Kids' Books to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage

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Alessandri, Alexandra

To save their father's life, a brother and sister must journey across a land full of magical beings from Colombian folklore and find the most powerful and dangerous of them all--the Madremonte.

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Balcárcel, Rebecca

Eleven-year-old injured soccer player Luz has a hard enough time reframing her identity as a computer programmer, but when her Guatemalan half-sister moves in, she learns what it truly means to start over. Includes author's note.

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Behar, Ruth

Spanning over five hundred years, a novel telling the stories of four girls from different generations of a Jewish family, many of them forced to leave their country and start a new life.

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Cáceres, Andrea

When Aurora came to America, she learned to speak English. But not her spaniel, Nena. As Aurora explains to her friends she meets along the way, her dog just knows Spanish. Nena doesn't know "sit," but she knows "sientate." And she doesn't know "wait," but she know "espera." And a "treat" might not mean anything to Nena, but she sure can sniff out a "postre!"

(Also available in Spanish)

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Cisneros, Ernesto

Best friends Isaac and Marco face various challenges in sixth grade, such as Isaac getting better grades, Marco winning a spot on the basketball team, and both seeing their efforts make a change in their respective family lives. They hope their friendship and support for one another will be enough to help them from falling short.

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Cuevas, Adrianna

Rafa goes to work on a Rancho Espanto as punishment for a prank gone wrong, where he discovers a mystery as inexplicable as it is familiar and ultimately leads to Rafa learning hard truths about himself.

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De León, Aya

Fourteen-year-old Andrea Hernandez-Baldoquin hails from a family of spies working for the factory, an international organization dedicated to protecting people of color. Andrea has dreamed about getting her first solo mission, but she never imagined that she would have to straighten her hair and go undercover as a white girl to befriend the estranged son of a dangerous white supremacist. In order to gain the boy's trust, Andrea finds herself doing a deep dive into the world of comic books and fantasy gaming, all while trying to keep her true identity a secret from her targets adorable Latino best friend. Can Andrea keep her head, her geek cred, and her code-switching on track to trap a terrorist?

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Dominguez, Angela

In the affirmative and encouraging Me Gusta, acclaimed author and illustrator Angela Dominguez combines Spanish and English in a poetic and touching story of family, reminding us that through the adventures and the heartbreak, love conquers all and transcends language.

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Engle, Margarita

Looks at the life and accomplishments of Teresa Carreño, one of the most famous pianist who, by age nine, performed for President Abraham Lincoln at the White House.

(Also available in Spanish)

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Fajardo, Kat

Sue just wants to spend the summer reading and making comics at sleepaway camp with her friends, but instead she gets stuck going to Honduras to visit relatives with her parents and two sisters. They live way out in the country, which means no texting, no cable, and no Internet! The trip takes a turn for the worse when Sue's mother announces that they'll be having a surprise quinceañera for Sue, which is the last thing she wants. She can't imagine wearing a big, floofy, colorful dress! What is Sue going to do? And how will she survive all this "quality" time with her rambunctious family?

(Also available in Spanish)

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Gonzalez, Christina Diaz

Can five overlooked kids make one big difference? There's George: the brain Sara: the loner Dayara: the tough kid Nico: the rich kid And Miguel: the athlete And they're stuck together when they're forced to complete their school's community service hours. Although they're sure they have nothing in common with one another, some people see them as all the same... just five Spanish-speaking kids. Then they meet someone who truly needs their help, and they must decide whether they are each willing to expose their own secrets to help... or if remaining invisible is the only way to survive middle school.

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González, Xelena

Three girls follow their grandmother into her garden, where they examine her collection of rocks, crystals, shells, and meteorites and learn about the marvels they reveal.

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Hernandez, Carlos Alberto Pablo

In order to heal after his mother's death, thirteen-year-old Sal learns to reach into time and space to retrieve things--and people--from other universes.

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Higuera, Donna Barba

A girl named Petra Pena, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children - among them Petra and her family - have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race. Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet - and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard - or purged them altogether. Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?

(Also available in Spanish)

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Llanos, Mariana

Creatures from Peruvian lore try to scare a child who's so absorbed in her bedtime reading that she comically rebuffs their attempts.

(Also available in Spanish)

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Lopez, George

Uprooted from his home in Los Angeles and sent to live with his cantankerous grandparents in New Mexico, twelve-year-old Jorge struggles with loneliness until he meets a new friend who happens to be a chupacabra.

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Norman, Lissette

Plátanos are Yesenia's favorite food. They can be sweet and sugary, or salty and savory. And they're a part of almost every meal her Dominican family makes. Stop by her apartment and find out why plátanos go with everything--especially love!

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Ortega, Claribel A.

Marlene loves three things: art, her cool tía Ruby and hanging out with her best friend Camilla. But according to her mother, Paola, the only thing she needs to focus on is school and growing up. That means straightening her hair every weekend so she can have "presentable," "good" hair. But Marlene hates being in the salon and doesn't understand why her curls are not considered pretty by those around her. With a few hiccups, a dash of embarrassment, and the much-needed help of Camilla and Tía Ruby--she slowly starts a journey to learn to appreciate and proudly wear her curly hair.

(Also available in Spanish)

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Ortega, Mirelle

Growing up on a pineapple farm in Mexico, a young girl discovers the magic in everyday transformations that take place around her.

(Also available in Spanish)

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Otheguy, Emma

Sofía Acosta, a fifth grader trying to fit into her ballet-obsessed Cuban American family and her affluent suburban New York community, learns to speak up for herself and others when she mistakenly reveals a visiting dancer's plan to defect to the United States.

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Parra, John

Today Juanito is accompanying his father who is in the landscaping business, and he takes his sketchbook along to draw anything that catches his eye, and gets to help his father plan an entire garden--and then help plant it. Includes an autobiographical note.

(Also available in Spanish)

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Pérez, Celia C.

Before she decides whether to accept her stepfather's proposal of adoption, twelve-year-old Adela Ramírez reaches out to her estranged biological father--who is in the midst of a career comeback as a luchador--and the eccentric extended family of wrestlers she has never met, bringing Adela closer to understanding the expansive definition of family.

(Also available in Spanish)

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Ramos, NoNieqa

Beauty, who is of Taino Indian, African, and Boricua heritage, was taught to be strong and proud, but hatred toward people who look like her bruises her heart until her community opens her eyes to the truth.

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Rodriguez, Cindy L.

Beto won't wear a guayabera to the wedding. Nope! Nunca! Not going to happen! Beto tries his best to rid himself of the traditional Mexican wedding shirt his Mami gave him. He even gets help from his dog Lupe, but the shirt ends up back on his bed each time with notes from Mami, who becomes increasingly frustrated with Beto. Mami insists that Beto attend the wedding, and wear the shirt, because--after all--it's her wedding! Beto has to accept the fact that Mami is getting remarried and that she wants him to wear the shirt, which is part of his heritage.

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Ryan, Pam Muñoz

On the eve of her Quinceañera, Princess Solimar discovers that it will take more than magic to save her kingdom and prevent the destruction of the Monarch butterfly.

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Salazar, Aida

Jovita didn't want to cook and clean like her sisters, and she especially didn't want to wear the skirts her abuela gave her. She wanted to race her brothers and climb the tallest mesquite trees in Rancho Palos Blancos, ride horses, and wear pants! When her father and brothers joined the Cristeros War to fight for the right to practice religion, she wanted to help. She wasn't allowed to fight, but that didn't stop her from observing how her father strategized and familiarizing herself with the terrain. When tragedy struck, she did the only thing that felt right to her -- cut her hair, donned a pair of pants, and continued the fight, commanding a battalion who followed her without question. Jovita Wore Pants is the story of a trailblazing revolutionary who fought for her freedom, told by her great niece, bestselling author Aida Salazar, and illustrated by Molly Mendoza.

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Siqueira, Ana

Miguel's grandmother warns him that opening an umbrella inside the house will bring bad luck that will follow him everywhere.

(Also available in Spanish)

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Sylvester, Natalia

When Abuela comes to visit from Peru, she brings a suitcase full of treasures and her granddaughter learns that home is not just a place, but the love between family no matter the distance.

(Also available in Spanish

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Torres, Jennifer

Eight-year-old Catalina Castañeda uses Tía Abuela's sewing kit to turn ordinary clothing into a magical disguise, enabling her to uncover a thief at the local library.

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