Let’s celebrate Hispanic and Latinx Heritage through literature! From graphic novels and YA fiction to series nonfiction about places and cultures, we’ve got something for everyone.
Let’s Explore Cuba
From the Series Bumba Books® — Let’s Explore Countries
- Interest Level: Preschool – Grade 1
- Reading Level: Kindergarten
There are lots of different places to visit in the world! Have you ever been on an island? What would it be like to live on one? Take a trip to tropical Cuba and learn about the history and culture of this Caribbean country. Full-color photographs and carefully leveled text bring Cuba to life, while age-appropriate critical thinking questions introduce readers to nonfiction. It’s almost like being on the beach yourself!
Welcome to Spanish with Sesame Street®
From the Series Sesame Street® Welcoming Words
- Interest Level: Preschool – Grade 2
- Reading Level: Kindergarten
Sesame Street characters help readers learn Spanish so they can connect with new friends who speak the language. Welcoming words relating to everyday life and friendship give readers new language tools to become smarter, kinder friends.
The Key from Spain
Flory Jagoda and Her Music
- Interest Level: Preschool – Grade 2
- Reading Level: Grade 1
When Flory’s ancestors are forced to leave Spain during the time of the Spanish Inquisition, they take with them their two most precious possessions—the key to their old house and the Ladino language. When Flory flees Europe during World War II to begin a new life in the United States, she carries Ladino with her, along with her other precious possessions—her harmoniku and her music. But what of the key?
Discover the story of Ladino singer Flory Jagoda.
Crayola® Colors of Mexico
From the Series Crayola® Country Colors
- Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3
- Reading Level: Grade 1
Examine the multihued country of Mexico! Colors infuse the pink feathered flamingos, bright blue ocean waters, lively dancing dresses, and celebrations found in nature and culture all across Mexico.
My Family Celebrates Day of the Dead
From the Series Holiday Time (Early Bird Stories™)
- Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 2
- Reading Level: Grade 1
Day of the Dead is a holiday when families celebrate their loved ones who have died. Learn all about the customs of this holiday with text feature questions. Extend learning with a downloadable reading organizer.
Marco’s Cinco de Mayo
From the Series Cloverleaf Books™ — Holidays and Special Days
- Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 2
- Reading Level: Grade 1
Marco loves the food, parades, and fun of Cinco de Mayo. This year he’s one of the dancers. As he listens to the mariachi music, Marco thinks of the brave Mexicans at the first Cinco de Mayo. Find out the different things people do to celebrate this holiday!
What’s Your Story, Cesar Chavez?
From the Series Cub Reporter Meets Famous Americans
- Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3
- Reading Level: Grade 2
Why did Cesar Chavez want to help farm workers? How did he get people to care about farm workers’ rights? Cub Reporter interviews him to find out! Learn how Cesar fought to make the United States a fairer, safer place to work and live. Readers will see how to use interviewing skills and journalistic questions to reveal the story behind a famous American.
Hair Story
- Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3
- Reading Level: Grade 2
With rhythmic, rhyming verse, this picture book follows two girls—one non-Black Puerto Rican, one Black—as they discover the stories their hair can tell.
Preciosa has hair that won’t stay straight, won’t be confined. Rudine’s hair resists rollers, flat irons, and rules.
Together, the girls play hair salon! They take inspiration from their moms, their neighbors, their ancestors, and cultural icons. They discover that their hair holds roots of the past and threads of the future.
With rhythmic, rhyming verse and vibrant collage art, author NoNieqa Ramos and illustrator Keisha Morris follow two girls as they discover the stories hair can tell.
Luis Paints the World
- Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 4
- Reading Level: Grade 3
Luis wishes Nico wasn’t leaving for the Army. To show Nico he doesn’t need to go, Luis begins a mural on the alleyway wall. Their house, the river, the Parque de las Ardillas—it’s the world, all right there. Won’t Nico miss Mami’s sweet flan? What about their baseball games in the street?
But as Luis awaits his brother’s return from duty, his own world expands as well, through swooping paint and the help of their bustling Dominican neighborhood.
Colombia
From the Series Country Explorers
- Interest Level: Grade 2 – Grade 4
- Reading Level: Grade 3
Pack your bags! We’re headed to Colombia. On this whirlwind tour, you’ll learn all about the country’s landscape, culture, people, and more. We’ll explore Colombia’s mountains and valleys, grasslands and forests, and swamps and deserts. We might even see an active volcano! We’ll find the tallest palm trees in the world, take a bus ride on a brightly colored chiva, and watch a soccer game. A special section introduces Colombia’s capital, language, population, and flag. Hop on board and take a fun-filled look at your world!
Cici: A Fairy’s Tale
- Interest Level: Grade 2 – Grade 5
- Reading Level: Grade 2
When Cici turns 10, she learns from her abuela that fairies have been a part of her family for generations—and now it’s her turn! By choosing to keep her wings, she inherits the ability to always see people for who they truly are. Cici’s new powers present unexpected challenges to normal life. As a fairy, Cici will encounter the magic of sprites, pixies, and demons. At the same time, she will have to process her parents’ divorce, forge new friendships, and cope with an eccentric grandma, all while remaining true to herself.
Anita and the Dragons
- Interest Level: Grade 2 – Grade 4
- Reading Level: Grade 2
A beautifully tender story touching on the range of emotions immigrants may feel when leaving their home countries – excitement and sorrow, fear and courage.
Anita watches the dragons high above her as she hops from one cement roof to another in her village in the Dominican Republic. But being the valiant princesa she is, she never lets them scare her. Will she be brave enough to enter the belly of the beast and take flight to new adventures?
A Barnes & Noble Bookseller Favorite. A BookTrust Book of the Month. A Love Reading For Schools Book of the Month.
“A gorgeous story about the love of one’s homeland and the courage it takes to emigrate”—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED
Astronaut Ellen Ochoa
From the Series STEM Trailblazer Bios
- Interest Level: Grade 2 – Grade 5
- Reading Level: Grade 4
When Ellen Ochoa was young, male American astronauts walked on the moon. But girls were not allowed to be astronauts. Girls didn’t often study science either—but Ochoa didn’t let that stop her. In high school, Ochoa loved math and science. In college, she studied physics and engineering, and later she became a scientist and inventor. Eventually NASA began accepting women into their astronaut training program. While there, Ochoa developed technology, became the first female Hispanic American astronaut, and logged 1,000 hours in outer space. Learn about Ochoa’s hard work and perseverance on her journey toward becoming a scientist, inventor, and astronaut.
Learning about South America
From the Series Searchlight Books™ — Do You Know the Continents?
- Interest Level: Grade 3 – Grade 5
- Reading Level: Grade 3
South America is a remarkable continent, with its lush Amazon rain forest and its vibrant cities. But did you know that South America has the world’s highest waterfall? Or that a South American desert is the driest on Earth? Learn more about the diverse continent of South America, from its people and countries to its landforms, economy, and more.
Tools and Treasures of the Ancient Maya
From the Series Searchlight Books™ — What Can We Learn from Early Civilizations?
- Interest Level: Grade 3 – Grade 5
- Reading Level: Grade 3
Do you use a calendar? Have you ever played basketball? These things were important to the ancient Mayans too. About four thousand years ago, they invented tools and treasures that still shape our lives. Find out where and how the ancient Mayans lived, and learn about their mysterious disappearance. Discover how they changed the world!
Walk Till You Disappear
- Interest Level: Grade 3 – Grade 7
- Reading Level: Grade 5
Raised a Catholic, when 12-year-old Miguel suddenly learns that his ancestors were Jewish, his world seems to turn upside down. Rushing from the house, he becomes lost in the desert. Captured by a band of Apaches, after a daring escape he meets Rushing Cloud, a Tohono O’odham youth who is running away from a mission school. As the boys travel toward home, Miguel learns to survive in the desert, but more importantly, he begins to see his heritage in a new light.
Sincerely, Harriet
- Interest Level: Grade 4 – Grade 8
- Reading Level: Grade 4
Harriet Flores struggles with boredom and an unrequited crush while learning to manage her chronic illness through a long, hot, 1990s summer in Chicago. She uses her imagination to cope, which sometimes gets her into trouble, as she makes up fantastical fibs and wonders if there are ghosts upstairs. One neighbor, Pearl, encourages Harriet to read and write, leading Harriet to have a breakthrough and discover the power of storytelling.
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Revolutionary Playwright, Composer, and Actor
From the Series Gateway Biographies
- Interest Level: Grade 4 – Grade 8
- Reading Level: Grade 5
Playwright and Broadway star Lin-Manuel Miranda is best known as the mind behind the smash-hit musical Hamilton. This title explores Hamilton and Miranda’s other works, as well as his life off-stage.
Pope Francis
First Pope from the Americas
From the Series Gateway Biographies
- Interest Level: Grade 4 – Grade 8
- Reading Level: Grade 5
On March 19, 2013, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina became Pope Francis, the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church. His election to the papacy was notable in many ways. He became the first pope from the Americas, the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere, the first non-European pope in more than 1,200 years, the first Jesuit pope, and the first pope to choose the name Francis.
Follow Pope Francis’s journey to the papacy, from his days as a young chemist to his studies of theology. Learn more about his beliefs and hobbies—including his interests in soccer and tango dancing. Find out the true story behind the man who became the 266th pope.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Political Headliner
From the Series Gateway Biographies
- Interest Level: Grade 4 – Grade 8
- Reading Level: Grade 5
American politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman ever to serve in the US Congress. Learn about her young life, her work as an activist, and her career in the House of Representatives.
Sliding Home
From the Series Lorimer Sports Stories
- Interest Level: Grade 5 – Grade 8
- Reading Level: Grade 3
Miguel hasn’t missed El Salvador since arriving in North America with his mother and sister. But with his father still in El Salvador and gangs shaking down the old neighborhood, life isn’t easy for Miguel.
When his father’s situation becomes critical, Miguel becomes desperate to bring him to North America. But he can’t even afford to join his baseball team on a road game—how can his family possibly pay his father’s way? A solution comes from Miguel’s teammate, who proposes a big baseball fundraiser. As the team learns about the hard realities some new immigrant kids face, Miguel and his family learn to trust their neighbors and teammates.
Cooking the Spanish Way
From the Series Easy Menu Ethnic Cookbooks 2nd Edition
- Interest Level: Grade 5 – Grade 12
- Reading Level: Grade 6
Isolation, landscape, climate, and availability of ingredients all contributed to the development of the many distinctive styles of cooking in Spain. To use the freshest possible ingredients, Spanish cooks often shop daily for their foods. With delicious recipes and enticing photographs, discover Spain through its history, culture, and food.
Sonia Sotomayor
A Biography
- Interest Level: Grade 6 – Grade 8
- Reading Level: Grade 7
Arguably one of the most prominent US Supreme Court Justices at the moment, Sonia Sotomayor has paved her own way to enact profound changes and reforms, despite the obstacles that stood in her way. And she certainly has had her share of adversity: she was diagnosed with diabetes when she was just eight years old, lived in housing projects in the Bronx in her youth, and fought (and still is fighting) against blatant discrimination throughout her career. Now in her early 60s, Justice Sotomayor has already made history in being appointed to the Court as the first Latina justice, the third woman justice, and one of the three youngest justices in this position.
Lizard in a Zoot Suit
- Interest Level: Grade 7 – Grade 12
- Reading Level: Grade 5
Los Angeles, 1943. It’s the era of the Zoot Suit Riots, and Flaca and Cuata have a problem.
It’s bigger than being grounded by their strict mother. It’s bigger than tensions with the soldiers stationed nearby. And it’s shaped like a five-foot-tall lizard. When a lost member of an unknown underground species needs help, the sisters must scramble to keep their new friend away from a corrupt military scientist—but they’ll do it in style. Cartoonist Marco Finnegan presents Lizard in a Zoot Suit, an outrageous, historical, sci-fi graphic novel.
“[Lizard in a Zoot Suit] is both a politically charged drama and a pulpy sci-fi story all in one, and an ideal graphic novel for Young Adults.”—Comicon.com
“A new YA graphic novel [that] takes a moment in real world history and turns it into the basis for a thrilling adventure that is never anything less than stylish.”—The Hollywood Reporter
Stage Dreams
- Interest Level: Grade 8 – Grade 12
- Reading Level: Grade 7
In this rollicking queer western adventure, acclaimed cartoonist Melanie Gillman (Stonewall Award Honor Book As the Crow Flies) puts readers in the saddle alongside Flor and Grace, a Latinx outlaw and a trans runaway, as they team up to thwart a Confederate plot in the New Mexico Territory. When Flor—also known as the notorious Ghost Hawk—robs the stagecoach that Grace has used to escape her Georgia home, the first thing on her mind is ransom. But when the two get to talking about Flor’s plan to crash a Confederate gala and steal some crucial documents, Grace convinces Flor to let her join the heist.
The Truth Is
- Interest Level: Grade 9 – Grade 12
- Reading Level: Grade 8
Named one of the best YA Latinx books of 2019 by Remezcla and HipLatina.
A Bustle Book Club Selection
A powerful exploration of love, identity, and self-worth through the eyes of a fierce, questioning Puerto Rican teen.
Fifteen-year-old Verdad doesn’t think she has time for love. She’s still struggling to process the recent death of her best friend, Blanca; dealing with the high expectations of her hardworking Puerto Rican mother and the absence of her remarried father; and keeping everyone at a distance. But when she meets Danny, a new guy at school—who happens to be trans—all bets are off. Verdad suddenly has to deal with her mother’s disapproval of her relationship with Danny as well as her own prejudices and questions about her identity, and Danny himself, who is comfortable in his skin but keeping plenty of other secrets.