They call him Güero because of his red hair, pale skin, and freckles. Sometimes people only go off of what they see. Like the Mexican boxer Canelo Álvarez, twelve-year-old Güero is puro mexicano. He feels at home on both sides of the river, speaking Spanish or English. Güero is also a reader, gamer, and musician who runs with a squad of misfits called Los Bobbys. Together, they joke around and talk about their expanding world, which now includes girls. (Don't cross Joanna--she's tough as nails.)

Güero faces the start of seventh grade with heart and smarts, his family's traditions, and his trusty accordion. And when life gets tough for this Mexican American border kid, he knows what to do: He writes poetry.

Honoring multiple poetic traditions, They Call Me Güero is a classic in the making and the recipient of a Pura Belpré Honor, a Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award, a Claudia Lewis Award for Excellence in Poetry, and a Walter Dean Myers Honor.

Some kids have one job: to be a kid! Cecilia has two. When she isn't on the soccer field scoring goals, she's accompanying her parents to all kinds of grown-up places, like the DMV, the accountant's office, and the auto shop. She helps them translate from Spanish to English and from English to Spanish. It's an important job, and it can even be fun. It's also hard work.

Sometimes Cecilia's second job is so much responsibility, it feels like she'll split in two! Is it time for Cecilia to blow her whistle and call for a time-out?

Olivia Abtahi's clever text and Monica Arnaldo's charming illustrations capture a common aspect of life for immigrant and bilingual families while offering a model for teamwork that helps everyone feel understood.

What are cascarones: Cascarones are empty egg shells that have been colored, filled with paper confetti, and sealed!

The hunt is on to figure out who will be the reigning champ of Cascarones, and Toti knows that he has his family beat. His parents are too easy, they make old-school cascarones with confetti inside. His sister, Carlita wishes she could create cascarones like him, and his Abuela doesn't even stand a chance. When the day of Cascarones arrives, will Toti seize his moment or will it be scrambled when he learns someone has switched his cascarones for fake ones!

With a cheeky twist at the end, readers will laugh and relish at the antics of Toti and his family in this exuberant bilingual story.

From the creators of Paletero Man and La Guitarrista--Latin Grammy-winning musician Lucky Diaz and celebrated artist Micah Player--comes a rollicking and rhyming story about a boy and his family who have all the right tools to help their community.

No job is too big, no task is too small. We're the Fix It Familia. We help one, we help all!

Chavo and his family are always there to lend a helping hand. So when the main parade float crashes at a neighborhood fiesta, Chavo has the perfect plan to help his community. With a load of creativity and a truck full of love, nothing can stop Chavo's ideas from becoming reality!

This empowering tale of resilience, community, and the power of creativity is perfect for lovers of all things construction tools and trucks. Fans of Saturday by Oge Mora, The Artivist by Nikkolas Smith, and Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy, Theresa Howell, and Rafael López will also love this story.

The book includes Spanish words and phrases throughout and an author's note from Lucky Diaz about his inspiration behind the story.

It's a little girl's first trip to her papa's homeland, and she's wowed by all the amazing sights and sounds--and especially by the size of her enormous family! But she only knows a little Spanish, and it's hard not to be able to share jokes and stories. Fortunately, her relatives help her see that there are other ways they can connect, and soon she feels like she's right where she belongs: in the heart of a loving family, learning as she goes along.

Shining a spotlight on Mexican music, full of instruments and dancing, Adela's Mariachi Band is sure to be a hit!

Adela wants nothing more than to be a part of her family's mariachi band, but when she tries the different instruments, everything comes out wrong. La trompeta fizzles, la vihuela squeaks, and trying to dance makes Adela fall on her face. From watching her family, Adela knows that practice makes perfect, but can she find a way to be part of the band in the meantime?

A new go-to read-aloud favorite that comes complete with funny instrument sounds, a rhythmic text, and Spanish vocabulary. Strike up the band!

♦ [An] affirming reminder that age and size needn't be a barrier to following a passion.
--Shelf Awareness, starred review

Pura Belpré Honor Book for Children's Illustration

Abuelo, the Sea, and Me is a tender, heartwarming picture book that vividly explores intergenerational connections, family history, and the immigrant experience.

When this grandchild visits her abuelo, he takes her to the ocean. In summer, they kick off their shoes and let the cool waves tickle their toes. In winter, they stand on the cliff and let the sea spray prick their noses and cheeks. No matter the season, hot or cold, their favorite place to spend time together is the beach.

It's here that Abuelo is able to open up about his youth in Havana, Cuba. As they walk along the sand, he recalls the tastes, sounds, and smells of his childhood. And with his words, Cuba comes alive for his grandchild.

After an awful day at school (including a tragic but plausibly deniable mishap with a pudding cup), Izzy wants to be left alone. But it's Friday, and that means making tortillas with Lito.

As the mistakes pile up, they come tumbling out of Izzy--and Lito surprises her by saying everyone makes mistakes, and if she makes a tortilla out of her mistakes, he will EAT it.

Mmmm. . .spicy! And boogery! With a hint of courage. My favorite taco EVER!

Suddenly, the whole family is confessing and getting mistakes off their chests with a feast of mistacos! A delightfully silly picture book for fans of Greg Pizzoli and Oh, Olive! by Lian Cho.

After dark in a Mexican border town, a father holds open a hole in a wire fence as his wife and two small boys crawl through.

So begins life in the United States for many people every day. And so begins this collection of twelve autobiographical stories by Santa Clara University professor Francisco Jiménez, who at the age of four illegally crossed the border with his family in 1947.

The Circuit, the story of young Panchito and his trumpet, is one of the most widely anthologized stories in Chicano literature. At long last, Jiménez offers more about the wise, sensitive little boy who has grown into a role model for subsequent generations of immigrants.

These independent but intertwined stories follow the family through their circuit, from picking cotton and strawberries to topping carrots--and back again--over a number of years. As it moves from one labor camp to the next, the little family of four grows into ten. Impermanence and poverty define their lives. But with faith, hope, and back-breaking work, the family endures.

A jewel of a book--Rolando Hinojosa-Smith

These stories are so realistic they choke the heart.--Rudolfo Anaya

Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Honor - American Library Association (ALA)

Bilingual English/Spanish. In this Pura Belpré Honor-winning book, Carmen Lomas Garza tells the story of her childhood growing up in Kingsville, TX.

Family Pictures is the story of Carmen Lomas Garza's girlhood in Kingsville, Texas: celebrating birthdays, making tamales, picking cactus, and confiding to her sister her dreams of becoming an artist. These day-to-day experiences are told through fifteen paintings and stories, each focusing on a different aspect of Carmen's traditional Mexican American culture growing up.

The paintings and stories reflect the author's strong sense of family and community and demonstrate how her mother's love and hard work helped Carmen achieve her dream. For the hundreds of thousands of Mexican Americans, Carmen Lomas Garza offers a book that reflects their lives and cultural traditions. For others, this beautiful work will offer insights into a fascinating life and a rich community.

Sandra Cisneros provided the introduction and Pat Mora the afterword for this touchstone of Latino children's literature.

This book is bilingual (English and Spanish).

History is alive with magic. That's what zany Tía Xia is always telling cousins Jorge, Camila, and Siggy. Daredevil Jorge couldn't be more different than his cousins: Camila is a dreamer who adores animals and Siggy is an aspiring influencer who has an exclusive party to attend. And their aunt has many secrets, including a mysterious diamond-encrusted sword that Jorge definitely wasn't supposed to see.

But when the three stumble upon a time portal in their aunt's yard, they are transported back to 1862, a past filled with wonders--and dangers. To return to the present, they must race to deliver the sword to General Ignacio Zaragoza in time for the historic Battle of Puebla in Mexico: the foundation of the holiday Cinco de Mayo.

As their journey to Mexico takes them through the Civil War-era United States, the cousins see just how much US history has been shaped by Latin communities. They must find the power within themselves to make sure things happen as they're supposed to, without altering the past.

Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Honor - American Library Association (ALA)

Mismatched and fabulous Marisol McDonald celebrates her Peruvian and Scottish heritage.
Bilingual English/Spanish.

Marisol McDonald has flaming red hair and nut-brown skin. Polka dots and stripes are her favorite combination. She prefers peanut butter and jelly burritos in her lunch box. To Marisol, these seemingly mismatched things make perfect sense together.

Other people wrinkle their nose in confusion at Marisol-can't she just choose one or the other? Try as she might, in a world where everyone tries to put this biracial, Peruvian-Scottish-American girl into a box, Marisol McDonald doesn't match. And that's just fine with her.

A mestiza Peruvian American of European, Jewish, and Amerindian heritage, renowned author Monica Brown wrote this lively story to bring her own experience of being mismatched to life. Her buoyant prose is perfectly matched by Sara Palacios' mixed media illustrations.

As a boy prepares for his school's Spanish spelling bee, he asks his grandmother for help with some of the words he doesn't know how to spell yet. When she studies with him, she tells him how different things were back when she was a girl, when she was only allowed to speak English in school. This only inspires him to study even harder and make his family proud.

Based on stories author Michael Genhart heard from his mother as a child, Spanish is the Language of My Family is about the joy of sharing cultural heritage with our families, inspired by the generations of Latino people were punished for speaking Spanish and the many ways new generations are rejuvenating the language.

Simultaneously published in Spanish as El español es la lengua de mi familia, Michael Genhart's text is as touching as it is poignant, and it's paired with the striking artwork of multiple Pura Belpre Award-Winning Illustrator John Parra. Extensive material at the back of the book includes essays from the author about the history of Spanish suppression in U.S. schools and information about the Spanish alphabet.

A Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Award-Winning Book
A Chicago Public Library 'Best of the Best' Book
Nominated for the Louisiana Reader's Choice Award
A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of the Year
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
A Horn Book Fanfare Book
A Common Sense Media Best Book of the Year
A CSMCL Best Multicultural Children's Book of the Year
A Booklist Editors' Choice

Cuando Cecilia no está en el campo de futbol marcando goles, acompaña a sus padres a todo tipo de lugares para adultos, como la oficina de licencias de conducir, el despacho del contador y el taller de automóviles. Les ayuda traduciendo del español al inglés y viceversa. Es un trabajo importante e incluso puede ser divertido. También es muy agotador.

A veces, equilibrar sus dos trabajos (disfrutar su niñez y ser intérprete) implica tanta responsabilidad que Cecilia siente que se divide en dos! Es hora de que Cecilia sople su silbato y pida un tiempo muerto?

El ingenioso texto de Olivia Abtahi y las encantadoras ilustraciones de Monica Arnaldo capturan un aspecto común de la vida de las familias inmigrantes y bilingües y, al mismo tiempo, ofrecen un modelo de trabajo en equipo que ayuda a que todos se sientan comprendidos.

A sharp and heartfelt picture book debut about a young girl who has two jobs, one as a soccer-loving kid and another as a translator for her Spanish-speaking parents

Some kids have one job: to be a kid! Cecilia has two. When she isn't on the soccer field scoring goals, Cecilia accompanies her parents to all kinds of grown-up places that her teammates don't go to, like the DMV, the accountant's office, and the auto shop. She helps them translate from Spanish to English and from English to Spanish. It can be fun, but often it's really hard work.

Sometimes Cecilia's second job is so much responsibility, it feels like she'll split in two! That is, until she calls a time out.

Olivia Abtahi's clever text and Monica Arnaldo's charming illustrations capture a common aspect of life for immigrant and bilingual families while offering a model for teamwork that helps everyone feel understood.

This resonant and award-winning picture book tells the story of one girl who constantly gets asked a simple question that doesn't have a simple answer. A great conversation starter in the home or classroom--a book to share, in the spirit of I Am Enough by Grace Byers and Keturah A. Bobo.

When a girl is asked where she's from--where she's really from--none of her answers seems to be the right one.

Unsure about how to reply, she turns to her loving abuelo for help. He doesn't give her the response she expects. She gets an even better one.

Where am I from?

You're from hurricanes and dark storms, and a tiny singing frog that calls the island people home when the sun goes to sleep....

With themes of self-acceptance, identity, and home, this powerful, lyrical picture book will resonate with readers young and old, from all backgrounds and of all colors--especially anyone who ever felt that they don't belong.

2019 Nerdies Fiction Picture Book Award Winner Silver Medalist for Bank Street College of Education's Best Spanish Language Picture Books of the Year Named one of Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2019 A Mighty Girl's 2019 Book of the Year Named one of New York Public Library's Best Books for Kids 2019

Lyrical language and luminous illustrations. An ideal vehicle for readers to ponder and discuss their own identities. --Kirkus (starred review)

An enchanted, hand-in-hand odyssey [and] opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the many, many backgrounds, roots, histories, of those who live in these United States. --Shelf Awareness (starred review)

A much-needed title that is a first purchase for libraries and classrooms. --School Library Journal

This touching book addresses a ubiquitous question for children of color, and in the end, the closeness between the girl and Abuelo shows that no matter the questions, she knows exactly where she's from. --Booklist

Although the book begins as a gentle riposte to narrow cultural and ethnic categorizations, its conclusion reaches out to all readers, evoking both heritage and the human family. --Publishers Weekly

A Spanish-language edition, De dónde eres?, is also available.

A gift from Mexico alights on María Mariposa's windowsill on her first day of school in a brand-new country: Una mariposa! / A butterfly! And with the butterfly, in comes magic. Filled from her toes to her new butterfly wings with memories of home, María knows exactly who she is. But when everything at school is different and strange, doubt begins to make María's confidence fade away. The place she comes from, the community she loves, the magic inside her . . . does any of it really belong in her new life?

With courage and compassion, this picture book confronts the most difficult moments--and feelings--of being new, sweeping readers up in a powerful celebration of the magic we each contribute to the world.

TIMELY, REASSURING MESSAGE: This sweet story offers an inspiring, reassuring message, just right for kids facing the first day of school or a big move.

TEACHES SELF-LOVE AND EMPATHY: This book emphasizes the importance of courage, empathy, and friendship. Young readers will be encouraged to embrace new challenges with resilience and a strong sense of their own self-worth.

A STORY OF IMMIGRATION AND TRANSITION: This beautiful, lightly bilingual picture book speaks to the experiences of children who have moved or immigrated. A rich celebration of Mexican immigrant identity, it will resonate with any reader going through a time of transition and change.

A GREAT READ-ALOUD: The positive messages and gorgeous illustrations will spark imagination and inspire children to discover and express their own inner magic. It's a perfect classroom or library read-aloud.

Perfect for:

• Parents, grandparents, and caregivers
• Educators and librarians looking for diverse and bicultural children's books
• Kids moving to new schools or houses
• Anyone seeking books that celebrate family heritage and individuality

Alfonso and Abuela love to spend Saturday afternoons finding books at the library and reading them together beneath their favorite oak tree. But when their beloved tree is cut down, can Alfonso transform the stump into something magical for their whole community--their very own neighborhood library?

This uplifting story from award-winning poet Lissette Norman and illustrator Jayri Gómez shows us how to turn an unexpected setback into a happy ending: one with a beautiful sky-blue door and shelves filled with books for everyone to enjoy.

In her first middle-grade novel, award-winning picture book author and illustrator Angela Dominguez tells a heartwarming story based on her own experiences growing up Mexican-American.

Stella Díaz loves marine animals, especially her betta fish, Pancho. But Stella Díaz is not a betta fish. Betta fish like to be alone, while Stella loves spending time with her mom and brother and her best friend Jenny. Trouble is, Jenny is in another class this year, and Stella feels very lonely.

When a new boy arrives in Stella's class, she really wants to be his friend, but sometimes Stella accidentally speaks Spanish instead of English and pronounces words wrong, which makes her turn roja. Plus, she has to speak in front of her whole class for a big presentation at school! But she better get over her fears soon, because Stella Díaz has something to say!

Stella Díaz Has Something to Say introduces an infectiously charming new character with relatable writing and adorable black-and-white art throughout. Simple Spanish vocabulary is also integrated within the text, providing a bilingual element.

2019 Sid Fleischman Award winner
A 2019 Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Notable Children's Book
A New York Public Library Best Book for Kids 2018
Top 10 Showstopper Favorite
One of Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Books 2018

Lucas goes to the perfect school in the perfect neighborhood. And when he gets perfect grades, he feels like he fits right in.

But life at home is not so perfect. His dad's old work truck keeps breaking down. His mom works long hours at her job at the diner. And Lucas has to share his small room with his baby sister.

One night, Lucas is awakened by a strange light, which he follows all the way to the place where the perfect people live. Everything there is more beautiful than he could have imagined. But the longer Lucas stays, the more he wonders what it really means to be perfect. Does it mean never making mistakes? Does it mean rejecting his bustling neighborhood and his loving family? And what's so great about being perfect, anyway?

From award-winning talents Matt de la Peña and Paola Escobar comes this heartwarming, uplifting picture book about a boy, at home in two worlds, discovering what it means to be at home with himself.