Latino Books

I bought Dora Discovers for my daughter, my niece and friend of theirs. The children love this book. There is so much to look at, so much to do and so much to learn. My daughter is 2 and although she already knows her colors and shapes, this book offers many opportunities to reforce these skills. My niece is 18 months old, and loves to play with the slides and foldouts. I would recommend this book to everyone.

This book is great even though it's a bit high in price. It grows with the kids. Our daughter is a week shy of 19 months and she just loves this book. We just spent 30 mintues talking about all the pictures on the pages. We are currently working on everything that this book has: colors, counting and numbers, shapes and the alphabets. She knows some of each and this book is a great way to re-enforce what she knows and recognizes. She especially loves the pages with the sliding doors and we say the numbers as she opens them up. She will probably get bored after she see everything but then in 6 months, we'll bring it out again and learn more.

We paid full price (I really have to learn to shop here first!) but it was well worth it. I wouldn't recommend it for children who like to rip because then you can't use this book to the fullest. Our daughter has just gotten past this stage so it's perfect for her.

Plan on purchasing this book for all the girls. Now I have to find something similar for the boys!

I bought this book for my daughter when she was about 2 years old (and really in the "Dora" phase). The pages are really easy to turn, and the book is full of colorful pictures. It only takes about 3 minutes to read the entire book to my child, but she is always satisfied afterwards. It's now been 2 1/2 years since I bought the book, and she's no longer a huge fan of Dora, but she still loves this book. My son, who is 2, also loves the book, and I like that it's a board book, so he can't destroy it---the book is still in excellent condition. If I had to give away all but ten books in my house, the three Dora board books I have would make the cut!

My 18 month old daughter is in love with Dora so I bought her a boxed set of books. This book came with the set. It's a cute book that shows different modes of transportation. It's also very colorful so it keeps my daughters attention.

I purchased this book for my five year old granddaughter and she really loved it.

A very special surprise visitor arrives at Dora's house on Christmas Eve. Can you guess who it is?

Just as Dora begins telling her baby brother and sister (and Boots!) a story about Santa, they hear a knock at the door. Turns out that Santa himself needs Dora's help!

Santa's reindeer have gotten colds and can't pull the sleigh to deliver gifts around the world. The man in the red suit is distressed that his Christmas surprises will be ruined!

Dora and her cousin Diego come to the rescue! Diego stays behind to take care of the reindeer (he even makes them special carrot soup!), while Dora, Boots, and her special backpack go with Santa to deliver the presents.

But who is pulling the sleigh? Why, eight of Dora's special star friends--including Supra, Ultra, Mega, Rocket, and Helada Star!

Colorfully illustrated, this tale follows Dora as she and her friends deliver presents all over the world--to the ocean dwellers, denizens of the mountaintops, small towns, big cities...even the rainforest!

Dora and company arrive home just as the sun begins to rise on Christmas day. They helped save Christmas!

But there's one more special present--one that a grateful Santa wants to give to Dora, Boots and a Diego.

Dora's Starry Christmas is a magical tale of a smart, resourceful girl who helps out Santa in his time of need. A great holiday story for bedtime--or anytime!

We checked this book out from the library and it looks like we'll be making it a permanent part of our book collection. My two-year-old loves it and she's learning the names of all the animals in Spanish too! The illustrations are colorful and the story is captivating for a little one who is obsessed with cakes!

Eight animals in the kitchen cooking up fun, and a giant mess! The book introduces Spanish vocabulary as each animal brings an ingredient for the cake. The story is cute for early readers, who will soon be reciting the book as they hurry to turn the pages.

Puerta Vallarta artist Lee Chapman is known for his colorful and whimsical style, and makes this book worthy of art collectors too!

I kept this book for my children. We occasionally enjoy rereading it now. The artwork is fabulous and the storyline is always entertaining. A must have for those who like the smell of Sancocho, Arroz con Dulce, Flan, Pescado de fillete, etc.

I really enjoyed reading "El Sancocho". It reminds me of stories that my mom tells me when she lived in Puerto Rico, she would visit her relatives on Saturdays. This Summer I visited my great grandmother in Puerto Rico and she made Sancocho for the entire family. It was delicious! Guess what? Her name is also Petrona, my mother couln't stop laughing when we read the story. It was great! By the way, the Sancocho recipe I will help my mom to make it at home. Does anyone have a biography on Author, Leyla Torres that you can share? Her illustrations are great. Some day I would like to be a Mark Brown or Leyla Torres.

High school senior Emily Goldberg has a perfect summer planned, the highlight of which is a cross-country road trip with her two best friends before they head off to separate colleges. But her plans are drastically altered when her maternal grandmother dies suddenly and Emily's family must fly to Puerto Rico to attend the funeral. Emily experiences culture shock when she finds herself in a crowded Catholic church with hundreds of relatives she didn't even know she had, including a cousin her own age named Lucy. When Emily's mother decides to remain in Puerto Rico for the rest of the summer to cope with her grief, Emily can't refuse her father's request that she stay with her. Feeling like an outsider (and the Jew from New York whom cousin Lucy refers to as "the nuyorican,"), Emily intends to quietly suffer through two months in a world so different from her own. But when Emily's mother finally opens up about her long unspoken past, Emily begins to reach out to her new relatives, and discovers the importance of connecting to both sides of her heritage. Emily's voice is authentic and witty, and her thoughts and observations will ring true with teens. Spanish words and phrases pepper the dialogue throughout this engaging novel. Ages 12-16.

It's the summer after her senior year, right before she and her friends split up for college, and Emily Goldberg has plans. A road trip across the country with her best friends, Izzy and Adrienne. Hanging out with her boyfriend, Nate, and maybe figuring out what they're going to do at the end of the summer. But whatever else they may have held, her plans definitely hadn't included standing in a hot, crowded funeral home in a country she'd never been in, at the funeral for a grandmother she'd never met. EMILY GOLDBERG LEARNS TO SALSA is a funny, heartwarming story about family and roots, and how learning about them can teach you about yourself.

Emily's mother is from Puerto Rico, but she'd left for college, met and married Emily's father, and never gone back. Emily's never met her grandmother, or her many aunts, uncles, and cousins, until she's forced to go down to Puerto Rico for the funeral. But at least it's only for a few days...until her mother has some sort of crisis and Emily is forced to stay with her.

Sharing a bedroom with her mother, stuck in a country where she barely speaks the language, and living in her ultra-religious Tia Rosa's house with an impossible set of rules, Emily is not looking forward to the rest of the summer. It doesn't help that her cousin Lucy thinks she's a pampered princess from the mainland, and that her boyfriend back home isn't returning her calls. But readers will laugh as she's thrust into one uncomfortable situation after another. Salsa dancing for a girl with two left feet? Cooking with lard? Driving in a country with no street signs? Emily faces them all, slowly getting dragged out of the safe world she's built for herself and connecting with the family she'd never known she'd missed.

Ostow writes with an authentic teenage voice, in clear and uncluttered prose. Her descriptions of a country unfamiliar to many of her readers will fascinate and intrigue them. Writing with respect for a culture different from that of the United States isn't easy, but Ostow pulls it off with style, drawing on her personal experiences. Recommended for readers looking for a fun and enjoyable read.

Reviewed by: Dena Landon

Este libro empieza con una oración: << Estas ahí, Dios? Soy yo, Margaret. >> Termina con otra. Y a través de sus paginas, Margaret (la protagonista) habla con Dios con frecuencia. Tiene mucha razón por que buscar consuelo: su vida esta cambiando (por primera vez en su vida Margaret se muda, de Nueva York a Nueva Jersey), su cuerpo no esta cambiando (Margaret tiene 12 años y esta impaciente para empezar a ser mujer), y su corazón esta confuso (Margaret quiere encontrar la religión organizada que le dejara sentirse mas cerca al Dios con quien habla).

La autora Judy Blume tiene un gran talento por escribir sobre las dificultades de una pre-adolescente con humor y simpatía. Como un año en la vida real, mucho se piensa, mucho pasa, y no todo se resuelve al final, pero la vida continua.

Para mi, lo mas frustrante del libro es que tiene muchos personajes que no son lo que parecen al principio-- el muchacho guapísimo con la personalidad troncada, la mejor amiga con la boca grande, la muchacha desdichada que tal vez no es tan mal como todos dicen, etc. -- pero la cuestión sobre la diferencia entre la percepción y la realidad no es examinada suficiente. Sin embargo, este libro ofrece una mirada honesta y entretenida sobre la vida y desarollo de una pre-adolescente. Aunque fue escrito originalmente en los 1970s, este cuento sigue resonando con las chicas de 10 - 12 años hoy en día.

Yo leí este libro en inglés cuando tenía 10 años. Era un libro importante para mi desarrollo personal. La autora Judy Blume entiende las niñas muy bien. Sabe lo que piensan mientras están entrando en la adolescenia. Al leer este libro una sabe que no está sola en este proceso. Tiene a Dios. Ahora compraré este libro para mi sobrina quien solo lee en español. Estoy muy feliz porque la traducción existe y la pude conseguir a través del internet.

This browseable and highly readable book is a fine addition to a circulating or reference collection. The attractive cover features six recognizable Hispanic Americans. A table of contents features bold page numbers, with an icon of the person and name. Attractive layover text portrays a timeline: Exploring the New World, Early American Business and Culture, A Changing Nation, An American Way of Life, Making Their Mark, and Into the Twenty-First Century. The concluding chapter tells more about "The Growind Hispanic American Population". An impressive lineup of persons from all walks of life are given informative and interesting summaries, including Cristina Saralegui (talk show host), Alberto Gonzales (US Attorney General), Ellen Ochoa (astronaut), Richard Rodrigues (writer) and Mario Molina (chemist--1995 Nobel Prize winner).

This book has been a fantastic resource and addition to my classroom. Students use it as part of their research for projects each semester. Simply wonderful!

Voice of Youth Advocates Magazine October 2002 VOYA
Growing up in San Jose, California, Arturo Rodriguez and his brothers and sister endured an abusive father, their parents' unhappy marriage, and their father's absence after he returned to Mexico. Rodriguez coped as best he could, but his drinking and drug use, in the wrong place at the wrong times led to his incarceration in California's prison system for young offenders. Against all odds, he put his past behind him, married and had a family, and worked hard to overcome injustices and start a successful business. After his retirement Rodriguez began writing about his life and his family. This book is sequel to East Side Dreams (Dream House, 2001, published in Spanish as Sueños del Lado Este. In this second autobiographical book, he writes about childhood pranks and misdeeds, his mother's near fatal illness, his parent's divorce, the birth of his first child, and how his parents even eventually became friends.
The writing here is unpolished but sincere in true, and the reminiscences and descriptions are vivid and true to life. Neither how he grew to understand his father and other relatives whom he loved despite their flaws. His message for young readers is clear. It is possible to survived and overcome injustices and hardships. Rodriguez maintains a Web site at www EastSideDreams. com and invites readers to visit, view his picture alum, and perhaps send him an e-message. He will answer.-Sherry York Voice of Youth Advocates Magazine

Forgotten Memories
Art Rodriguez
Dream House Press
Capably written for teenage readers grades 7 through 11 by Art Rodriguez, Forgotten Memories is the story of his having been a young man growing up amid difficult conflicts in San Jose, California. From life-threatening risks such as drowning and knife fights, to the cutting harshness of vituperative words, Forgotten Memories reflects the drama of learning how to survive, grow, and accept personal responsibility. Forgotten Memories is recommended as a powerful coming of age story. Also highly recommended is the Art Rodriguez previous memoir, East Side Dreams.

I have already read this book and I highly recommend it. This is an incredibly important book in this era when Latinas/os in general and Mexican-Americans and Mexican immigrants in particular are portrayed as an invading underclass that threatens the mythological "homogeneous" American society.

Bender debunks this mythology by pointing out that Latinas/os have been in what is today the United States from the earliest moments of the republic, and by presenting a well-researched and through portrayal of the misrepresentation of Latinas/os in American mass-media popular culture. He also identifies the long multicultural history of the United States, and how Latinas/os belong in and positively contribute to this varied cultural mosaic. His careful, thorough and occasionally painful analysis of the stereotypes about Latinas/os that are prevalent in American popular culture are important reminders that the struggle for equality is an ongoing process.

As Berta Esperanza Hernandez-Truyol, a colleague of mine at the University of Florida, wrote in a review of this book: "(Bender) proposes a multi-dimensional attack on the propagation of stereotypes by using law and litigation, voluntary industry standards and hiring practices, counter speech, and community-based protest as its tools...He beautifully and lovingly juxtaposes the ever-important familia as a countervailing force to the negative stereotyping propounded by the media ..." Bender uses the counter-narrative of his strong Mexican-American family upbringing to illustrate the importance of engaging negative stereotypes with positive personal and community examples.

Although he is a fellow law professor, Bender has avoided unnecessary jargon to write an eminently accessible book that will make powerful and enlightening reading for any well-educated person.

A breath-taking study of the effect of stereotypeson the Anglo mindset of Latino/as.Thank you very much. I am
focusing a law review article on the effect of humor, parody and satire as told by Latino comedians on the proliferation of negative Latino stereotypes.

Your work was extremely helpful in putting the entire project and process into perspective. An outstanding academic study of a very serious subject. Both thought provoking and well researched