We join libraries all over the country in celebrating and recognizing the many contributions, diverse cultures, and literary legacies of Latinx/Hispanic communities. We are excited to feature these newer titles.
The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September18, respectively.
Visit the library to see more of our Spanish language collections.
Adult Selections
Infinite Country by Patricia Engel. Colombian-American writer Patricia Engel’s masterful fourth book. This deeply empathetic novel charts one family’s years-long struggle to reunite after immigration laws have wrenched them apart.
The Line Becomes the River by Francisco Cantú. The border is in the blood: his mother, a park ranger and daughter of a Mexican immigrant, raised him in the scrublands of the Southwest. Driven to understand the hard realities of the landscape he loves, Cantú joins the Border Patrol. When an immigrant friend travels to Mexico to visit his dying mother and does not return, Cantú discovers that the border has migrated with him, and now he must know the full extent of the violence it wreaks, on both sides of the line
A Woman of Salt by Gabriela Garcia is a sweeping, masterful debut about a daughter’s fateful choice, a mother motivated by her own past, and a family legacy that begins in Cuba before either of them were born.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Set in glamorous 1950s Mexico. An isolated mansion. A chillingly charismatic aristocrat. And a brave socialite drawn to expose their treacherous secrets. Mexican Gothic is “a terrifying twist on classic gothic horror.” (Kirkus Reviews)
Trejo : my life of crime, redemption, and Hollywood. Danny Trejo writes for the first time, the full, fascinating, and inspirational true story of his journey from crime, prison, addiction, and loss to unexpected fame as Hollywood’s favorite bad guy with a heart of gold.
Gods of Shade and Shadow by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia. The Mayan God of Death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this dark fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.
Mujeres del alma mía : sobre el amor impaciente, la vida larga y las brujas buenas. Isabel Allende bucea en su memoria y nos ofrece un emocionante libro sobre su relación con el feminismo y el hecho de ser mujer, al tiempo que reivindica que la vida adulta hay que vivirla, sentirla y gozarla con plena intensidad.
Young Adult and Middle Grade Selections
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez. 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.
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo. Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people …
Once Upon a Quinceañera by Monica Gomez-Hira. Carmen Aguilar just wants to make her happily ever after come true. Which involves being stuck in an unpaid summer internship– performing in a ball gown– during the summer– in Miami! Then the company is hired for her spoiled cousin Ariana’s over the top quinceañera.
Areli is a dreamer : a true story. In the first picture book written by a DACA dreamer, author Areli Morales tells her own powerful and vibrant immigration story of moving from a quiet town in Mexico to the bustling and noisy metropolis of New York City.
Separate is Never Equal : Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh. Almost 10 years before Brown vs. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped end school segregation in California.
For The Youngest Readers
When a young girl is asked where she’s from in Where Are You From? by Yamile Saied Méndez, —where she’s really from–she’s no longer as she was. She decides to turn to her dear abuelo for some help with this ever-persistent question. But he doesn’t quite give her the answer she expects.
Planting stories : the life of librarian and storyteller Pura Belpré by Anika Denise. A gorgeous and lyrical story about the life and legacy of Pura Belpré, the first Puerto Rican librarian in New York City (available in Spanish).
Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal. When Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela asks her father why she has so many names, she hears the story of her name and learns about her grandparents (available in Spanish).
Sonia Sotomayor : la juez que creció en el Bronx by Jonah Winter. Antes de que la magistrada de la Corte Suprema Sonia Sotomayor llegara al máximo tribunal de nuestra nación, no era más que una niñita en el South Bronx. La magistrada Sotomayor no tuvo mucho durante sus primeros años, pero sí tuvo lo que contaba — el amor de su madre, la voluntad de aprender y su propia determinación. Con valentía se hizo la persona que quería ser. Con trabajo arduo triunfó. Con un poquito de sol en un solarcito donde crecer, la magistrada Sotomayor floreció para que todo el mundo la vea.
¿Estás lista para jugar afuera? by Mo Willems. En ¿Estás lista para jugar afuera? Cerdita no puede esperar a salir a jugar al sol. Pero ¿echará a perder la lluvia la gran diversión?
¡Este es el día! (This is the day!) by Amy Parker.
Lejos (Far) by Juan Felipe Herrera. Algunas cosas son lejanas — far. Otras cosas están cerca — close. ¿Puedes decir lo que está lejos? A country boy leaves home to visit the far-off city and the seashore even farther away as he enjoys a vacation with his father.