Hispanic Heritage Month

Celebrated annually from September 15 – October 15, Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes the culture and traditions of those Americans who trace their ancestry to Spain, Mexico, and the Spanish speaking countries of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.  In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, here is a brief list of suggested titles.

Books for Preschoolers 

Diez Deditos: Ten Little Fingers and Other Play Rhymes and Action Songs from Latin America by Jose-Luis Orozco   -  In English and Spanish, Orozco provides songs, rhymes and finger-plays with the actions explained for caregivers.

Dona Flor by Pat Mora - This is a tall tale about a giant woman with a big heart.

Frida by Jonah Winter - A whimsical introduction to the life of painter Frida Kahlo.

Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale by Carmen Agra Deedy  - As Martina interviews potential husbands, her grandmother gives her some shocking advice.

Books for Kids

Baseball in April, and Other Stories by Gary Soto - Eleven contemporary short-stories tell of the lives of Mexican American families in California.  

Ellen Ochoa: The First Hispanic Woman Astronaut by Maritza Romero - A profile of the life of the first Hispanic woman astronaut.

I, Juan De Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino - Juan, who serves the great painter Velasquez, secretly teaches himself to paint, gaining respect and freedom.

Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez - Sixth-grader Tyler Paquette befriends a migrant Mexican family working on his family's Vermont farm.

Books for Teens

Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa - Chicago high school student Violet Paz reluctantly prepares for her quinceanera.

Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida by Victor Martinez - Winner of the Pura Belpre Author Award, this is the story of fourteen-year-old Manny Hernandez and his search for respect.

Someone Like Summer by M. E. Kerr - An upper-middle-class white girl from Long Island and an immigrant worker from Colombia fall in love despite objections from their families.

The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales - Sofia discovers that her experiences as a scholarship student in Austin strengthen her ties to the family and friends she left behind in the barrio of McAllen.

Books for Adults

In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd by Ana Menendez - A collection of poignant and humorous interrelated short stories that tell the lives of Cuban immigrants in Miami.

In the Time of the Butterflies  by Julia Alvarez - Three young wives in the Dominican Republic, assassinated after visiting their jailed husbands, become mythical figures in their country.

The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos - Winner of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, this is the story of brothers Cesar and Nestor Castillo who come to New York City from Cuba in 1949 with plans on becoming  mambo stars.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel GarciaMarquez - The history of the Buendia family is also the story of the rise and fall of their mythical town, Macondo.