Book Finder

Use our Book Finder tool to create your own customized list of fiction and nonfiction books.  Search through more than 5,000 books on Reading Rockets — by author, illustrator, age, genre, format, and topic. Book Finder also makes it easy to discover titles about diversity in our community.

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Basketball Belles: How Two Teams and One Scrappy Player Put Women’s Hoops on the Map

Sue Macy

Illustrator:

Heather Collins

Age Level:

6-9

Genre:

Nonfiction, Biography

Meet Lin Yi — a little boy with a big heart and a talent for bargaining. Tonight is the moon festival and he wants nothing more than a red rabbit lantern; but first he must buy the things his mother needs at the market. This heart-warming story will resonate with both children and adults, as they learn about the wonderful Chinese Moon Festival and the rewards that come from putting others first.

Lin Yi’s Lantern

Brenda Williams

Illustrator:

Benjamin Lacombe

Age Level:

3-6

Product Description: One night Rosalinda is awakened by a noise in the family’s garden. She is astonished to see a man creeping away with a sack of fruit from her beloved lemon tree. Rosalinda seeks out La Anciana for advice. The wise old woman offers an inventive way to help the tree and the man driven to steal her lemons. Set in the Mexican countryside, this charming story explores how it feels to get gifts — and to give them.

Under the Lemon Moon

Edith Hope Fine

Illustrator:

Rene King Moreno

Age Level:

6-9

Product Description: On summer nights Marisol helps out in Papi’s music store. As customers come and go, they share memories of the Latin music and dance of their various homelands, expressed in a dazzling array of poetry. The diversity of Latin American music is brought to life in poems that swivel, sway, and sizzle with the rhythms of merengüe, vallenatos, salsa, and samba. Back matter includes a map, author’s note, and further information about the musical heritage of Latin America.

Under the Mambo Moon

Julia Durango

Illustrator:

Fabricio Vanden Broeck

Age Level:

9-12

The Moon Lady

Amy Tan

Age Level:

6-9

Beautiful Moon / Bella Luna

Dawn Jeffers

Age Level:

3-6

A Full Moon Is Rising

Marilyn Singer

Illustrator:

Julia Cairns

Age Level:

6-9

Genre:

Poetry

Build a Burrito: A Counting Book in English and Spanish

Denise Vega

Illustrator:

David Diaz

Age Level:

0-3

Delicious Hullabaloo

Pat Mora

Illustrator:

Andy Mora

Age Level:

3-6

“Sabrina is excited about the special gifts that her grandma has brought back from her visit to Mexico. As they play with the ribbons, clothes, and music makers, Abuelita explains each item’s role in their cultural heritage. Sabrina also learns that cacao was important to her ancestors, who grew it on plantations, used it as currency, and developed it into chocolate, and together Abuelita and Sabrina celebrate cacao’s delights further by making hot chocolate together from scratch.” — Booklist

Grandma’s Chocolate

Mara Price

Illustrator:

Lisa Fields

Age Level:

3-6

In their tiny Mexican village, Nanita’s cobbler father works so hard that he has no time to smile, much less make Nanita a pair of new shoes. Nanita decides to take on the task herself, fashioning multicolored shoes out of leather scraps. The magic shoes lead her to the desert, but soon she is forced to become the servant of a cruel ranchero, who loves to eat flan. Nanita becomes an expert flan chef — but will she ever find her way home? An engaging addition to units on traditional Mexican foods and magical realism.

How Nanita Learned To Make Flan

Campbell Geeslin

Illustrator:

Petra Mathers

Age Level:

6-9

Jade’s village is running out of water. When a small blue hummingbird tells Jade that she most go to the Mountain Spirit to ask for rain, she is afraid to make the journey alone — but she knows that it may be her village’s only hope. Based on an ancient Mexican legend, Rudolf Anaya has created a memorable story to introduce young readers to the importance of corn — and tortillas — as Mexican food staples.

The First Tortilla: A Bilingual Story

Rudolfo Anaya

Illustrator:

Amy Cordova

Age Level:

3-6

The Party for Papa Luis

Diane Gonzales Bertrand

Illustrator:

Alejandro Galindo

Age Level:

3-6

Product Description: This delightful poem teaches readers young and old how to make a heartwarming, tummy-filling black bean soup, from gathering the beans, onions, and garlic to taking little pebbles out of the beans to letting them simmer till the luscious smell indicates it’s time for supper. Jorge Argueta’s vivid poetic voice and Rafael Yockteng’s vibrant illustrations make preparing this healthy and delicious Latino favorite an exciting, almost magical experience.

Bean Soup

Jorge Argueta

Illustrator:

Rafael Yockteng

Age Level:

3-6

“Alicia’s mother guides her through streets where she is greeted by neighbors, shopkeepers, street vendors, and even taxi drivers. Expanding on the fantasy quality of the day, airplanes write a salutation in the sky and pigeons bow to the birthday girl. Finally, this perfect interlude is rounded out by a huge ice-cream cone from the Icey man and a party with her loving extended family.” — School Library Journal

Alicia’s Happy Day

Meg Starr

Illustrator:

Ying-Hwa Hu

Age Level:

6-9

Amelia is excited for show and tell at her new American school, and she knows just the thing to bring — her special fiesta dress! When she gets to school wearing the dress, however, she realizes that she has misunderstood the assignment. Yet just as she is about to give up on show and tell, she feels her skirts begin to sway and she remembers the joy of twirling in Cuba’s tropical breezes and dancing during Carnival. This gentle story is brought to life with appealing, colorful illustrations by Mexican artist Martha Avilés.