Latinx in US

Here, Kitty, Kitty!/Ven, gatita, ven! (My Family: Mi Familia)

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.

I Am Mexican American (Our American Family)

A Mexican-American child talks about aspects of his Mexican heritage, including language, foods, and customs.

Juan And The Jackalope: A Children’s Book In Verse

When Rosita, the loveliest gal in the Pecos River Valley, offers her delicious rhubarb pie as first prize for the Great Grasshopper Race, a thousand love-struck vaqueros line up for the competition. Of course everyone believes that the legendary cowboy Pecos Bill, riding his giant grasshopper, Hoppy, is a shoo-in for the grand prize. Sure enough, Bill and Hoppy give an impressive performance, crisscrossing the Southwest in a raucous ride. But young Juan, who is hopelessly in love with Rosita, astonishes them all when he and Jack the Jackalope take a miraculous ride around the world and across the Milky Way. The daring pair return, covered in stardust, to claim the beautiful Rosita and her delicious pie. Set in New Mexico, Anaya’s fanciful story, coupled with Amy Cordova’s vivid illustrations, brings the tradition of Southwestern tall tales to a new generation of young readers.

Prietita and the Ghost Woman / Prietita Y La Llorona

In a bilingual retelling of a famous Mexican legend, Prietita sets out to find the missing herb that can cure her mother’s illness and, while lost in the woods, comes face to face with the mysterious la Llorona, the ghost woman.

The Throwaway Piece

Jewel is shuttled from one foster home to another. But Jewel wasn’t always a “State Kid.” Her mother Angela’s constant search for happiness through a steady stream of unsavory boyfriends leads to the state’s intervention in Jewel’s life. Listening to her new foster mother’s list of “nos”—no drugs, no lying, no stealing, no skipping school, no boys in or out of the house, no being late—Jewel realizes that her mother said “yes” a lot. Probably too much. She remembers saving Angela’s life when one of many boyfriends beat her, trying to hide another boyfriend’s attempts to rape her when she was fourteen, and being sent to a foster home to please the latest boyfriend. But still, Jewel worries about her mother and knows that she will once again pick up the pieces when the latest jerk leaves. Bit by bit Jewel’s life begins to change for the better after her latest move to a new foster home and school. Although most people can’t see past her tough “State Kid” façade—spray-painted hair, heavy make-up, ripped clothing and unlaced shoes—her English teacher realizes there’s more to her then meets the eye. He convinces Jewel to tutor a fellow student who needs help with math, and gradually she learns how to make friends. In the process, she touches the lives of many people around her, including her social worker, teachers who believe in her, her new-found, tentative friends, and even their parents. But when she’s forced to choose between her life-long job—taking care of her mother”—and doing what’s right for herself, old habits and loyalties are hard to break. Jewel is sure that this time, she can save her mom. But will she be able to save herself?

Too Many Tamales

While preparing dough for her family’s Christmas tamales, Maria discovers that she has lost her mother’s prized diamond ring somewhere in the dough and sets out to eat her way through the many finished tamales to find the missing ring.