Nine-year-old Betita and her parents fled Mexico after her uncle was killed by the cartels, and settled in Los Angeles seeking political asylum and safety in what her father calls Aztlan, the land of the cranes; but now they have been swept up by by the government’s Immigration Customs Enforcement, her father deported back to Mexico, and Betita and her mother confined in a family detention camp–Betita finds heart in her imagination and the picture poems her father taught her, but each day threatens to further tear her family apart.
United States
Materials from United States of America
Zaki’s Ramadan Fast
This story looks at a day in the life of a Muslim boy who is fasting for the first time. Though he is still not required to fast every day for the month of Ramadan, his family gives him their support to achieve his goal of fasting one day. Even with that support, Zaki quickly learns that it takes effort.
Part of the Middle East and South Asia/Arabic Language and Culture Kit
Party in Ramadan
Although too young to fast each day, Leena decides to fast on Fridays during Ramadan. When she receives an invitation to a party held on a Friday, she makes the decision to attend, but also decides not to break her fast, even though the food looks very tempting. This book shows the observance and meaning of Ramadan from the viewpoint of a Muslim child.
Part of the Middle East and South Asia/Arabic Language and Culture Kit
Yaqui Myths And Legends
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.
John Henry
Retells the life of the legendary African American hero who raced against a steam drill to cut through a mountain.
Luci Soars
Luci was born without a shadow. Mamá says no one notices. But Luci does. And sometimes others do too. Sometimes they stare, sometimes they tease Luci, and sometimes they make her cry. But when Luci learns to look at what makes her different as a strength, she realizes she has more power than she ever thought. And that her differences can even be a superpower.
Federico And The Wolf
A modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood in which Federico rides his bicycle to the market for Abuelo’s groceries, then stands up to a hungry wolf. Includes a recipe for pico de gallo and glossary of Spanish terms.
Tortillitas Para Mama
A collection of nursery rhymes, each in both English and Spanish, collected from the Spanish community in the Americas, many with instructions for accompanying finger plays or other activities.
Manu, The Boy Who Loved Birds
On a school trip to Honolulu’s Bishop Museum, Manu and his classmates are excited to see an ancient skirt made with a million yellow feathers from the ‘ō‘ō, a bird native to Hawai‘i that had gone extinct long ago. Manu knew his full name, Manu‘ō‘ōmauloa, meant “May the ‘ō‘ō bird live on” but never understood: Why was he named after a native forest bird that no longer existed?
Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story
Told in lively and powerful verse by debut author Kevin Noble Maillard, Fry Bread is an evocative depiction of a modern Native American family, vibrantly illustrated by Pura Belpré Award winner and Caldecott Honoree Juana Martinez-Neal.
Please watch WOW’s Imagination Friday with the author and illustrator of Fry Bread.
This book is featured in WOW Currents: Big Events, Strong Emotions – Anxiety.
Featured in WOW Review, Volume XV, Issue 4.
Awards:
Winner of the 2020 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
2020 American Indian Youth Literature Picture Book Honor Winner
National Public Radio (NPR) Best Book of 2019
NCTE Notable Poetry Book
2020 NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People
2020 ALA Notable Children’s Book
2020 ILA Notable Book for a Global Society