National Hispanic Heritage Month

In the United States, National Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15th and lasts until October 15th.  During this month-long observance, we take time to honor the contributions, history, and culture of Americans whose ancestors are from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.  One way to celebrate is to read some books by Latine and Hispanic authors and illustrators.  Here are a few I plan to read from this list:

My Name Is Maria Isabel ~ by Alma Flor Ada, illustrated by K. Dyble Thompson, translated by Ana M. Cerro, 1993, children's fiction, 64 pages, 10/10

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?"  But María Isabel has been named for her Papá's mother and for Chabela, her beloved Puerto Rican grandmother.  Can she find a way to make her teacher see that if she loses her name, she's lost the most important part of herself?

Xochitl and the Flowers ~ by Jorge Argueta, illustrated by Carl Angel, 2003, children's, 32 pages, 8/10

When Xochitl’s family moves from El Salvador to the United States, she misses the garden and flower shop they left behind.  But as they start to grow and sell flowers in their new neighborhood, Xochitl and her family find a real sense of community and home in San Francisco by creating a beautiful plant nursery in place of the garbage heap behind their apartment.  This book is multicultural, with English on the left page and Spanish on the right.  The illustrations span both pages.

Tomás and the Library Lady ~ by Pat Mora, illustrated by Raul Colón, 1997, children's (Texas and Iowa), 40 pages, 9/10

Tomás, a son of migrant workers, loves the stories his grandfather tells.  Then, his grandfather introduces him to the library, where the “library lady” shows him a whole world of even more stories.  A true story of Mexican-American author and educator Tomás Rivera.  While helping his family in their work as migrant laborers far from their home, Tomas finds an entire world to explore in the books at the local public library.