The Immigration Experience
... Latin America
Click a title to check the Skokie Public Library catalog for the status of the book in the Youth Services collection. Titles marked with * are available on audio.
Download this booklist in its original print format
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| Picture books |
| Easy fiction |
| Fiction |
| Junior high |
Picture Books
- Argueta, Jorge. Xochitl and the Flowers. 2003.
Youth Foreign Language Picture Book Spanish ARG - Xochitl and her family miss the garden they had in El Salvador. Can they make a garden in their new home in San Francisco?
- Bertrand, Diane Gonzales. The Empanadas that Abuela Made. 2003.
Youth Foreign Language Picture Book Spanish BER - This tale of a grandma making delicious treats just keeps getting longer and longer!
- Dorros, Arthur. Isla. 1995.
Youth Picture Book DOR - When Rosalba's grandmother tells her stories of the island where she spent her childhood, Rosalba feels as though she is actually there.
- Elya, Susan Middleton. Home at Last. 2002.
Youth Picture Book ELY - Ana wonders if America will ever feel like home.
- English, Karen. Speak English for Us, Marisol! 2000.
Youth Picture Book ENG - Being the translator for the whole family can be quite a job!
- Jules, Jacqueline. No English. 2007.
Youth Picture Book JUL - Second-grader Diane has a hard time communicating with a new girl from Argentina– until they decide to use drawings to talk to each other!
- Miller, Elizabeth I. Just Like Home. 1999.
Youth Foreign Language Picture Book Spanish MIL - A little girl tells us the story of her first days in America. Some things are very different, but others are "just like home."
- Pérez, Amada Irma. My Diary from Here to There. 2002.
Youth Foreign Language Picture Book Spanish PER - Amada's diary tells the story of her journey with her family from Juarez, Mexico to Los Angeles, California.
- Russell, Barbara T. The Remembering Stone. 2004.
Youth Picture Book RUS - Ana dreams of going to Costa Rica, where Mamá was born.
- Stanek, Muriel. I Speak English for My Mom. 1989.
Youth Picture Book STA - Lupe can't understand why Mama is afraid to learn English.
- Ziefert, Harriet. Home for Navidad. 2003.
Youth Picture Book ZIE - Mama has been in the United States for three years, earning money to send home to Mexico. Rosa waits and waits for Mama to come home for Christmas.
Easy Fiction
- Ada, Alma Flor. My Name is Maria Isabel. 1993.
Youth Easy Fiction ADA - Maria's new teacher wants to call her Mary. How can Maria let her teacher know that Mary is not her name?
- DeRubertis, Barbara. Count on Pablo. 1999.
Youth Easy Reader DER - Pablo helps Abuela pick and count out the produce from their garden to take to market. When no one wants to buy their vegetables, Pablo has a great idea!
- Jiménez, Francisco. La Mariposa. 1998.
Youth Easy Fiction JIM - First-grader Francisco is miserable in school. Why? Because he can only speak Spanish, and the teacher speaks English.
- Marsden, Carolyn. Mama Had to Work on Christmas. 2003.
Youth Easy Fiction MAR - Gloria's Papa has to work in the orange groves Christmas Day, and now Mama has to work too. Will Christmas be any fun at all?
- Montes, Marisa. A Crazy Mixed-up Spanglish Day. 2003.
Youth Easy Fiction MON - Third-grader Gabi is proud that she can speak two languages. The only problem is that when she gets excited, she speaks the wrong one!
- Montes, Marisa. No More Spanish! 2004.
Youth Easy Fiction MON - Gabi has decided she will not speak Spanish any more– not even at home. But Spanish is the only language her family speaks!
- Montes, Marisa. Please Don't Go! 2004.
Youth Easy Fiction MON - Gabi's grandma has to go back to Puerto Rico– unless Gabi can figure out a way to make Abuela stay in America.
- Montes, Marisa. Who's That Girl? 2003.
Youth Easy Fiction MON - ¡Mira! Look! There is a new little girl living in the haunted house! Gabi and Miguelito want to make friends with her, but she is so shy. Is she a ghost?
Fiction
- Delacre, Lulu. Salsa Stories: Stories and Linocuts. 2000.
Youth Fiction DEL - Carmen Teresa lives with her family in the United States, but the guests at her family's New Year's celebration are from many different Latin-American countries. She writes about them all in her new diary.
- Haugaard, Kay. No Place. 1998.
Youth Fiction HAU - In 6th-grader Arturo's neighborhood in Los Angeles, there is no place for kids to play. But there is an old junkyard, just waiting to be transformed.
- Johnston, Tony. Any Small Goodness: A Novel of the
Barrio. 2001.
Youth Fiction JOH - Sometimes life in the barrio is hard for 11-year-old Arturo. But as Papa reminds him, if at times you cannot find enough good in your life, you must make your own.
- McGinley, Jerry. Joaquin Strikes Back. 1998.
Youth Fiction MCG - Joaquin loves soccer. But at his new school in Wisconsin, the coach won't let him play. Why?
- Reeve, Kirk. Lolo & Red-Legs. 1998.
Youth Fiction REE - Eleven-year-old Lolo lives in Las Lomitas, the "Little Hills" of East Los Angeles. When he finds a tarantula in an abandoned lot, Lolo decides to call her Red-Legs and make her his pet.
- Ryan, Pamela Muñoz. Becoming Naomi León. 2004. *
Youth Fiction RYA - Eleven-year-old Naomi Soledad and her brother Owen live happily with their loving great-grandmother– until the day Naomi's long-absent mother unexpectedly shows up.
- Soto, Gary. Off and Running. 1996.
Youth Fiction SOT - Class president candidate Miata Ramirez promises that, if elected, she will clean up the school. Her opponent is promising ice cream every day! Who would you vote for?
- Taylor, Theodore. Maria: A Christmas Story. 1992.
Youth Fiction TAY - Maria wants more than anything to have the first Mexican-American float in the annual San Lazaro Christmas parade. But it costs a lot!
Junior High
- Bernardo, Anilu. Fitting In. 1996.
Junior High Fiction BER - Trying to fit into two different cultures at the same time is hard. Each of these five short stories is about Cuban-American girls who are trying to find a place among non-Latino classmates.
- Canales, Viola. The Tequila Worm. 2005.
Junior High Fiction CAN - Sofia lives in the barrio, but goes to an elite American school. Where does she belong?
- Chambers, Veronica. Quinceañera Means Sweet Fifteen. 2001.
Junior High Fiction CHA - Marisol and Magdalena have been best friends forever. But now, their approaching quinceañeras threaten their friendship.
- Hobbs, Will. Crossing the Wire. 2006. *
Junior High Fiction HOB - Meet 15-year-old Victor, who is forced to cross the border illegally.
- Jaramillo, Ann. La Línea. 2006.
Junior High Fiction JAR - Fifteen-year-old Miguel strikes out to cross la línea, the border. What he doesn't know is that his younger sister is secretly following him.
- Jiménez, Francisco. The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a
Migrant Child. 1997.
Junior High Fiction JIM - Francisco's family are migrant workers. All Francisco wants is a home.
- Osa, Nancy. Cuba 15: A Novel. 2003.
Junior High Fiction OSA - At the insistence of her Cuban-born Grandmother, 10th-grader Violet prepares for her quinceañero– without much enthusiasm!
- Resau, Laura. Red Glass. 2007.
Junior High Fiction RES - Sixteen-year-old Sophie has always been afraid of everything. She discovers what courage means on a trip to Mexico.
- Ryan, Pamela Muñoz. Esperanza Rising. 2000. *
Junior High Fiction RYA - Esperanza's life of privilege in Mexico ends when her father is killed and her family must begin new lives as migrant workers in the United States.