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“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

“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

“The Case of the Pen Gone Missing is a tricky one for a young sleuth. The hitherto unattainable Toots Rodriguez solicits Mickey’s help when she is accused of stealing a classmate’s special pen, the one actually touched by the President of the United States when he signed the bill sponsored by the classmate’s father. Mickey’s observational skills are blunted by his attraction to this deadly damsel in distress, but a timely tip from a mysterious ‘Angel’ puts him on the right track, and he not only finds the pen, but exposes the real culprit.” — Mystery Scene Magazine

The Case of the Pen Gone Missing: A Mickey Rangel Mystery

René Saldaña, Jr.

Age Level:

9-12

Araña Volume 1: Heart of the Spider

Fiona Avery , Mark Brooks

Age Level:

9-12

Product Description: Judith Ortiz Cofer’s award-winning collection of short stories focuses on life in the barrio. Rita is exiled to Puerto Rico for a summer with her grandparents after her parents catch her with a boy. Luis sits atop a six-foot mountain of hubcaps in his father’s junkyard, working off a sentence for breaking and entering. Sandra tries to reconcile her looks to the conventional Latino notion of beauty. And Arturo, different from his macho classmates, fantasizes about escaping his community.

An Island Like You

Judith Ortiz Cofer

Age Level:

9-12

Meet Arturo and his spirited family as they integrate themselves into a tough L.A. neighborhood. Their story is sprinkled with the good and bad, from the former NBA star that shows up at basketball practice to the menacing gang that keeps appearing on the sidewalks of the neighborhood. Arturo and his family (including feisty Abuelita and their cat, Huitlacoche) meet each moment with resilience, warmth, and humor as they each learn to appreciate “any small goodness” that they find.