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Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story
Age Level: 16-18
Eddie Guerrero was a WWE star who grew up in a family of famous Mexican wrestlers. This autobiography details Guerrero’s rise from Tijuana to fame in the United States as a professional wrestler. Unfortunately, soon after completing the book, Guerrero died suddenly of heart failure, possibly brought on by his past drug and alcohol abuse.
So Hard to Say
Age Level: 12-14
A middle-school boy begins to question his sexual orientation, while dealing with the crush his female friend, 13-year old Hispanic Xio, has on him. Sanchez is sensitive and insightful when talking about both gay and Hispanic culture, and he's created a delightful heroine in Xio.
Romiette and Julio
Age Level: 14-16
African-American Romiette begins dating Hispanic Julio when he moves to her Cincinnati high school from Texas in this retelling of Romeo and Juliet.
The Afterlife
Age Level: 14-16
Our narrator Chuy is dead! He was stabbed in a nightclub bathroom by another teen who misunderstood something he said. As he floats around in the afterlife, he not only learns about being dead, but he also comes to understand his short life.
Cuba 15
Age Level: 12-14
Every girl wants to celebrate her quinceañera, or 15th birthday, right? Not necessarily, as half-Cuban, half-Polish Violet can barely speak Spanish. As the plans move forward, Violet comes to terms with her heritage in this warm and funny novel.
When I Was Puerto Rican
Age Level: 16-18
This memoir of a girl who grew up in Puerto Rico in the 1960's, and then moved to Brooklyn at age 13, is as compelling as any novel.
Red Hot Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Being Young and Latino in the United States
Age Level: 14-16
Latino poets, writing in English and Spanish, offer poems on a range of subjects — identity, romance, family — sure to appeal to teens.
The Tequila Worm
Age Level: 12-14
Sofia is a Mexican-American living in Texas. When she is accepted to a prestigious, predominantly white boarding school, she learns how to meld her Mexican-American roots with her new life. The author includes lots of detail about Mexican culture and heritage.
Crossing the Wire
Age Level: 12-14
Fifteen-year-old Victor decides to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexican border to earn more money to support his family. With no money to hire a "coyote" to assist his journey, he begins his trek alone. The border patrol is only one of his worries, which also include drug dealers, extreme temperatures, and fellow migrants. This is an eye-opening look at what draws the vast number of immigrants to the U.S., and the risks they take to enter the country.
Mama Cat Has Three Kittens
Age Level: 0-3
Mama has three kittens. Fluffy and Skinny do things when their mama does, but not Boris who marches to his beat. Readers will recognize themselves in this satisfying and brilliantly colored picture book.
Lunch
Age Level: 3-6
What's for lunch? A hungry gray mouse eats its way through colors eating a variety of vegetables in this winning, brilliantly illustrated adventure that doubles as a concept book.
In the Tall, Tall Grass
Age Level: 3-6
The sounds of a caterpillar munching through vegetation combine with Fleming's distinctive illustrations for a small adventure in the tall, tall grass. The satisfying conclusion is a sleepy one, making this an ideal bedtime tale.
The Everything Book
Age Level: 3-6
This colorful and somewhat eclectic collection of rhymes and information is made for sharing and reading over. Tidbits include everything from seasons to the alphabet and more, all illustrated with Fleming's signature illustrations.
The Cow Who Clucked
Age Level: 3-6
When the cow discovers that she's lost her distinctive "moo," she visits other farm animals to retrieve it. Her proper voice is magically restored when she meets a chicken who moos! This is a playful, colorful introduction to farm animals and their sounds.
Buster
Age Level: 3-6
Buster is happy being an only dog and finds that he is fearful of the new addition, a small white kitten named Betty. Buster learns, however, that being a friend is special in its own happy and unique way.
Barnyard Banter
Age Level: 3-6
Animals on a farm can be a noisy lot, but not the goose that quietly chases a butterfly throughout the barnyard. The alliteration and onomatopoeia makes reading aloud fun and is neatly integrated into the colorful illustrations.
Alphabet Under Construction
Age Level: 3-6
An appealing mouse (also seen in Lunch) creates active letters of the alphabet, beginning by "airbrushing" the A and all the way to the zipped Z. The mouse keeps a calendar of work accomplished which astute readers will note at the end.
Susan Laughs
Age Level: 0-3
What Susan does everyday is revealed in a simple, rhyming text and light-lined, colored pencil illustrations. What Susan does and how she behaves is what all children do but she does it using a wheelchair, revealed — without sentimentality — in the final spread.
My Travelin' Eye
Age Level: 3-6
Her "travelin' eye" doesn't bother the narrator at all but it does mean that she has trouble focusing in school. The patch and eyeglasses prescribed by the ophthalmologist give her classmates something to tease her about — until she makes them her own fashion statement. Naïve illustrations are eye-catching and capture the child's world, what she sees, and how she sees it.
Ms. McCaw Learns to Draw
Age Level: 3-6
Even though Dudley Ellington has trouble focusing on school work, his teacher is the very patient Mrs. McCaw. But the talented Mrs. McCaw cannot draw a face in profile — that is until Dudley patiently shows her (and his class) how to do so. Lighthearted, cartoon-like illustrations are used to enhance the straightforward text.
