|
Here are some of our favorite books that depict Hispanic cultures for children and teens. The teen selections on this list include both middle and high school titles.
|
|
|
|
|
|
No More Señora Mimí
by Meg Medina
With her abuela coming to stay with her and Mami permanently, Ana thinks she won't need senora Mimi to babysit her anymore but realizes she's not ready to say goodbye just yet, in this moving tribute to caregivers and their special role in children's lives.
|
|
|
|
9 Kilometers
by Claudio Aguilera
This beautiful and thought-provoking picture book follows a young boy as he travels over five-and-a-half miles through the mountains and rainforests of Chile to attend school, capturing the resilience of those who push past obstacles toward a better future.
|
|
|
|
Isabel and Her Colores Go to School
by Alexandra Alessandri
English just feels wrong to Isabel. She prefers her native Spanish. As she prepares for a new school, she knows she's going to have to learn. Her first day is uncomfortable, until she employs her crayons and discovers there's more than one way to communicate with new friends.
|
|
|
|
A Crown for Corina
by Laekan Zea Kemp
On her birthday, Corina takes part in a beloved family tradition of wearing the Mexican flower crown in which each flower tells a special story about all the ways she is rooted in the family she loves.
|
|
|
|
Dreams of Green : a Three Kings' Day story
by Mariel Jungkunz
Longing to be in Puerto Rico celebrating Día de los Reyes with family and friends, Lucia wonders how she'll ever be able to guide the Three Kings to her new Midwestern home, until she finds a different way to celebrate her Puerto Rican heritage.
|
|
|
|
La Guitarrista
by Lucky Diaz
In this inspiring tale of resilience, community and the power of music, Canta finds a broken guitar in the trash and now, since she's one step closer to being a rock star, will let nothing stop her from achieving her wildest dreams.
|
|
|
|
Martina Has Too Many Tias
by Emma Otheguy
Overwhelmed by her loud family, Martina sneaks away and finds herself in a magical place where she can finally play in peace and quiet, only to discover what truly makes a home a home.
|
|
|
|
Beauty Woke
by NoNieqa Ramos
When Beauty, a proud Boricua of Taino Indian and African descent, sees how people who look like her are treated badly, she forgets what makes her special until everyone bands together to remind her of her beautiful heritage.
|
|
|
|
Tía Fortuna's New Home
by Ruth Behar
As her Aunt Tia prepares to move into an assisted living community, Estrella learns about both her Cuban and Jewish cultures as they learn to say goodbye together and explore a new beginning for Tia.
|
|
|
|
My Two Border Towns
by David Bowles
A boy and his father cross the United States-Mexico border every other Saturday, visiting their favorite places, spending time with family and friends, and sharing in the responsibility of community care.
|
|
|
|
Benny Ramírez and the Nearly Departed
by José Pablo Iriarte
When he moves into his late grandfather's Miami mansion, Benny discovers the ghost of his famous trumpet-playing abuelo is still there after being barred from the afterlife and agrees to help him earn his wings with disastrous and hilarious results.
|
|
|
|
Sing It Like Celia
by Mónica Mancillas
After her mother's sudden departure, twelve-year-old Salva Sanchez adjusts to her new life in an RV campground with her father, and finds her voice through new friendships and a love for Celia Cruz, the "queen of salsa".
|
|
|
|
ChupaCarter and the Haunted Piñata
by George Lopez
When a supposedly haunted piñata terrorizes Boca Falls, setting a rash of green fires to avenge a long-ago betrayal, Jorge, Carter the chupacabra, and his new friends must find the culprit before the whole town goes up in flames.
|
|
|
|
Stella Diaz Has Something to Say
by Angela Dominguez
When her class is assigned a project where each student must speak on their favorite subject, Stella Diaz, who sometimes lapses into Spanish and pronounces words wrong, must overcome her fear of public speaking.
|
|
|
|
Mari and the Curse of El Cocodrilo
by Adrianna Cuevas
If Mari Feijoo could, she would turn her family's Peak Cubanity down a notch. This year, there's no way that Mari's joining in on one of the biggest Feijoo family traditions--burning the New Year's Eve effigy her abuela makes. Only Mari never suspects that failing to toss her effigy in the fire would bring a curse of bad luck from El Cocodrilo. When Mari discovers her family's gift to call upon their ancestors, she and her friends will have to find a way to work with the unexpected help that arrives Only will it be enough to defeat El Cocodrilo?
|
|
|
|
Aniana del Mar Jumps In
by Jasminne Mendez
Aniana del Mar belongs in the water like a dolphin belongs to the sea, but she and Papi keep her swim practices and meets hidden from Mami, who has never recovered from losing someone she loves to the water years ago. Until the day Ani's stiffness and swollen joints mean she can no longer get out of bed, and Ani is forced to reveal just how important swimming is to her. What follows is the journey of a girl who must grieve who she once was in order to rise like the tide and become the young woman she is meant to be.
|
|
|
|
The Cursed Moon
by Angela Cervantes
Rafael Fuentes isn't easily scared. He loves writing ghost stories, reading scary books, and entertaining his friends with terrifying tales he creates on the spot. Rafa has come up against enough real-life scary situations that fictional hauntings seem like no big deal. Rafa's incarcerated mom is being released from jail soon, and will be coming to live with him, his sister, and their grandparents. For the first time in a while, Rafa feels a pit of fear growing in his stomach. To take his mind off his mom's return, Rafa spends an evening crafting the scariest ghost story he's ever told. As an eerie blood moon hangs in the sky, Rafa tells a group of friends about The Caretaker, an evil ghost who lures unsuspecting kids into the neighborhood pond...and they don't ever come out. Rafa is really proud of his latest creation, until strange things start to happen around him. With a sinking feeling, Rafa realizes the Caretaker is real. Rafa has brought the ghost to life--and only he can stop him.
|
|
|
|
Merci Suârez Plays It Cool
by Meg Medina
Facing school drama and family dynamics while entering into an eighth grade year filled with changes, Merci Suárez must decide where her loyalty stands, as she discovers who she can count on—and what can change in an instant.
|
|
|
|
Falling Short
by Ernesto Cisneros
Star basketball player Isaac plans on finally keeping up with his schoolwork. Better grades will surely stop Isaac's parents from arguing all the time. Meanwhile, straight-A Marco vows on finally winning his father's approval by earning a spot on the school's basketball team. But will their friendship and support for each other be enough to keep the two boys from falling short?
|
|
|
|
Hands
by Torrey Maldonado
Taking boxing lessons to handle his abusive stepdad, which everyone thinks is a bad idea, talented artist Trev, who needs his hands to help him build a better future, must decide whether to use them to build or to knock down.
|
|
|
|
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass : the graphic novel
by Meg Medina
Informed that a bully she does not know is determined to beat her up, Latin American teen Piddy Sanchez struggles to learn more about the father she has never met, until the bully's gang forces her to confront more difficult challenges.
|
|
|
|
Under This Forgetful Sky
by Lauren Yero
When rebels infect his father with a fatal virus, 16-year-old Rumi escapes the armored walls of St. Iago to find a cure. He is joined on his journey by 15-year-old Paz but wonders if they can trust in each other enough to imagine a different world.
|
|
|
|
Alebrijes
by Donna Barba Higuera
When thirteen-year-old Leandro takes the fall for his sister and is exiled into an ancient drone, he embarks on a perilous journey beyond the city's walls where he encounters mutant monsters, wasteland pirates, and fellow outcasts as he tries to save his sister and fellow Cascabeles from the oppressive regime.
|
|
|
|
Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir
by Pedro Martin
Pedro Martin's grown up in the U.S. hearing stories about his legendary abuelito, but during a family road trip to Mexico, he connects with his grandfather and learns more about his own Mexican identity in this moving and hilarious graphic memoir.
|
|
|
|
Barely Floating
by Lilliam Rivera
Channeling her rage into synchronized swimming dreams, 12-year-old Nat, who doesn't care what people think, fights for what she wants as she builds a community of those who lift her up and help her stay afloat when waters get rough.
|
|
|
|
The First To Die at the End
by Adam Silvera
With society divided by a new technology claiming to alert people on the day of their death, thousands sign up, and on day one, dozens receive their calls, including two boys destined for love until one receives the first End Day call.
|
|
|
|
Furia
by Yamile Saied Méndez
Seventeen-year-old Camila Hassan, a rising soccer star in Rosario, Argentina, dreams of playing professionally, in defiance of her fathers' wishes and at the risk of her budding romance with Diego.
|
|
|
|
Join the Club, Maggie Diaz
by Nina Moreno
Maggie Diaz of Miami is excited to start seventh-grade with her best friends, Zoey and Julian, and finally getting a cellphone of her own; but after school her friends are wrapped up in their various clubs, her mother is attending college, and her older sister Caro has her sports and tutoring, so Maggie decides that she will find a club to join as well--but trying out ALL the different clubs while still juggling school work is exhausting and confusing--and soon it seems like everybody is mad at her, and the cellphone of her dreams is getting further and further away
|
|
|
|
Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from Zafa
by Julian Randall
To save her cousin Natasha, who disappeared in the Dominican Republic 50 years ago, 12-year-old Pilar enters the mythical realm of Zafa where Natasha is being held captive, and goes head-to-head with the Dominican boogeyman to free her and return home.
|
|
|