Young Alma is trying to write her very long name on her paper–Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela– and it doesn’t fit. She doesn’t hesitate to air her frustration to her father who regales his daughter with the stories behind each name. “Then you decide if it fits,” he tells her. Cuddled together in a chair looking at photo albums, Alma learns about every family member from Grandma Sofia who loved poetry to Candela her other grandmother...

This original cumulative tale effectively engages younger children in the ancient art of pottery making. On the opposite page, older children can read the story of Juan Quezada and his quest to re-create this art form from the village of Mata Ortiz in Chihuahua, Mexico. For students of art who want to learn more about pottery making, the last five pages are devoted to the process. The multilayered text is accompanied by artwork brimming with creativity,...

Focusing on one child who survived the 2010 disaster in Haiti, this beautiful and touching picture book is a true testament to the spirit of the people of this nation. A seven-year-old boy (only identified as Junior on the flap copy) was pulled from under his home eight days after the earthquake. He and his best friend, Oscar, were home alone. When he was asked if he'd been afraid, he answered, “I missed Manman and Papa...in my mind, I played.”...

Engle's spare, rhythmic text gets at the heart of the struggle to achieve a dream in this picture-book biography about a Chinese African Cuban girl who aspired to play drums even when society's double standards stood as a barrier. Growing up in tempestuous 1930s Havana, during a time when universities were often shut down because of their opposition to the dictatorial President Machado, Millo Castro Zaldarriaga dared to dream of playing percussion...

Do paintings talk back to you? Auntie Luce is from Haiti and her paintings always talk vibrantly about Haiti today and of days gone by. Her niece comes to visit the island and through art, she learns the history and heroes of a country ravaged by revolution, but brightened by everyday people who balance fruit baskets on their heads, sell water ice by the pink cathedral or ride on painted tap-tap buses. Auntie Luce explains that she paints what she...

Author and illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh’s latest work presents an extraordinary blend of biography, art, and politics focusing on the life of José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1915), or Don Lupe, as he was known at the time. Posada is most famous for his socially-conscious depictions of calaveras, the often comic skeletons that are well-associated with Mexico’s Day of the Dead holiday celebration. This non-fiction picture book will appeal to a wide...

When the Mendezes moved to Westminster, CA, in 1944, third-grader Sylvia tried to enter Westminster School. However, the family was repeatedly told, "'Your children have to go to the Mexican school.' 'But why?' asked Mr. Mendez……'That is how it is done.'" In response, they formed the Parents' Association of Mexican-American Children, distributed petitions, and eventually filed a successful lawsuit that was supported by organizations ranging from...

In the early 1960s in the Dominican Republic, twelve-year-old Anita learns that her family is involved in the underground movement to end the bloody rule of the dictator, General Trujillo. Anita de la Torre es una ni�na de 12 a�nos que vive en la Rep�ublica Dominicana en los a�nos sesenta. La polic�ia secreta ha comenzado a atemorizar a su familia porque se sospecha que est�an en contra del dictador, General Trujillo.

When Ms. Obi asks her students to draw a picture of the country they are originally from, the children are excited. All except for Lola, "What if you left before you could start remembering?" As Lola talks to some of her neighbors from the Island to draw from their memories, she learns of bats as big as blankets; a love of music and dancing; coconut water and sweet mangoes. And an island where "Even the people are like a rainbow—every shade ever...

This bilingual picture book is the first that artist Maya Christina Gonzalez has written. Maya, with the help of her bird friends, finds beautiful colors in her desert world. She discovers vibrant purples in Mama‘s flowers, greens in the cactus, hot pink in clouds at sunset, and black in her Papi‘s hair. As young readers follow Maya‘s search for all the colors of the rainbow, they too might ask – where are the colors in my world?