I just love those “today is national…” and “This Month is …” calendars. You know, the ones that give us those tidbits of trivia that often make life more interesting.
Well, this month, according to the Association of American Publishers, is Latino Book Month! You may know by now that I am a Latina. My mother’s side of the family is Hispanic (Puerto Rican by birth and culturally Cuban – long story…), and even though I’ve always been a voracious reader, I have to be honest that I’ve been a little short on books written by Latina authors.
So the researcher in me got to researchin’…
And I found a treasure-trove of tomes! I started out by reading some short summaries and reviews on Latinas4LatinoLit.org and LatinoStories.com, and came up with a list of 10 books that you may want to try out for starters (see below).
Yet at this point, I realize you may be asking me, “You’re not a Latina. So why celebrate Latino Book Month?” Well, here are some statistics* for you to consider.
- One in four children born in the US is Latino.
- Latinos make up about 14% of the US population, and 16% of the entire population is under 18 years of age, a number that is steadily growing.
- Latinos are younger than the US population as a whole, positioning them as a potentially large segment of the population in the future.
- And yet, only about 2% of the approximately 5,000 children’s books published in the US are by or about Latinos, a statistic which is not growing. *Source
Most importantly, perhaps, the term “latino” (or “latina”) covers a myriad of countries and cultures. As I learned from first-hand experience, there are many words and phrases that are used in one country or region that you’d dare not use in another. Foods, history, and customs also vary from place to place; and Latinos are often only loosely connected via the Spanish language. Even then, there are often pronunciation differences. So, as you can see…
Assuming that if you’re reading this far I’ve at least piqued your curiosity, here is a list of 10 books you can try this month to celebrate Latino Book Month with a literary flair: (These are affiliate links, and of course, please preview all books to ensure they pass your family’s muster.)
Latino Books for Kids
- Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto – This is the story of the warm way a family pulls together to overcome a problem and make it a perfect Christmas.
- Book Fiesta by Pat Mora – A bilingual picture book
- My Name is Maria Isabel by Alma Flor Ada – For María Isabel Salazar López, the hardest thing about being the new girl in school is that the teacher doesn’t call her by her real name. “We already have two Marías in this class,” says her teacher. “Why don’t we call you Mary instead?”
- There’s a Coqui in My Shoe by Marisa de Jesus Paolicelli – This distinctive and delightful story, celebrating Puerto Rico’s national treasure, the Eleutherodactylus (El-oo-thear-oh-dak-till-us) coqui (co-kee), would be a great open door to a fascinating cross-curricular unit study!
Latino Books for Teens
- Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan – Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, on the eve of the Great Depression.
- Ana of California: A Novel by Andi Teran – Inspired by and a contemporary twist of Anne of Green Gables!
Latino Books for Moms
- Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia – Three generations of a Cuban family, divided by conflicting loyalties over the Cuban revolution, live in Havana in the 1970s and ’80s and an emigre neighborhood of Brooklyn.
- The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros – This is the story of a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago,Told in a series of vignettes, inventing for herself who and what she will become.
- In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez – The voices of four sisters—Minerva, Patria, María Teresa, and Dedé—speak across the decades to tell their own stories and describe the everyday horrors of life under Trujillo’s rule. This novel speaks to courage and love, and the human cost of political oppression.
- How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez – Recounts the immigrant experiences of 4 sisters from the Dominican Republic, to mainstream America. A multiple-award winner!
Most homeschoolers I know love to read. But if your kiddos are finding they’d like something new or different this spring… if you want to branch out just a little…or if you’re looking for something just a bit different to build a unit study from…consider exploring the “mundo hispanico” and crack open something by a Latin author during Latino Book Month!
