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National Education Association's Bilingual Booklist
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Amelia's Road
by Linda Jacobs AltmanTired of moving around so much, Amelia, the daughter of migrant farm workers, dreams of a stable home.
Bless Me, Ultima
by Rudolfo AnayaStories filled with wonder and the haunting beauty of his culture have helped make Rudolfo Anaya the father of Chicano literature in English, and his tales fairly shimmer with the lyric richness of his prose.
Acclaimed in both Spanish and English, Anaya is perhaps best loved for his classic bestseller ...
Antonio Marez is six years old when Ultima comes to stay with his family in New Mexico. She is a curandera, one who cures with herbs and magic.
Under her wise wing, Tony will test the bonds that tie him to his people, and discover himself in the pagan past, in his father's wisdom, and in his mother's Catholicism. And at each life turn there is Ultima, who delivered Tony into the world-and will nurture the birth of his soul.
Barrio
by George AnconaWelcome to José's neighborhood. In his barrio, people speak an easy mix of Spanish and English and sometimes even Chinese. The masked revelry of Halloween leads into the festive remembrances of the Day of the Dead. And murals on the walls and buildings sing out the stories of the people who live here. As familiar as any neighborhood yet as strange as a foreign country, Jose's barrio isn't in Mexico or Argentina--it's in San Francisco. Award-winning author and photographer George Ancona follows José through a season in the barrio, and in the process gives readers a glimpse of a community as rich and varied as America itself.
Los Perros Magicos de Los Volcanes / Magic Dogs of the Volcanoes
by Manlio Argueta and Stacey RossWhen the magic dogs who live on the volcanoes of El Salvador and protect the villagers from harm are pursued by wicked lead soldiers, they are aided by two ancient volcanoes. In Spanish and English.
Alicia Alonso
by Sandra Martin ArnoldA biography of the Cuban ballerina who founded her own ballet school and company, performed with the Ballet Russe, and continued to dance even after she lost her sight.
El Loro en el Horno
by Analia Bermejo and Victor MartinezManny Hernandez es un joven de 14 anos que debe enfrentarse a ese momento crucial en su vida.
Winner of the Pura Belpre Medal
Fitting In
by Anilú BernardoAnilu Bernardo's spunky Cuban-American protagonists navigate the uncertain waters of adolescence in Miami, and their lot is all that much harder as they juggle the traditional burdens of middle school and high school coupled with the stresses of living those burdens in a foreign culture. This edition includes a study guide.
Hello, Amigos!
by Tricia Brown"Extends a warm invitation to share (Frankie Valdez's birthday and) to sample his culture's traditional festivities".--Booklist.
Journey of the Sparrows
by Fran Leeper BussMaria and her brother and sister, Salvadoran refugees, are smuggled into the United States in crates and try to eke out a living in Chicago with the help of a sympathetic family.
Esperanza Rising
by Pam Muñoz Ryan and Joe CepedaA reissue of Pam Munoz Ryan's bestselling backlist with a distinctive new author treatment. Esperanza thought she'd always live with her family on their ranch in Mexico--she'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home, and servants. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California during the Great Depression, and to settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard labor, financial struggles, or lack of acceptance she now faces. When their new life is threatened, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances--Mama's life, and her own, depend on it.
La casa en Mango Street
by Sandra Cisneros and Elena PoniatowskaLa casa en Mango Street es la historia de una chica que mueve a una casa nueva en Mango Street pero no quiere vivir en el barrio.
Hairs / Pelitos
by Sandra CisnerosIn English and Spanish, a child describes how each person in the family has hair that looks and acts different, Papas like a broom, Kikis like fur, and Mamas with the smell of warm bread.
Silent Dancing
by Judith Ortiz CoferSilent Dancing is about a young girl as she struggles through life, constantly being moved from the U.S. to Puerto Rico, and back again.
The Christmas Gift
by Claire B. Cotts and Francisco JiménezWith honesty and grace, award-winning author Francisco Jiménez shares his most poignant Christmas memory in this beautifully illustrated picture book. As Christmas approaches, Panchito can't wait to see what present he gets. But on Christmas Day, he is disappointed when all he gets is a bag of candy, until he sees the gift his father gives his mother. Panchito then realizes that gifts of the heart are the most precious of all.
Platero y yo / Platero and I
by Juan Ramón Jiménez and Myra Cohn Livingston and Joseph F. DomínguezIn English and Spanish, this book presents a picture of life in the town of Moguer, in Andalusia, Spain, as seen through the eyes of a wandering poet and his faithful donkey.
Como agua para chocolate
by Laura EsquivelEarthy, magical, and utterly charming, this tale of family life in turn-of-the-century Mexico became a best-selling phenomenon with its winning blend of poignant romance and bittersweet wit. The classic love story takes place on the De la Garza ranch, as the tyrannical owner, Mama Elena, chops onions at the kitchen table in her final days of pregnancy. While still in her mother's womb, her daughter to be weeps so violently she causes an early labor, and little Tita slips out amid the spices and fixings for noodle soup. This early encounter with food soon becomes a way of life, and Tita grows up to be a master chef. She shares special points of her favorite preparations with listeners throughout the story.The Spanish language edition of the best-selling Like Water For Chocolate is a remarkable success in its own right. Now, in this mass market edition, thousands of new readers will be able to partake in the sumptuous, romantic, and hilarious tale of Tita, the terrific cook with an extra special something in her sauce.From the Paperback edition.
Next Year in Cuba
by Gustavo Pérez FirmatThis is a personal account of a young Cuban's departure from his native country and his assimilation of American culture and values, including marriage to an American, raising an American family, teaching at an American university .
The Aguero Sisters
by Cristina GarcíaWhen Cristina García's first novel, Dreaming in Cuban, was published in 1992, The New York Times called the author "a magical new writer...completely original." The book was nominated for a National Book Award, and reviewers everywhere praised it for the richness of its prose, the vivid drama of the narrative, and the dazzling illumination it brought to bear on the intricacies of family life in general and the Cuban American family in particular. Now, with The Agüero Sisters, García gives us her widely anticipated new novel. Large, vibrant, resonant with image and emotion, it tells a mesmerizing story about the power of family myth to mask, transform, and, finally, reveal the truth.It is the story of Reina and Constancia Agüero, Cuban sisters who have been estranged for thirty years. Reina, forty-eight years old, living in Cuba in the early 1990s, was once a devoted daughter of la revolución; Constancia, an eager to assimilate naturalized American, smuggled herself off the island in 1962. Reina is tall, darkly beautiful, unmarried, and magnetically sexual, a master electrician who is known as Compañera Amazona among her countless male suitors, and who basks in the admiration she receives in her trade and in her bed. Constancia is petite, perfectly put together, pale skinned, an inspirationally successful yet modest cosmetics saleswoman, long resigned to her passionless marriage. Reina believes in only what she can grasp with her five senses; Constancia believes in miracles that "arrive every day from the succulent edge of disaster." Reina lives surrounded by their father's belongings, the tangible remains of her childhood; Constancia has inherited only a startling resemblance to their mother--the mysterious Blanca--which she wears like an unwanted mask.The sisters' stories are braided with the voice from the past of their father, Ignacio, a renowned naturalist whose chronicling of Cuba's dying species mirrored his own sad inability to prevent familial tragedy. It is in the memories of their parents--dead many years but still powerfully present--that the sisters' lives have remained inextricably bound. Tireless scientists, Ignacio and Blanca understood the perfect truth of the language of nature, but never learned to speak it in their own tongue. What they left their daughters--the picture of a dark and uncertain history sifted with half-truths and pure lies--is the burden and the gift the two women struggle with as they move unknowingly toward reunion. And during that movement, as their stories unfurl and intertwine with those of their children, their lovers and husbands, their parents, we see the expression and effect of the passions, humor, and desires that both define their differences and shape their fierce attachment to each other and to their discordant past.The Agüero Sisters is clear confirmation of Cristina García's standing in the front ranks of new American fiction.From the Hardcover edition.
Family Pictures / Cuadros de Familia
by Carmen Lomas GarzaFamily Pictures is the story of Carmen Lomas Garza's girlhood: celebrating birthdays, making tamales, finding a hammerhead shark on the beach, picking cactus, going to a fair in Mexico, and confiding to her sister her dreams of becoming an artist.
These day-to-day experiences are told through fourteen vignettes of art and a descriptive narrative, each focusing on a different aspect of traditional Mexican American culture. The English-Spanish text and vivid illustrations reflect the author's strong sense of family and community. For Mexican Americans, Carmen Lomas Garza offers a book that reflects their lives and traditions. For others, this work offers insights into a beautifully rich community.
[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts for K-1 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
The Secret of Two Brothers
by Irene Beltrán Hernández21-year-old Beaver tries to create a decent life for himself and his brother following his mother's death and his own stint in prison. The story explores maintaining a family against difficult odds and trying to live an honorable life.
Laughing Out Loud, I Fly
by Juan Felipe HerreraA collection of poems in Spanish and English about childhood, place, and identity.
Baseball in the Barrios
by Henry HorensteinJoin nine-year-old Hubaldo Romero Páez in Venezuela as he introduces his friends, his family, and his favorite sport -- baseball. Complemented by a map and an English-Spanish baseball glossary, Hubaldo's story is an inviting introduction to a foreign land viewed through the lens of a shared passion.
Beisbol en los Barrios
by Henry HorensteinHubaldo Antonio Romero Páez nos presenta a su familia, a su país y, más importante, a su deporte preferido, el béisbol. El libro consciene una carta y un glosario inglés-espavol sobre el beisbol. [The Spanish-language edition of Baseball in the Barrios. Join nine-year-old Hubaldo Romero Paacute in Venezuela as he introduces his friends, his family, and his favorite sport--baseball. Complemented by a map and an English-Spanish baseball glossary, Hubaldo's story is an inviting introduction to a foreign land viewed through the lens of a shared passion.]
The Circuit
by Francisco JiménezThis is a collection of short stories based on the life of the author, Francisco Jiménez, while he was growing up as the son of a migrant farm worker in California.