning. These voices are angry. These voices are, above all else, hopeful. These voices are America.
Party Girl
The death of her best friend Ana in a drive-by shooting causes 15-year-old Kata to question her position in the Los Angeles gang life.
Leticia’s Secret
A story about cousin rivalry & revelation. Rosario Silva and her cousin Leticia begin to share more and more. Rosario learns her cousin’s shocking secret.
A Different Kind Of Heat
Luz Cordero is on fire. She’s burning up with rage. She was there the night her brother got killed. She saw the cop pull the trigger. She tried to do something positive about it by going to protests, but all her anger got her into trouble. Now Luz is living at the St. Therese Home for Boys and Girls, working to turn her life around. Sister Ellen and Luz’s three fellow residents are helping. When Sister Ellen gives Luz a journal to write everything down, Luz is finally able to face the truth about what happened that night. And she’s able to forgive her brother, the man who took him away, and—most importantly—herself. A Different Kind of Heat is a gritty, heartbreaking, and uplifting story of one girl’s struggle to forgive and remember.
A Crazy Mixed-Up Spanglish Day
Part of the Get Ready for Gabi Series. In Northern California, Maritza Gabriela Morales Mercado struggles to deal with the third grade.
¡scandalosa!: A Honey Blonde Chica Novel (Honey Blonde Chica)
In this sequel to Honey Blonde Chica, Evie Gomez finally has it all: a sweet boyfriend, two mejor amigas, and an upcoming sixteeñera that’s the talk of the school. Too bad reality has a way of ruining things. Just when things look perfect, everything starts to unwind. Evie’s life takes one bad turn after another. Things can’t get more complicated…can they?