Hispanic/Latinx Cultural Book Reviews

 This blog post and information was created for a class at Sam Houston State University.

Morales, Yuyi. 2018. DREAMERS. New York: Neal Porter Books. ISBN: 9780823440559

 Plot Summary: Dreamers tells the story of a mother and a son immigrating from Mexico and finding their way as immigrants and new citizens in America. They discover the public library where they can take books off the shelf for free and utilize those books to better their lives. The mother and son see themselves in the stories and use then to learn how to read and write English.

 

Critical Analysis:

          What a great story Dreamers is that is easy to read and will resonate with a variety of readers.   A lot of readers do not think about the process of immigrants coming to the United States.  They might dismiss the fact that a lot of immigrants don’t know how to read or write English.  It’s very scary.  Morales explains in very simple terms the journey of coming from Mexico to the United States including finding a new home, making mistakes, and ultimately stumbling upon the public library.  Morales weaves in some Spanish words that the reader may not know the true meaning, but the reader is able to use context clues to figure out the words. 

          Morales offers vibrant and colorful illustrations to tell her story.  At the beginning of the story, the only colorful pieces to her illustrations are the mother and the son. The reader feels a sense of fear and darkness as they encounter their new world (the United States), but as the story goes on, more pieces of the illustrations are laced with bright colors.  This is a great way to show the reader that as the mother and the son becoming more entwined with the American culture and living, they are becoming happier and are more hopeful for the future. There are also pieces of their Mexican culture on every page including a guitar from home, a Mexican skeleton, and a Mexican dog.

Review Excerpts:  

Kirkus Starred Review: “A resplendent masterpiece.”

 Publishers Weekly Starred Review: “Many books about immigration describe the process of making new friends and fitting in; this one describes what it’s like to become a creative being in two languages, and to learn to love in both.”

 Connections:

          When learning about the immigration process, this book is a great addition.  A lot of picture books or young adult chapter books that share immigration focus on the main character trying to make friends and navigate school.  Dreamers gives the reader a new outlook on learning how to read, write, and understand new rules.

          Readers can use Morales’s story, which she shares at the back of the book, to research her story further and how she came to America.  Students could also research their own families’ histories.  Each student may not necessarily be an immigrant, but somewhere in their family line a relative had to have come from another country.  This would give a great opportunity for students to share and learn about other cultures.

Mora, Pat. 2007. YUM! MMMM! QUE RICO!. Illus. by Rafael Lopez. New York: Lee & Low Books Inc. ISBN 9781584302711

 Plot Summary: This book shares information about America’s favorite foods before it was divided into different countries including peanuts, pineapples, chocolate, and many others.  Mora presents each food in a Haiku poem and then offers a small paragraph of factual information about the food sharing where the food originated from, how the food is used, and other fun facts.

Critical Analysis: This book takes into account not only foods that are native to one specific Hispanic country, but offers light to foods from a variety of Hispanic countries.  Presenting the initial information in the form of a Haiku brings a new form of writing to the reader.  Instead of stopping there, Mora offers the reader more information with the factual paragraph on each page. 

          Lopez adds to the appeal of this book with his vibrant and colorful illustrations.  His illustrations really show the joyful and fun side of the Hispanic culture with the smiling foods, and happy children.  He includes Hispanic characters on almost every page that look native to the country where the food originates.  By the end of the story, the reader feels like he or she understands a little more about the origin of some of the most popular foods that we eat in America.

Review Excerpts:

Kirkus Review: “More interesting as social science than as poetry, but visually gorgeous.”

 Amazon: “Exuberant illustrations bring to life the delicious spirit of the haiku, making Yum! ¡Mmm! ¡Qué Rico! America's Sproutings an eye-popping, mouth-watering treat. Open it and dig in!”

 Connections: This book would be a great way to introduce Haiku poetry to students of all ages.  Students could work in groups to create their own Haiku poems or work individually.  Classes could create their own books like Yum! MmMm! Que rico! by writing their own Haiku poems, completing some research on the poem topic, and then writing a factual paragraph to accompany the poem.  Completing a project like this would be a great cross-curricular activity to touch on Social Studies, Writing, Science, and Language Arts.

Medina, Meg. 2013. YAQUI DELGADO WANTS TO KICK YOUR ASS. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 9780763671648

Plot Summary: Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass shares the story of Piddy Sanchez who moves to a new school and has an enemy from day one.  Piddy struggles to figure out why Yaqui Delgado is mad at her and wants to hurt her.  Piddy works very hard in school and works weekends at a salon shop to save money for extra clothes and things her mom can’t afford.  Yaqui ends up attacking Piddy while Yaqui’s friends record the beating and putting it online for all the school to view. Piddy ends up down a road where she skips school, lets her grades plummet, and she must decide whether to tell the school administration about Yaqui’s beating.  In the end, Piddy finds out more about herself and discovers help where she didn’t think she would have found help.

Critical Analysis: Despite some of the foul language, starting with the title, this is a great novel that many teens will relate.  Yes, this story is primarily about the bullying incidents and how teens should or shouldn’t handle these types of situations, but Medina does an incredible job touching on other issues like body image, teen friendships, and teen romances.  These are all current issues that teens seem to be dealing with at even earlier ages than ten years ago.

          Along with attacking pressing teen issues, Medina weaves in a variety of Spanish words that the reader may not understand but can deduce meaning based on context clues.  Piddy’s mother’s expectations of her actions, and the way she dresses showcase many Hispanic values and traditions.

Review Excerpts:

Kirkus Starred Review: “Far more than just a problem novel, this book sheds light on a serious issue without ever losing sight of its craft.”

Goodreads:  “In an all-too-realistic novel, Meg Medina portrays a sympathetic heroine who is forced to decide who she really is.”

Connections: A large majority of young adults will be able to find value in this novel.  Finding oneself and navigating challenges as a young adult are very difficult.  Medina highlights resources within schools and home that students will be able to utilize to help them solve their problems. 

          After enjoying this novel, students would also enjoy Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina where she tells the story of a sixth-grader who is trying to navigate other difficult changes with friends and family.

Engle, Margarita. 2013. THE LIGHTNING DREAMER: CUBA’S GREATEST ABOLITIONIST. Boston/ New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN: 9780544541122

Plot Summary: The Lightning Dreamer tells the story of Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, nicknamed Tula, who is an abolitionist in Cuba in the nineteenth century.  Since opposing slavery was so risky, using free verse poetry was a way to share your story, but in a hidden way.  Although the story is slightly fictionalized, Engle includes poems written by Tula, Tula’s brother, the housekeeper, orphans, and nuns who try to give Tula an outlet through books in the library.  Part of the experiences Tula faces include being married off at the age of 14 to better her family’s life.

Critical Analysis: Engle writes in free verse poetry using a variety of characters’ perspectives.  First, using poetry to write about a poet showcases to the reader what the main character might have been feeling during his or her life.  Second, providing the reader with a range of viewpoints helps the reader to better visualize this time in history because the reader sees and hears from all areas.  Free verse poetry is a great way to engage young readers because they can better understand the author’s intentions. 

          As hard as it might be for young readers of today to understand, it’s very interesting to include a forced betrothment because it’s just one of many traditions that might have been encountered in the Cuban culture during this time period.

Review Excerpts:

Goodreads: “In passionate, accessible verses of her own, Engle evokes the voice of this book-loving feminist and abolitionist who bravely resisted an arranged marriage at the age of fourteen, and was ultimately courageous enough to fight against injustice.”

Kirkus Review: “Fiery and engaging, a powerful portrait of the liberating power of art.

Connections: Most young adults are taught that slavery is an issue and an act that only occurred in early American history.  This book is a great introduction to slavery in another country. Students could work in groups to research slavery in Cuba, how it started, if and how it ended, and enjoy learning about heroes like Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda who used writing to make a difference. 

          Students would also enjoy The Poet Slave of Cuba, also by Margarita Engle.  Another book by Margarita Engle that students would enjoy is The Wild Book where the main character struggles with dyslexia and navigates how to learn with this learning difference.