Reading Lists: Hispanic Voices List

Now a major motion picture starring Max Pelayo, Reese Gonzales, and Eva Longoria! A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) A lyrical novel about family and friendship from critically acclaimed author Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship--the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

A collection of traditional Latin-American songs and rhymes, in Spanish and English, with the music included.

The celebrated author ofThe House on Mango Streetgives us an extraordinary new novel, told in language of blazing originality: a multigenerational story of a Mexican-American family whose voices create a dazzling weave of humor, passion, and poignancy–the very stuff of life. Lala Reyes’ grandmother is descended from a family of renowned rebozo, or shawl, makers. The striped caramelo rebozo is the most beautiful of all, and the one that makes its way, like the family history it has come to represent, into Lala’s possession. The novel opens with the Reyes’ annual car trip–a caravan overflowing with children, laughter, and quarrels–from Chicago to “the other side”: Mexico City. It is there, each year, that Lala hears her family’s stories, separating the truth from the “healthy lies” that have ricocheted from one generation to the next. We travel from the Mexico City that was the “Paris of the New World” to the music-filled streets of Chicago at the dawn of the Roaring Twenties–and, finally, to Lala’s own difficult adolescence in the not-quite-promised land of San Antonio, Texas. Caramelois a romantic tale of homelands, sometimes real, sometimes imagined. Vivid, funny, intimate, historical, it is a brilliant work destined to become a classic: a major new novel from one of our country’s most beloved storytellers.

Miguel de Cervantes wrote a novel of adventure so impressive that it is read and studied all over the world and is considered the most important work written in Spanish: Don Quijote de la Mancha. The life of Cervantes himself was very interesting, as well. Want to get to know Miguel de Cervantes? Open this book and start reading!

Hailed by Dostoyevsky as "The final and greatest utterance of the human mind," Don Quixote constitutes a founding work of modern Western literature. Cervantes' masterpiece has been translated into more than sixty languages, and the novel's fantasy-driven "knight," Don Quixote, and his loyal squire, Sancho Panza, rank among fiction's most recognized characters. Their adventures have been interpreted for film, opera, and ballet, and they head a cast of characters that comprises a diverse array of beliefs and perspectives, reflecting the historical realities of seventeenth-century Spain.
Within its absorbing re-creation of the world during Cervantes' time, this parody of chivalric romances and epic of heroic idealism forms a strikingly contemporary narrative. The author is often credited with inventing the concept of the novel, addressing himself to the readers rather than the characters or the action. This edition of his landmark work presents the acclaimed 1755 Tobias Smollett translation.

OVER 140 MILLION COPIES SOLD The beloved classic story about a young prince's travels through space--a profound tale about loneliness and loss, and love and friendship--in Spanish. A pilot crashes in the Sahara Desert and encounters a strange young boy who calls himself the Little Prince. The Little Prince has traveled there from his home on a lonely, distant asteroid with a single rose. The story that follows is a beautiful and at times heartbreaking meditation on human nature. The Little Prince is one of the best-selling and most translated books of all time, universally cherished by children and adults alike. In this Spanish edition, the artwork has been restored to match in detail and in color Saint-Exupéry's original artwork.

Over twenty beloved, well-known Spanish nursery rhymes beautifully illlustrated in an affordable, accessible 8 x 8 format. This wonderful compilation of traditional Spanish nursery rhymes is a real celebration of the Hispanic heritage. From goodnight poems: "Angel de la Guarda, dulce compania", and humorous verses, "El que come y no convida tiene un sapo en la barriga", to learning the months of the year: "Treinta dias tiene septiembre," this treasury of grandma's rhymes will indulge young children and their parents. Spanish title: En el cielo las estrellas: Los versos de la abuela

A border is nothing for people who love--and Little Diego loves his grandpa more than anything! Una frontera no es nada para los que se aman: y Dieguito ama a su abuelo más que nada! Little Diego doesn't get to see his grandfather nearly as much as he'd like. He lives in Texas and his Papá Diego lives in Mexico across the border. One day Little Diego's father gives him a pile of superhero comic books that he had growing up. In those comic books, Little Diego find a way to see his Papá Diego more often. Maybe if he was like the magical superhero, then he could fly off to see his grandfather in Mexico! So Little Diego tells his mother that he wants the superhero's costume for his birthday. His parents buy him one, but, of course, Little Diego cannot fly. He's heart-broken. Still, because he had the daring to imagine, a wonderful event occurs and he enjoys a magical birthday anyway. Each illustration in Papá Diego was built out of terra cotta clay and painted with acrylic paints. This gives the illustrations a 3 dimensional quality which kids will love! Dieguito no ve a su abuelo tanto como le gustaría. Él vive en Texas y su Papá Diego vive en México al otro lado de la frontera. Un día, el padre de Dieguito le da una pila de cómics de superhéroes que tenía cuando era niño. En esos cómics, el pequeño Diego encuentra la manera de ver a su Papá Diego más. ¡Tal vez si fuera como el superhéroe mágico, podría volar a México para ver a su abuelo! Así que Dieguito le dice a su madre que quiere el disfraz del superhéroe para su cumpleaños. Sus padres le compran uno, pero, por supuesto, Dieguito no puede volar. Tiene el corazón roto. Aún así, ya que tubo la osadía de imaginar, ocurre un evento maravilloso y disfruta un cumpleaños mágico de todas maneras. Cada ilustración de Papá Diego se construyó de terracota y se pintó con pinturas acrílicas. ¡Esto le da a las ilustraciones una calidad tridimensional les encantará a los pequeños!

From the author of The House on Mango Street, a richly illustrated compilation of true stories and nonfiction pieces that, taken together, form a jigsaw autobiography--an intimate album of a beloved literary legend. From the Chicago neighborhoods where she grew up and set her groundbreaking The House on Mango Street to her abode in Mexico in a region where "my ancestors lived for centuries," the places Sandra Cisneros has lived have provided inspiration for her now-classic works of fiction and poetry. But a house of her own, where she could truly take root, has eluded her. With this collection--spanning three decades, and including never-before-published work--Cisneros has come home at last. Ranging from the private (her parents' loving and tempestuous marriage) to the political (a rallying cry for one woman's liberty in Sarajevo) to the literary (a tribute to Marguerite Duras), and written with her trademark lyricism, these signature pieces recall transformative memories as well as reveal her defining artistic and intellectual influences. Poignant, honest, deeply moving, this is an exuberant celebration of a life in writing lived to the fullest.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST * A "stunning" (America Ferrera) YA novel about a teenager coming to terms with losing her sister and finding herself amid the pressures, expectations, and stereotypes of growing up in a Mexican American home--from the author of Crying in the Bathroom "Alive and crackling--a gritty tale wrapped in a page-turner. "--The New York Times Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents' house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family.   But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga's role.   Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed.   But it's not long before Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect as everyone thought. With the help of her best friend Lorena, and her first love, first everything boyfriend Connor, Julia is determined to find out. Was Olga really what she seemed? Or was there more to her sister's story? And either way, how can Julia even attempt to live up to a seemingly impossible ideal?

A beautiful collection of short poems that describes the many exotic and fascinating creatures that live in the mysterious world of the sea. Each poem is accompanied by striking, full-page illustrations that will delight readers. Text copyright 2004 Lectorum Publications, Inc.

The story of a patient little boy, a carrot seed, and a few wonderful surprises for those who wait.

A compendium of playful poems, this book encourages children to feel, learn, and dream as it teaches the versatility of words and the concepts of metaphor and play on words.

Twenty-first century Latin America is rich in history, culture, and political and social experimentation. In this fascinating and insightful analysis, Gardini looks at contemporary developments at three interconnected levels: state, region and globe. At the state level, leaders such as Evo Morales of Bolivia and Chavez of Venezuela embody a renewed intellectual autonomy in the continent, while revealing significant discrepancies between their rhetoric and their actions. At the regional level, while a consensus has emerged over Latin American unity as the only way towards development, the existence of several competing schemes of regional economic and political integration more accurately reflect the diversity of the area. At the global level, elements of change, such as the rise of Brazil and the involvement of China as a new trade partner, sit alongside traits of continuity, such as the crucial political, economic and ideational role played by Washington. Overall, Gardini argues that despite the numerous challenges to be faced, Latin America is now more wealthy, autonomous and better-placed in global geopolitics than at any time in its recent history.

In this whimsical and touching collection of 20 poems in English and Spanish, readers will find tomatoes that laugh, chiles that explode, and tortillas that applaud the sun. With vibrant illustrations as lyrical and expressive as the poems themselves, this splendid collection celebrates life, culture, and nature as it welcomes spring. Text copyright 2004 Lectorum Publications, Inc.

For many, a map is nothing more than a tool used to determine the location or distribution of something--a country, a city, or a natural resource. But maps reveal much more: to really read a map means to examine what it shows and what it doesn't, and to ask who made it, why, and for whom. The contributors to this new volume ask these sorts of questions about maps of Latin America, and in doing so illuminate the ways cartography has helped to shape this region from the Rio Grande to Patagonia. In Mapping Latin America,Jordana Dym and Karl Offen bring together scholars from a wide range of disciplines to examine and interpret more than five centuries of Latin American maps.Individual chapters take on maps of every size and scale and from a wide variety of mapmakers--from the hand-drawn maps of Native Americans, to those by famed explorers such as Alexander von Humboldt, to those produced in today's newspapers and magazines for the general public. The maps collected here, and the interpretations that accompany them, provide an excellent source to help readers better understand how Latin American countries, regions, provinces, and municipalities came to be defined, measured, organized, occupied, settled, disputed, and understood--that is, how they came to have specific meanings to specific people at specific moments in time. The first book to deal with the broad sweep of mapping activities across Latin America, this lavishly illustrated volume will be required reading for students and scholars of geography and Latin American history, and anyone interested in understanding the significance of maps in human cultures and societies.

Meant for ages 9 to 12 years, this book contains several activities that help kids experience the customs, traditions, and cultures of Mexico.

The history of Mexico is spoken in the voice of ordinary people. In rhymed verse and mariachi song, in letters of romance and whispered words in the cantina, the heart and soul of a nation is revealed in all its intimacy and authenticity. Mexico in Verse, edited by Stephen Neufeld and Michael Matthews, examines Mexican history through its poetry and music, the spoken and the written word. Focusing on modern Mexico, from 1840 to the 1980s, this volume examines the cultural venues in which people articulated their understanding of the social, political, and economic change they witnessed taking place during times of tremendous upheaval, such as the Mexican-American War, the Porfiriato, and the Mexican Revolution. The words of diverse peoples--people of the street, of the field, of the cantinas--reveal the development of the modern nation. Neufeld and Matthews have chosen sources so far unexplored by Mexicanist scholars in order to investigate the ways that individuals interpreted--whether resisting or reinforcing--official narratives about formative historical moments. The contributors offer new research that reveals how different social groups interpreted and understood the Mexican experience. The collected essays cover a wide range of topics: military life, railroad accidents, religious upheaval, children's literature, alcohol consumption, and the 1985 earthquake. Each chapter provides a translated song or poem that encourages readers to participate in the interpretive practice of historical research and cultural scholarship. In this regard, Mexico in Verse serves both as a volume of collected essays and as a classroom-ready primary document reader.

This bilingual book allows young readers to enter Celia Cruz's life as she becomes a well-known singer in her homeland of Cuba, then moves to New York City and Miami where she and others create a new type of music called salsa."

A stranger has set up camp at the edge of the woods and Pig and Duck are alarmed. They say that rats are filthy animals and that the newcomer is different and does not belong there. But Frog is not so sure, so one evening, he decides to take a closer look. It turns out that Rat is not a bad fellow after all: he speaks several languages and tells wonderful stories of his travels around the world. This welcome story presents with great insight the need to understand and value diversity in today's world.

From bloodthirsty conquest to exotic romance, stereotypes of Spain abound. This new volume by distinguished historian Stanley G. Payne draws on his half-century of experience to offer a balanced, broadly chronological survey of Spanish history from the Visigoths to the present. Who were the first 'Spaniards'? Is Spain a fully Western country? Was Spanish liberalism a failure? Examining Spain's unique role in the larger history of Western Europe, Payne reinterprets key aspects of the country's history.     Topics include Muslim culture in the peninsula, the Spanish monarchy, the empire, and the relationship between Spain and Portugal. Turning to the twentieth century, Payne discusses the Second Republic and the Spanish Civil War. The book's final chapters focus on the Franco regime, the nature of Spanish fascism, and the special role of the military. Analyzing the figure of Franco himself, Payne seeks to explain why some Spaniards still regard him with respect, while many others view the late dictator with profound loathing.     Framed by reflections on the author's own formation as a Hispanist and his evaluation of the controversy about 'historical memory' in contemporary Spain, this volume offers deeply informed insights into both the history and the historiography of a unique country. A Choice Outstanding Academic Book Best Books for General Audiences, selected by the Public Library Association

Gabriela Polit Dueñas analyzes the work of five narrative journalists from three countries. Marcela Turati, Daniela Rea, and Sandra Rodriguez from Mexico, Patricia Nieto from Colombia, and María Eugenia Ludueña from Argentina produce compelling literary works, but also work under dangerous, intense conditions. What drives and shapes their stories are their affective responses to the events and people they cover. The book offers an insightful analysis of the emotional challenges, the stress and traumatic conditions journalists face when reporting on the region's most pressing problems. It combines ethnographic observations of the journalists' work, textual analysis, and a theoretical reflection on the ethical dilemmas journalists confront on a daily basis. Unwanted Witnesses puts forward a necessary discussion about the place contemporary journalists occupy in the field of production, and how the risks they run speak directly about the limits of our democracies.  

La primavera ha llegado y el polen se siente en el aire. Al bebé Oso no le gusta el polen--se le pega en su pelaje y lo hace tener comezón y estornudar. ¡Él es alérgico! ¡Achís! Desearía que el polen no existiera. Cuando sus amigos se reúnen para decirle por qué nececitan el polen, el bebé Oso aprende que el polen es bueno para el bosque y que provee alimento para muchos animales, ¡que lo incluyen a él! El polen puede ser algo que todos odiemos pero, ¿realmente podemos sobrevivir sin él? Esta historia explica por qué lo necesitamos.

The internationally acclaimed author of The House on Mango Street and winner of the PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature gives us a deeply moving tale of loss, grief, and healing: a lyrically told, richly illustrated fable for grown-ups about a woman's search for a cat who goes missing in the wake of her mother's death. The word "orphan" might not seem to apply to a fifty-three-year-old woman. Yet this is exactly how Sandra feels as she finds herself motherless, alone like "a glove left behind at the bus station." What just might save her is her search for someone else gone missing: Marie, the black-and-white cat of her friend, Roz, who ran off the day they arrived from Tacoma. As Sandra and Roz scour the streets of San Antonio, posting flyers and asking everywhere, "Have you seen Marie?" the pursuit of this one small creature takes on unexpected urgency and meaning. With full-color illustrations that bring this transformative quest to vivid life, Have You Seen Marie? showcases a beloved author's storytelling magic, in a tale that reminds us how love, even when it goes astray, does not stay lost forever.