Delicious Hullabaloo/Pachanga Deliciosa

In this poem in English and Spanish, lizards, armadillos, and other creatures of the night make merry beneath the desert moon, enjoying the strains of a mariachi band and gobbling lots of delicious food.

El Lector

Thirteen-year-old Bella wants to be a lector just like her grandfather. All day long he sits on a special platform in the cigar factory in Ybor City, Florida, reading books, newspapers, and current events to workers as they roll the cigars. Lectors have always been highly respected members of their Cuban American community.But now times are changing. When the factory workers clash with the owners, violence erupts and the lectors start losing their jobs. And then there’s the radio. Could this small device replace the lector? It’s up to Bella to determine her future and help her people preserve their history.

Featherless/Desplumado (Multilingual Edition)

At his new school or on the soccer field, all everyone wants to know is why Tomasito is in a wheelchair. His father gives Tomasito a new pet to make him smile, but this bird is a little bit different. Can Tomasito\’s featherless friend teach him that there\’s more than one way to fly? Will the cheers Tomasito hears on the sidelines ever be for him? Award-winning author and poet Juan Felipe Herrera scores yet again with this sparkling story of friendship and self-empowerment. The brilliant acrylic paintings by Ernesto Cuevas, Jr., burst off the page with sheer joy.

Fitting In

Written with deep understanding and compassion, these are the bittersweet tales of young Cuban immgrants adjusting to life in the United States as they cross the threshold into young womanhood.

I Am Mexican American (Our American Family)

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

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 Land Sings: Stories from the Rio Grande

A collection of ten original and traditional stories set in New Mexico, including “Lupe and la Llorona,” “The Shepherd Who Knew the Language of Animals,” and “Coyote and Raven.”

 

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 3, Issue 2

Pablo’s Tree

Each year on his birthday, a young Mexican American boy looks forward to seeing how his grandfather has decorated the tree he planted on the day the boy was adopted.

 

Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida

Manny relates his coming of age experiences as a member of a poor Mexican American family in which the alcoholic father only adds to everyone’s struggle.

Featured in Volume VI, Issue 1 of WOW Review.

Petty Crimes

Meet Manuel, a young man who wears hand-me-downs from his older brothers until he finally gets a brand-new pair of shoes. And Jose Luis, who watches the vet bills rise after he buys a sick rooster to save it from becoming someone’s dinner. And Alma, a young woman who runs to every shop and flea market in town buying back the clothes of her dead mother that her father has given away. These Mexican American youths meet life’s challenges head-on in this hard-hitting collection of short stories.