Online Resources for Librarians Working with Latino Children

Locating Children’s Books About Latinos:

 Online Resources:

  1. BarahonaCenter for Study of Books in Spanish for Children & Adolescents – This comprehensive website has many reviews of children’s books either written in Spanish or written in English about Latinos. Isabel Schon, the director of the center, has a search engine that allows users to explore a database of Recommended Books in English About Latinos, as well as recommended Spanish titles. Users can even limit the search to locate only books set in a specific country.
  1. Kay Vandergrift’s children’s literature website – This comprehensive website includes a plethora of information about many aspects of children’s literature including a page devoted to quality books about Latinos. The page is entitled Powerful Hispanic and Latin-American Images Revealed in Picture Books can be found at:
  1. The Association of Library Service to Children (ALSC) has compiled a list of children’s books about “Growing Up Latino in the U.S.A.” which can be accessed at:
  1. Latino Children’s Book Awards Websites:

Pura Belpré Award -

Tomás Rivera Mexican-American Children’s Book Award -

Américas Award -

  1. Jean Sutherland provides information on how to use Latino children’s books in the classroom and lists several suggested children’s books about the Latino people and subcultures.
  1. New Horizons for Learning has numerous online articles concerning multicultural education, as well as a recommended booklist of children’s books about various cultures including Latinos.

Resources for Planning Latino Children’s Programs:

  1. Time to Read and El dia de los Niños/Day of the Child –Activity ideas and suggestions for Latino literacy and Dia programs are available at this website sponsored by the National Latino Children’s Institute and Verizon Wireless:
  1. Dígame un cuento/Tell Me A Story: Bilingual Library Programs for Children and Families– Created by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission,this useful online manual suggests bilingual story hour programs for Latino children and their familes. Available at:
  1. El dia de los Niños/El dia de los libros (Day of the Child/Day of the Book) Toolkit is a 100 page online document describing booktalks, author visits, storytelling, and other programming ideas that can be used to celebrate El dia de los Niños/El dia de los libros on April 30th. The comprehensive document is available at:
  1. What Works For Latino Youth (2000) is a 62 page document published by the U.S. Department of Education which details over 60 successful programs for Latinos youth across the nation, noting the effectiveness of each one. Available:
  1. According to Connections and Commitments: A Latino-based Framework for Early Childhood Educators (2002), there are four values in the Latino culture: familia (family), pertenencia (belonging), educación (education), and compromiso (commitment). This framework, which can be modified for libraries, discusses each of these values and how it relates to an early childcare program. Available for free at: .
  1. El dia de los Niños/El dia de los libros program information and planning guides. Available at:

Outreach Services:

¡Colorín Colorado! – Supported by the American Federation of Teachers, the National Institute for Literacy, and the U.S. Department of Education, this reading program provides information on the importance of reading in the lives of English Language Learner (ELL) children. Activities and links are available concerning children’s literature about Latinos, helping Latino families, how the library can help Latino families, etc. Librarians could consider hosting workshops for teachers and parents using the activities, the free 92 page booklet, and video clips available at:

Lee y serás (Read & You Will Be) – The program is a “multi-faceted, multi-year, reading initiative to inform, engage, and help prepare families and communities to support the reading development of Latino children. Lee y serás was created by Scholastic in partnership with the Latino Community Foundation, a National Latino Advisory Committee, Univision, and Verizon Communications” (Scholastic’s webpage, 2005). The program provides support for Latino parents with training about early literacy, offers educators resources that will create print-rich learning environments for Latino children, and supplies information to public agencies to support Latino literacy in the community. More information about the program is available at: or

Other Useful Resources:

Cooperative Children’s BookCenter – Provides statistics on the number of children’sbooks by and about Latinos published in the United States each year:

For further information on Latino Illustrator Robert Casilla and examples of his art, consult his website at:

Latino Illustrator Edward Gonzales’ Farolitos for Abuelo (1999) won the Américas Commended. For more information on his work visit:

For more information on Latina Illustrator Maya Christiana Gonzalez’s artwork and children’s books, consult:

Susan Guevara’s art has received many awards including Pura Belpré Award, the Américas Award, the Américas Commended, and the Tómas Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award. For more information, consult:

Yuyi Morales is an Latina artist, writer, puppet maker, and Brazilian folk dancer who grew up in Mexico. For more information on Morales, visit:

Simón Silva, a Chicano artist, spent much of his childhood working in the fields with other immigrant children. His vibrant gouache illustrations depict the everyday experiences of Latino farmers in the United States. His art has recieved the Pura Belpré Honor Award and the Américas Commended. For more information on Silva, consult:

Alma Flor Ada has written many novels, picturebooks, and collections about Latino children. More information on Ada can be found at:

Julia Alvarez, a Dominican American author and literature professor, was primarily a writer of adult fiction and poetry until the 2000 when she began writing fiction books for older children. More information on Alvarez can be found at: .

Veronica Chambers, an author from Panama, considers herself a secret Latina. She appears to be African American and growing up she felt alienated in the Latino community because of her physical appearance. Chambers has written numerous adult books and in the late 1990s began writing children’s books about her Latino roots. More information on this Latina author can be found at

Marisa Montes, a Puerto Rican American author and Writing Professor, has published several beginner chapter books about the Puerto Rican American culture. She created the Get Ready For Gabi series which is about a middle-class, third-grade, Puerto Rican American girl and the daily challenges she faces at school and growing up in the U.S. Gabi has been compared as a Latina Junie B. Jones. More information on Montes can be found at:

Pam Muñoz Ryan, a writer and educator of both Mexican and Spanish descent, has created a variety of books on many different topics including Mexican Americans. For more on Ryan, consult:

Esmeralda Santiago, a Puerto Rican American author, has written numerous teen novels recounting her experiences growing up in the U.S. as a newly arrived immigrant from Puerto Rico. Santiago has also edited two collections of Latino/a memoirs. For more on Santiago, consult:

Pat Mora, a Latina poet and children’s book author, has written many books for children with Latino characters. Mora is an advocate for Latino Children’s Literacy and creator of El día de los niños/El día de los libros. More information on Mora can be found at:

José-Luis Orozco, a native of Mexico City, has created thirteen collections of children’s songs, games, and rhymes available in song book, cassette, or CD formats. Three of his collections (De Colores, Diez Deditos, and Fiestas) have been illustrated by Elisa Kleven. Orozco’s music collections are available at .

Baby Abuelita company that produces dolls and books that celebrate that Latino culture:

Common Publishers & Distributors of Children’s Books about Latinos:

 Piñata Books -

 Cinco Puntos Press –

 Children’s Book Press –

 Lee & Low –

 Groundwood Books –

 Del Sol Books –

 A list of other publishers of children’s books about Latinos can be located

at:

*List submitted by Jamie Campbell Naidoo, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, School of Library and Information Science University of South Carolina - Davis College Columbia, SC 29208

March 2007