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Product Description: When twelve-year-old Izzy discovers a beat-up baseball marked with the words “Becausemagic” while unpacking in yet another new apartment, she is determined to figure out what it means. What secrets does this old ball have to tell? Her mom certainly isn’t sharing anyespecially when it comes to Izzy’s father, who died before Izzy was born. But when she spends the summer in her Nana’s remote New Mexico village, Izzy discovers long-buried secrets that come alive in an enchanted landscape of watermelon mountains, whispering winds, and tortilla suns.

Tortilla Sun

Jennifer Cervantes

Age Level:

9-12

Product Description: In 1961, two years after the Communist revolution, Lucía Álvarez still leads a carefree life, dreaming of parties and her first crush. But when the soldiers come to her sleepy Cuban town, everything begins to change. As the revolution’s impact becomes more oppressive, Lucía’s parents make the heart-wrenching decision to send her and her little brother to the United States — on their own. Suddenly plunked down in Nebraska with well-meaning strangers, Lucía struggles to adapt to a new country, a new language, and a new way of life.

The Red Umbrella

Christina Gonzalez

Age Level:

9-12

Product Description: After Jose’s mother died, his father left to work in the United States, leaving Jose on his own in Mexico. Jose’s attempt to cross the border is harrowing, and his stay at a migrant worker camp turns into a nightmare, forcing him to flee for his life. Hiding out in a church seems a wise thing to do — until the blood dripping from his wounded shoulder lands on a statue of Christ. Now everyone thinks the statue itself is bleeding. Jose’s accidental “miracle” kick-starts a media frenzy — and threatens the future of an entire town.

The Maldonado Miracle

Theodore Taylor

Age Level:

9-12

Product Description: Mickey Rangel, kid detective extraordinaire, has just exited the school bus one sweltering afternoon when he hears a blood-curdling shriek. It’s coming from the creepy neighbor lady’s house. “My lemons, Mickey, my prize-winning lemons. They’re gone. They re all gone,” Senorita Andrade cries. Who could have removed several sacks full of lemons? In this second bilingual book in The Mickey Rangel Mystery series for intermediate readers, author and educator René Saldaña, Jr. has crafted another engaging book for kids, and his wise-cracking, smart protagonist will appeal to even the most reluctant readers.

The Lemon Tree Caper: A Mickey Rangel Mystery

René Saldaña, Jr.

Age Level:

9-12

Product Description: These lively stories follow Rey Castaneda from sixth through eighth grade in Nuevo Penitas, Texas. As Rey begins to cross the border from childhood into manhood, he turns from jokes and games to sense the meaning of work, love, poverty, and grief, and what it means to be a proud Chicano — moments that sometimes propel him to show feelings un hombre should never express. It’s a new territory where Rey longs to follow the example his hardworking, loving father has set for him.

The Jumping Tree

René Saldaña, Jr.

Age Level:

9-12

Product Description: Twelve-year-old Ana Rosa is a blossoming writer growing up in the Dominican Republic, a country where words are feared. Yet there is so much inspiration all around her — watching her brother search for a future, learning to dance and to love, and finding out what it means to be part of a community — that Ana Rosa must write it all down. As she struggles to find her own voice and a way to make it heard, Ana Rosa realizes the power of her words to transform the world around her — and to transcend the most unthinkable of tragedies.

The Color of My Words

Lynn Joseph

Age Level:

9-12

Taking Sides

Gary Soto

Age Level:

9-12

Product Description: Sylvia Mendez never expected to be at the center of a landmark legal battle; all she wanted was to enroll in school. Aki Munemitsu never expected to be relocated to a Japanese internment camp in the Arizona desert; all she wanted was to stay on her family farm and finish the school year. The two girls certainly never expected to know each other, until their lives intersected in Southern California during a time when their country changed forever. Based on a true story.

Sylvia & Aki

Winifred Conkling

Age Level:

9-12

“Cusi, a modern-day Native American boy, and his guardian, Chuto, tend a herd of prized llamas in Hidden Valley, an isolated valley high in the Andes Mountains. Cusi is unaware that he is a direct descendant of the ruler of the ancient Incas. During the course of the story he is instructed by his guardian in the religion and history of his ancient people, and goes in search of his true identity.” — BookRags Newbery Winner.

Secret of the Andes

Ann Nolan Clark

Age Level:

9-12

Product Description: When guerrilla soldiers strike Santiago’s Guatemalan village, they destroy everything in their path — including his home and family. Santiago and his four-year-old sister escape, running for their lives. They set sail in a sea kayak their Uncle Ramos built while dreaming of his own escape. Sailing through narrow channels guarded by soldiers, shark-infested waters, and days of painful heat and raging storms, Santiago and Angelina face an almost impossible voyage hundreds of miles across the open ocean, heading for the hope of a new life in the United States.

Red Midnight

Ben Mikaelsen

Age Level:

9-12

Product Description: One night Sophie and her parents are called to a hospital where Pedro, a six-year-old Mexican boy, is recovering from his trip across the border. Pedro comes to live with Sophie, her parents, and Sophie’s Aunt Dika, a refugee of the war in Bosnia. Sophie loves Pedro — her Principito, or Little Prince. But after a year, Pedro’s surviving family in Mexico makes contact, and Sophie must travel with Pedro to his hometown so that he can make a heartwrenching decision. An Américas Award Honor Book.

Red Glass

Laura Resau

Age Level:

9-12

“In pre-Castro Cuba, wealthy Don Rigol exerts almost total control over his rural town. However, when he lays claim to a mountain that the villagers consider theirs and starts clearing the jungle for his coffee plantation, he encounters unexpected opposition. Ernestina, a classmate of Rigol’s spoiled daughter, joins her friend Enriquito in efforts to save the wild horses on the mountain. They soon realize that Rigol’s real goal is to locate the gold mentioned in Taino legend. Inspired by visions and fueled by ingenuity and daring, the friends uncover the truth about the boy’s family history and Rigol’s deceptions.” — School Library Journal

Raining Sardines

Enrique Flores-Galbis

Age Level:

9-12

“In this sharply honed collection of stories, Mexican American children on the brink of adolescence are testing the waters, trying to find their place in a world ruled by gangs and “marked with graffiti, boom boxes, lean dogs behind fences” Some characters (La Güera, a shoplifter, and Mario, a scam artist) are already on their way to becoming juvenile delinquents. Others have chosen a straighter path. Most, however, are caught somewhere in the middleWith a rare mix of compassion and irony, Soto (Buried Onions) crystallizes moments signifying the loss of innocence.” — Publishers Weekly

Petty Crimes

Gary Soto

Age Level:

9-12

Product Description: In Japan for the summer to practice the martial art of kempo, Lincoln Mendoza sometimes feels like little more than a brown boy in a white gi. Yet with the help of his Japanese brother, Mitsuo, Lincoln sees that people everywhere, whether friend or kempo opponent, share passions much like his own — for baseball, family traditions, and new friendships.

Pacific Crossing

Gary Soto

Age Level:

9-12

“Lylice has skipped a year and is new to Susan B. Anthony Middle School in her hometown of Tucson. Worried about making friends, the sixth grader becomes the English Buddy to Mexico, a student from Nogales who lives with her aunt and is a talented artistWhen Mexico is hospitalized because her aunt is about to be unemployed and can’t afford her niece’s insulin, the girls finagle a job interview for her by forging a letter on stolen school stationery. Then, because of a boy on whom she has a crush, Lylice hurts her friend’s feelings. Spanish words and phrases are cleverly introduced and add authenticity to depictions of Spanish class.” — School Library Journal

Next to Mexico

Jennifer Nails

Age Level:

9-12

“The Hispanic neighborhood in Soto’s 21 poems is brought sharply into focus by the care with which he records images of everyday life: the music of an ice cream vendor’s truck, the top of a refrigerator where old bread lies in plastic, dust released into the air when a boy strums a guitarDiaz’s woodcuts complement the poems perfectly: the silhouettes are fanciful and dynamic but do not draw attention from the words on the page.” — Publishers Weekly

Neighborhood Odes

Gary Soto

Illustrator:

David Diaz

Age Level:

9-12

Magic Moments

Olga Loya

Age Level:

9-12

Product Description: In Xavier Garza’s bilingual kids’ book, young Carlitos attends his first lucha libre match in Mexico City. At ringside, Carlitos sees the famous luchador — the Man in the Silver Mask, a man whose eyes look terribly familiar. The masked wrestler even smiles at Carlitos! He is mesmerized as the Man in the Silver Mask is pitted against the terrible forces of evil — los rudos, the bad guys of lucha libre. They make the audience boo and hiss! In the end, though, the Man in the Silver Mask triumphs and, in the process, gains a lifelong fan.

Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask

Xavier Garza

Age Level:

9-12

Product Description: In thirteen stories full of wit and energy, Gary Soto illuminates the ordinary lives of young people. Meet Angel, who would rather fork over twenty bucks than have photos of his naked body plastered all over school; Philip, who discovers he has a “mechanical mind,” whatever that means; Estela, known as Stinger, who rules José’s heart and the racquetball court; and many other kids, all of them with problems as big as only a preteen can make them.

Local News: Stories

Gary Soto

Age Level:

9-12

“Set in Puerto Rico in 1961, this story features Teresa Giraux and her best friend, Ana, who are looking forward to their fourth-grade teacher’s wedding and the Ponce junior queen competition — until Teresa’s pride and temper fracture their friendship. A socially ambitious seamstress, Teresa’s mother has never invited Ana on family outings because Ana is not only poorer, she’s also darker. Aided by one of her wealthy clients, Teresa’s mother enrolls Teresa in an exclusive academy. Then it is she and Teresa who feel the sting of discrimination.” — Booklist

In the Shade of the Nispero Tree

Carmen T. Bernier-Grand

Age Level:

9-12

Miguel Guzman isn’t exactly looking forward to the summer now that his mother has agreed to let the Sword family — a father, his three daughters, and their dog — live with them while they decide whether or not to move to Vermont. Little does Miguel know his aunt has something up her sleeve that just may make this the best summer ever. With her usual flair, Tía Lola decides to start a summer camp, complete with magical swords, nighttime treasure hunts, campfires, barbecues, and an end-of-summer surprise!

How Tia Lola Saved the Summer

Julia Alvarez

Age Level:

9-12

Genre:

Fiction

“Just as warm and upbeat as How Tía Lola Came to (Visit) Stay (2001), the second book about Miguel and Juanita’s aunt, who comes from the Dominican Republic to live with the kids’ family in Vermont, is written in the same lively, playful style. Language is a central focus as Tía Lola volunteers to teach Spanish in the local elementary school. The story builds to a tense climax when her visa is about to expire, and the whole town rallies for her to stay. Readers will enjoy both the messages and the humor in Tía’s wry, wise sayings.” — Booklist

How Tia Lola Learned to Teach

Julia Alvarez

Age Level:

9-12

Genre:

Fiction

“In this turn-of-the-century novel, seventh-grader Teresa attends school in San Juan and travels home in time to celebrate the Feast of the Cross with her extended family, friends, and plantation workers on her parents’ fincaBelpré submitted Firefly Summer for publication during World War II, but it was rejected because of a paper shortage; it is available now because of a national project whose aim is to locate, identify, preserve, and make accessible the literary heritage of U.S. Hispanics.” — School Library Journal

Firefly Summer

Pura Belpré

Age Level:

9-12

Product Description: Apolonia “Lina” Flores is a sock enthusiast, a volleyball player, a science lover, and a girl who’s just looking for answers. Even though her house is crammed full of books, she’s having trouble figuring out some very big questions, like why her dad seems to care about books more than her, why her best friend’s divorced mom is obsessed with making cascarones (hollowed eggshells filled with colorful confetti), and, most of all, why her mom died last year.

Confetti Girl

Diana López

Age Level:

9-12

Reading 101

In the Classroom

Helping All Readers

Books & Authors

Literacy at Home

Book Finder

Tortilla Sun

The Red Umbrella

The Maldonado Miracle

The Lemon Tree Caper: A Mickey Rangel Mystery

The Jumping Tree

The Color of My Words

Taking Sides

Sylvia & Aki

Secret of the Andes

Red Midnight

Red Glass

Raining Sardines

Petty Crimes

Pacific Crossing

Next to Mexico

Neighborhood Odes

Magic Moments

Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask

Local News: Stories

In the Shade of the Nispero Tree

How Tia Lola Saved the Summer

How Tia Lola Learned to Teach

Firefly Summer

Confetti Girl

Book Finder

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