Alarcon, Francisco X.
From the Belly Button of the Moon and Other Poems
. Children's Book Press, San Francisco, CA. 1998.
A bilingual collection of memoir poems in which the author, Francisco. X. Alacon, a Mexican American, revisits and celebrates his childhood.
Alvariz, Julia.
The Secret Footprints
. Dell Dragonfly Books, New York, NY. 2000.
This is a Dominican folktale about a tribe of underwater people whose feet are attached backward, with toes pointing in the directions from which they came from.
Argueta, Manlio.
Magic Dogs of the Volcanoes
. Children's Book Press, San Francisco, CA. 1990.
This folktale is about two ancient volcanoes in El Salvador that aid the magic dogs in protecting the village.
Castaneda, Omar S.
Abuela's Weave
. Lee & Low Books, Inc., Boston, MA. 1993.
This is the story of the relationship between a young Guatemalan girl and her grandmother as they weave together and make a trip to the market to sell their wares.
Cisneros, Sandra.
Hairs
. Dragonfly Books/Alfred A. Knoph, New York, NY. 1994.
In this picture book, a child describes how each person in the family has hair that looks and acts differently. This is a vignette from Sandra Cisneros best selling book
The House on Mango Street
.
Collard III, Sneed B.
The Forest in the Clouds
. Charlesbridge Publishing, Watertown, MA. 2000.
This non-fiction picture book describes some of the exotic plants and animals that live in the cloud forest of Costa Rica. This book also discusses some of the environmental problems this area is encountering. This book would a good accompaniment to
The Remembering Stone
by Barbara Timberlake Russell.
Gonzalez, Lucia M. The Bossy Gallito. Scholastic Inc., New York, NY 1994.
This translated Cuban folktale features a rooster on his way to a wedding.
Herrera, Juan Felipe.
Calling the Doves
. Children's Book Press, San Francisco, CA. 1995.
This is a personal memoir of Juan Felipe Herrera's childhood in the mountains of California with his farm worker parents.
Jaffee, Nina.
The Golden Flower: A Taino Myth from Puerto Rico
. Pinata Books, Houston, TX. 2005.
This Taino myth explains the origin of the forest, the sea, and the island.
Maggi, Maria Elena.
The Great Canoe: A Karina Legend
. Groundwood Books/Douglas & McIntyre, Toronto, Ontario. 2002.
This book is translated from Spanish and is a retelling of a Karina tale that sets the story of Noah's Ark in the New World. The Karina's are descendants of an indigenous nation that before the Spaniards came, occupied eastern Venezuela. The Spaniards called them Carib Indians.
Mora, Pat.
Tomas and the Library Lady
. Dragonfly Books/Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY. 1997.
Tomas helps his family in their work as migrant workers far from the home, in doing so he discovers and entire world to explore through the books in the library.
Paulsen, Gary.
The Tortilla Factory
. Voyager Books, Harcourt Brace & Company, New York, NY. 1995.
Gary Paulsen uses simple prose to tell young readers how corn seeds eventually become a tortilla.
Ramirez, Michael Rose.
The Legend of the Hummingbird: A Tale from Puerto Rico
. Mondo Publishing, New York, NY. 1998.
In this Puerto Rican legend, a boy and a girl from rival tribes have their love protected and immortalized when they are changed into a red flower and a hummingbird.
Robleda, Margarita.
Maria: A Latina Girl in the United States
. Santillana USA Publishing Company, Inc., Miami, FL. 2005.
This is the story of 11-year-old Maria who was born in the USA into a family of Mexican immigrants. She writes her autobiography and in it emphasizes the advantages of being bilingual and bicultural.
Sota, Gary.
Chato and the Party Animals
. Penguin Young Readers Group, New York, NY. 2000.
Chato the cat decides to throw a birthday party for his friend Novio boy who has never had a party before.
Torres, Leyla.
The Kite Festival
. Farrar Straus Giroux, New York, NY. 2004.
Fernando and his family are on a Sunday ride to the town of San Vicente, Columbia. There they encounter a kite festival. By using ingenuity and recycled objects they manage to construct a kite so they can join in and win the prize for the most original kite.
Van Lann, Nancy.
The Magic Bean Tree: A Legend from Argentina
. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA. 1998.
This legend is about a young Quechua Indian boy in South America who sets out on his own to bring back rain to his homeland. He is rewarded by a gift of carob beans that come to be cherished in Argentina.
Wallner, Alexandra.
Sergio and the Hurricane
. Henry Holt and Company, New York, NY. 2000.
Sergio, a young boy learns how dangerous a hurricane can be when it comes to his oceanfront home in Puerto Rico.
Williams, Karen Lynn.
Tap-Tap
. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, NY. 1994.
A Haitian mother and daughter have enough money to ride the tap-tap after selling oranges in the market. A tap-tap is a multi-colored hand painted truck that picks up passengers and lets them off when they hang on the side of the vehicle.