HISPANIC AMERICAN/LATINX HERITAGE CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Children's books about Hispanic American/Latinx culture and characters abound -- from fun and fanciful picture books to historical fiction, fantasy, biography, romance, science fiction, and coming-of-age tales. All are great reads during Hispanic American Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15 each year), but they are a wonderful introduction to other peoples and cultures at any time of the year. Below are a couple of book suggestions to get the reading going! Note: If you have a relevant book site to suggest for this page, please contact us at rifnova@gmail.com. (Image credit: Jose A. Bernat Bacete/Getty Images; Brightly)
Credit -- Publisher: McMillan; Author: Claribel A. Ortega; Illustrator: Rose Bousamra
Frizzy, written by New York Times-bestselling author Claribel A. Ortega, received the 2023 Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award. In the story, Marlene loves three things: books, her cool Tía Ruby and hanging out with her best friend Camila. But according to her mother, Paola, the only thing she needs to focus on is school and "growing up." That means straightening her hair every weekend so she could have "presentable, good hair."
But Marlene hates being in the salon and doesn't understand why her curls are not considered pretty by those around her. With a few hiccups, a dash of embarrassment, and the much-needed help of Camila and Tia Ruby—she slowly starts a journey to learn to appreciate and proudly wear her curly hair. |
The Pura Belpré Award
Named after the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library, the Pura Belpré Award is presented annually by the American Library Association to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.
In addition to 2023's winner, Frizzy, three Belpré Children’s Author Honor Books were named: The Coquíes Still Sing by Karina Nicole González; The Notebook Keeper: A Story of Kindness from the Border by Stephen Briseño; and Tumble by Celia C. Pérez. A full list of 2023 Pura Belpré Award winners may be found by clicking here. The broader list of American Library Association Awards may be found by clicking here. 
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Credit -- Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire; Author: Vincent Tirado
The book Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado won the 2023 Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Award.
Disappearances in the Bronx haven’t caused concern for Raquel, but when her mom comes down with a mysterious illness and her crush Charlize’s cousin goes missing, both characters must journey to a sinister underworld and play the Echo Game -- a game whose rules are based on a dark chapter in New York’s history. If Raquel and Charlize want to save their home and loved ones, they must play the game or die trying. |
Credit -- Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press; Author: Xelena González; Illustrator: Adriana M. Garcia
Where Wonder Grows won the 2023 Pura Belpré Youth Illustration Award. Written by Xelena González, it was illustrated by Adriana M. Garcia. Garcia is a visual artist, a muralist, and an illustrator who earlier received a Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Honor for her debut picture book, All Around Us, also by Xelena González. Garcia especially loves painting portraits of strong women "to honor those who have come before and those who continue to lead by example."
In Where Wonder Grows, Grandma invites her granddaughters to explore her collection of treasures -- magical rocks, crystals, seashells, and meteorites -- to see what amazing wonders they reveal. |
• Lee & Low has published a 2022 blog listing 10 new books for Latinx & Hispanic Heritage Month. Click here for that.
• The Seattle Public Library has curated its 2022 list of top 15 choices to celebrate the month; find it here.
• Lectura Books is a great site for finding English-Spanish books for young readers. Check it out here.
• Hispanic Mama is a website whose goal is to empower through heritage and language. On the site, find a list of the author's top 40 children's picture books to celebrate Hispanic heritage. Family favorites all, many of the listed books focus on typical Latin American dishes.
• Colours of Us has curated a list of books in celebration of Hispanic heritage for children ages five through 10. Find that here.
• Multicultural Children's Book Day has also curated a list of diverse book links. Find that here.
• What Do We Do All Day is a website and newsletter started by a mom who wanted her children to unplug and get more engaged in games and reading aloud. Her site provides an interesting list of children's books intended for Hispanic Heritage Month. Click to see that list here.
• A Mighty Girl, a site with great book ideas for raising confident girls, offers a list of 60 books starring Latina Mighty Girls.
• School Library Journal features a list of biographies about Latinx luminaries. Find that list here.
• Common Sense Media is a source of entertainment and technology recommendations for families and schools, where parents and teachers can find reviews of children's books, movies, and other media. Find this group's list of children's books with Latinio/a characters here. Also on this website, a list of bilingual (English/Spanish) children's books.
• Interested in Spanish language chapter books? How about this list from Discovering the World Through My Son's Eyes, a website focusing on multicultural parenting, culture, raising bilingual kids, food, and travel!
• Brightly, a website geared to raising children who love to read, features a list of 15 picture books that celebrate Hispanic heritage. Click here for this list. Brightly also features an article on "The Importance of Latinx Representation in Children's Literature." Read that here.
• Reading Rockets has curated a list of books for the month aimed at ages three through nine. Discover stories about families and everyday life in Hispanic communities, as well as books about joyful festivals and holidays. Many books are written in Spanish and English. Click here for more. Plus, there is a tool called Book Finder where readers can create a customized list of fiction and nonfiction books by author, illustrator, age, reading level, genre, format, and topic. That's linked here.
• Pragmatic Mom is a blog that tackles all kinds of topics in the broad field of children's literature. Find a list of top 10 Latino/a books for children here.
• Scholastic has curated a list of 15 books to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month that embrace Hispanic culture, characters, and traditions with, and for, kids of all ages. Another list introduces students to the richness of Hispanic heritage with a curation of 27 fiction and nonfiction books for grades PreK-9.
• ADL has a list, too, of the top eight must-read books for Hispanic Heritage Month. That's here.
• Goodreads has curated a list of children's books for Hispanic American Heritage Month. Find that here.
• Imagination Soup, a book collation site for parents, teachers, and librarians, provides two lists for the month. One is picture books, found here. The other is for middle grades; find that here.
• The Seattle Public Library has curated its 2022 list of top 15 choices to celebrate the month; find it here.
• Lectura Books is a great site for finding English-Spanish books for young readers. Check it out here.
• Hispanic Mama is a website whose goal is to empower through heritage and language. On the site, find a list of the author's top 40 children's picture books to celebrate Hispanic heritage. Family favorites all, many of the listed books focus on typical Latin American dishes.
• Colours of Us has curated a list of books in celebration of Hispanic heritage for children ages five through 10. Find that here.
• Multicultural Children's Book Day has also curated a list of diverse book links. Find that here.
• What Do We Do All Day is a website and newsletter started by a mom who wanted her children to unplug and get more engaged in games and reading aloud. Her site provides an interesting list of children's books intended for Hispanic Heritage Month. Click to see that list here.
• A Mighty Girl, a site with great book ideas for raising confident girls, offers a list of 60 books starring Latina Mighty Girls.
• School Library Journal features a list of biographies about Latinx luminaries. Find that list here.
• Common Sense Media is a source of entertainment and technology recommendations for families and schools, where parents and teachers can find reviews of children's books, movies, and other media. Find this group's list of children's books with Latinio/a characters here. Also on this website, a list of bilingual (English/Spanish) children's books.
• Interested in Spanish language chapter books? How about this list from Discovering the World Through My Son's Eyes, a website focusing on multicultural parenting, culture, raising bilingual kids, food, and travel!
• Brightly, a website geared to raising children who love to read, features a list of 15 picture books that celebrate Hispanic heritage. Click here for this list. Brightly also features an article on "The Importance of Latinx Representation in Children's Literature." Read that here.
• Reading Rockets has curated a list of books for the month aimed at ages three through nine. Discover stories about families and everyday life in Hispanic communities, as well as books about joyful festivals and holidays. Many books are written in Spanish and English. Click here for more. Plus, there is a tool called Book Finder where readers can create a customized list of fiction and nonfiction books by author, illustrator, age, reading level, genre, format, and topic. That's linked here.
• Pragmatic Mom is a blog that tackles all kinds of topics in the broad field of children's literature. Find a list of top 10 Latino/a books for children here.
• Scholastic has curated a list of 15 books to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month that embrace Hispanic culture, characters, and traditions with, and for, kids of all ages. Another list introduces students to the richness of Hispanic heritage with a curation of 27 fiction and nonfiction books for grades PreK-9.
• ADL has a list, too, of the top eight must-read books for Hispanic Heritage Month. That's here.
• Goodreads has curated a list of children's books for Hispanic American Heritage Month. Find that here.
• Imagination Soup, a book collation site for parents, teachers, and librarians, provides two lists for the month. One is picture books, found here. The other is for middle grades; find that here.
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