Mango, Abuela, and Me

Mia’s abuela has left her sunny house with parrots and palm trees to live with Mia and her parents in the city. The night she arrives, Mia tries to share her favorite book with Abuela before they go to sleep and discovers that Abuela can’t read the words inside. So while they cook, Mia helps Abuela learn English (“Dough. Masa”), and Mia learns some Spanish too, but it’s still hard for Abuela to learn the words she needs to tell Mia all her stories.

Green Is A Chile Pepper

Children discover a world of colors all around them: red is spices and swirling skirts, yellow is masa, tortillas, and sweet corn cake. Many of the featured objects are Latino in origin, and all are universal in appeal. With rich, boisterous illustrations, a fun-to-read rhyming text, and an informative glossary, this playful concept book will reinforce the colors found in every child’s day.

There’s a Name for This Feeling

In the title story, Lucinda hatches a clever plan to get her boyfriend back and is crushed when she ultimately realizes that it’s impossible to force a guy to love you. Like all young people, she ignores the advice of her mom and learns that lesson and many more the hard way.

Amadito And The Hero Children

amaditoA brief fictional recounting of legendary epidemics that struck the American Southwest–the smallpox epidemics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and the influenza epidemic during World War I–which ravaged many rural communities throughout the West. Includes author’s notes about the characters.

Chato Y Su Cena

cenaTo get the “ratoncitos,” little mice who have moved into the barrio, to come to come to his house, Chato the cat prepares all kinds of good food: fajitas, frijoles, salsa, enchiladas, and more. Wisely, the mice bring along a canine friend who ensures that Chato eats tortillas and not them for dinner.