Hispanic Heritage Resources: Home

When Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela asks her father why she has so many names, she hears the story of her name and learns about her grandparents.

"A bilingual book that highlights 11 Latinas who excelled in their professional fields and made U.S. history in medicine, science, sports, art and politics."

Presents famous and lesser-known Latinos from varied backgrounds who have faced life's challenges in creative ways.

Carmela, finally old enough to run errands with her brother, tries to think of the perfect birthday wish, while his wish seems to be that she stayed home.

An illustrated look at the life of Cuban salsa singer Celia Cruz, telling of her childhood and rise to fame.

As a little girl, Teresa Carreño loved to let her hands dance across the beautiful keys of the piano. If she felt sad, music cheered her up, and when she was happy, the piano helped her share that joy. Soon she was writing her own songs and performing in grand cathedrals. Then a revolution in Venezuela forced her family to flee to the United States...

When Margie's cousin Lupe comes from Mexico to live in California with Margie's family, Lupe must adapt to America, while Margie, who thought it would be fun to have her cousin there, finds that she's embarrassed by her in school and jealous of her at home.

An illustrated look at the life and accomplishments of Dolores Huerta, who fought to ensure fair and safe work places for migrant workers. Includes a timeline and resources for teachers.

Evelyn Del Rey is Daniela's best friend, her mejor amiga. But after today, everything will be different. After today, Evelyn won't live in a mirror-image apartment across the street...

This book examines the life of Frida Kahlo. Includes a timeline and other informative backmatter.

A young girl enjoys the similarities and the differences between her English-speaking and Spanish-speaking grandparents.

Lola was just a baby when her family left the Island, so when she has to draw it for a school assignment, she asks her family, friends, and neighbors about their memories of her homeland ... and in the process, comes up with a new way of understanding her own heritage.

In this version of a traditional tale, Senor Calavera arrives at Grandma Beetle's door, ready to take her to the next life, but after helping her count, in English and Spanish, as she makes her birthday preparations, he changes his mind.

As Señor Calavera prepares for Grandma Beetle's birthday he finds an alphabetical assortment of unusual presents, but with the help of Zelmiro the Ghost, he finds the best gift of all.

A new girl has joined Lola Levine's second-grade class. When they get off on the wrong foot, they are forced to spend time together ... and learn they have more in common than they thought.

Lucia zips through the playground in her cape just like the boys, but when they tell her 'girls can't be superheroes', suddenly she doesn't feel so mighty. That's when her beloved abuela reveals a dazzling secret: Lucia comes from a family of luchadoras, the bold and valiant women of the Mexican lucha libre tradition. But when she's confronted with a case of injustice, Lucia must decide if she can stay true to the ways of the luchadora and fight for what is right, even if it means breaking the sacred rule of never revealing the identity behind her mask.

Marisol McDonald, a biracial, nonconformist, soccer-playing pirate-princess with brown skin and red hair, celebrates her uniqueness.
Marisol McDonald no combina. Es pelirroja y morena; su ropa es de varios colores; juega a los piratas futbolistas; y le gusta ser única.

"Paloma Marquez is traveling to Mexico City, birthplace of her deceased father, for the very first time. She's hoping that spending time in Mexico will help her unlock memories of the too-brief time they spent together. While in Mexico, Paloma meets Lizzie and Gael, who present her with an irresistible challenge..."

"When Daisy Ramona zooms around her neighborhood with her papi on his motorcycle, she sees the people and places she's always known. She also sees a community that is rapidly changing around her."

Ixchel, a young Mayan girl who is not allowed to use her mother's thread to weave, exercises her ingenuity and repurposes plastic bags to create colorful weavings. Includes glossary and author's note.

Years before the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez, an eight-year-old girl of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage, played an instrumental role in Mendez v. Westminster, the landmark desegregation case of 1946 in California.

At the start of World War II, Japanese-American third-grader Aki and her family are sent to an internment camp in Poston, Arizona, while Mexican-American third-grader Sylvia's family leases their Orange County, California, farm and begins a fight to stop school segregation.

When resentment surges during the Great Depression in a Texas border town, Estrella, fifteen, organizes a protest against the treatment of tejanos and soon finds herself witih her mother and baby brother in Mexico.

With a strong family, the best friend a guy could ask for, and a budding romance with the girl of his dreams, life shows promise for Teodoro "T" Avila. But he takes some hard hits the summer before senior year...

When thirteen-year-old Erica "Chia" Montenegro finds out her mother has breast cancer, she makes a promise to God to raise money for breast cancer awareness and discovers that when family and friends work together, miracles can happen.

"Steeped in Hispanic folklore since childhood, middle schooler Charlie Hernández learns the stories are true when, shortly after his parents disappearance, he grows horns and feathers and finds himself at the heart of a battle to save the world."

Sixth-grader Emilia Torres struggles with ADHD, her controlling abuela, her mother's work commitments, her father's distance after returning from deployment, evolving friendships, and a conflict over school redistricting.

"While his father works two jobs, seventh-grader Efrén Nava must take care of his twin siblings, kindergartners Max and Mia, after their mother is deported to Mexico. "

This book tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, a young girl growing up in the Hispanic quarter of Chicago, whose neighborhood is one of harsh realities and harsh beauty.

Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents' house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga's role. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. Digital audio available.

In early 1940s Los Angeles, Mexican Americans Marisela and Lorena work in canneries all day then jitterbug with sailors all night with their zoot suit wearing younger brother, Ray, as escort until the night racial violence leads to murder. Includes historical note.

From the author of Gods of Jade and Shadow comes a reimagining of the classic gothic suspense novel, a story about an isolated mansion in 1950s Mexico—and the brave socialite drawn to its treacherous secrets.

When his mother is sent to jail in Los Angeles, eleven-year-old Tony goes to live with his forest ranger great-uncle in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where Tony experiences unconditional love for the first time through his friendship with a rescue dog.

"In Silver Springs, Arizona, her mother's stories of the monstrous La Llorona are thrilling but unbelievable to science-loving Paola until she and her best friends Dante and Emma take a walk through a cactus field near the Gila River."

"Kali Fajardo-Anstine's . . . story collection breathes life into her Latina characters of indigenous ancestry and the land they inhabit in the American West. Against the . . . backdrop of Denver, Colorado--a place that is as fierce as as it is exquisite--these women navigate the land the way they navigate their lives: with caution grace, and quiet force."

When the murals painted on the walls of her Brooklyn neighborhood start to change and fade in front of her, Sierra Santiago realizes that something strange is going on--then she discovers her Puerto Rican family are shadowshapers and finds herself in a battle with an evil anthropologist for the lives of her family and friends.

Told in two voices, Pen, whose dream of taking over her family's restaurant has been destroyed, and Xander, a new, undocumented, employee seeking his father, form a bond.

A collection of twelve short stories that look at young Hispanic Americans living in the United States.

'Barrio America' uses vivid oral histories and detailed statistics to show how the great Latino migrations transformed America for the better."

The author draws on thousands of documents and interviews to examine the myths and achievements marking the life of the iconic Latino labor leader and civil rights activist.

"A middle grade verse history of Latinos in the United States, told through the voices of many and varied individuals ranging from Juan Ponce de León to modern-day sixth graders."

The memoir of Julissa Arce in which she charts her journey from undocumented immigrant to Wall Street executive.

The first Hispanic on the U.S. Supreme Court tells the story of her life before becoming a judge in a personal memoir.

The memoir of boxer Jesselyn Silva in which she reflects on her journey to success in a male dominated sport and her endeavors to make it to the Olympics.

The star of Orange Is the New Black and Jane the Virgin, Diane Guerrero presents her personal story in this middle grade memoir about her parents' deportation and the nightmarish struggles of undocumented immigrants and their American children.

Presents an illustrated look at the lives of thirty Hispanic Americans and their contribution to the cultural, social, and political character of the United States.

Julissa Arce explores her days in Mexico separated from her parents and her daily fears while growing up undocumented in Texas.

A collection of poems of mortality, family memories, dreams, and the human personality by author and professor, Alberto Ríos.