Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Mexican Modernism Educator Workshops

Join the Albuquerque Museum and The University of New Mexico Latin American & Iberian Institute for a series of free professional development workshops focused on the exhibit Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Mexican Modernism. The works of art in this exhibition epitomize the vitality and expressiveness of modern Mexican art. They were produced in a pivotal period in Mexican history, when the nation sought to redefine itself through political, social, and cultural reforms.

The Women of Mexican Modernism 
Friday, February 19 • 3:30 p.m. MST 
Register at: http://bit.ly/3iul0N5

Identity and Representation Through the Lens of Mexican Modernism 
Friday, March 5 • 3:30 p.m. MST 
Register at: http://bit.ly/38Y1Wnf

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Join us! LAII K-12 Afro-Latinidad Workshop Series

Join the LAII for the first installment in the Institute’s first-ever teacher workshop series on Afro-Latinidad! Throughout the series, we’ll discuss a variety of Afro-Latinx cultures across Latin America, a range of spiritual and cultural Afro-Latinx traditions, and a diverse selection of historical Afro-Latinx figures.

We’ll spend our first workshop discussing resources for curriculum about the Afro-Latinx traditions of Bomba (Puerto Rico), Santeria (Cuba), and Carnaval (Brazil). Lessons will include reading, video, music, and podcast components and will include content in both English and Spanish. Participants will receive certificates of professional development and curriculum resources.

Register for tomorrow’s workshop at: https://unm.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUudumvqTssHtNJjUUiJpPW-leXCKp8TH5s

All three workshops will complement one another but can also stand alone so please join us for as many as you can!

Workshop Schedule:

Afro-Latinx Cultural Traditions
Friday, October 23 • 3:30 PM
Register at: bit.ly/3iCmKT0

Significant Afro-Latinx Figures
Friday, December 4 • 3:30 PM
Register at: bit.ly/34qfLHQ

Zooming in on Afro-Latinx Culture in Mexico
Friday, February 5 • 3:30 PM
Register at: bit.ly/3cZ8GSx

For more information or questions, contact us at laiioutreach@unm.edu.

LAII K-12 Educator Newsletter: October

Happy fall, educators! We hope it’s been a great start to a new season for you and your students under these unusual circumstances. In our October newsletter, we share ideas and prepared lesson plans to help incorporate Hispanic and Latinx themes into your learners’ studies this month. ¡Disfrútalo! 

Join Us!: LAII K-12 Afro-Latinidad
Teacher Workshop Series

Join the LAII for the Institute’s first-ever teacher workshop series on Afro-Latinidad! Throughout the series, we’ll discuss a variety of Afro-Latinx cultures across Latin America, a range of spiritual and cultural Afro-Latinx traditions, and a diverse selection of historical Afro-Latinx figures. All three workshops will complement one another but can also stand alone so please join us for as many as you can!

Workshop Schedule:

Afro-Latinx Cultural Traditions
Friday, October 23 • 3:30 PM
Register at: bit.ly/3iCmKT0

Significant Afro-Latinx Figures
Friday, December 4 • 3:30 PM
Register at: bit.ly/34qfLHQ

Zooming in on Afro-Latinx Culture in Mexico
Friday, February 5 • 3:30 PM
Register at: bit.ly/3cZ8GSx

For more information or questions, contact us at laiioutreach@unm.edu.

Current Events

October 12 – Indigenous People’s Day

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a holiday that celebrates and honors indigenous peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures. This activity guide about Indigenous Peoples’ Day for high school students includes an article from the Smithsonian paired with in-depth questions to assess comprehension. Following is an interactive vocabulary exercise based on the Smithsonian article and another article about Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The second article from NPR gives students another perspective on the holiday and asks them to consider the two articles to complete an opinion writing activity. 

Download the Indigenous People’s Day Activity Guide

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November 1 & 2 – Día de los Muertos

Día de los Muertos is a day of commemoration – an opportunity for individuals to come together to focus on their loved ones who have passed away, and to honor, revere, and celebrate their memory. Far from the somber tones of many Western European or North American funeral services, Día de los Muertos is a time of celebration. It is believed that upon these two nights of the year the deceased may return and visit with the living.  In partnership with the National Hispanic Cultural Center, the LAII developed a curriculum guide to provide hands-on art activities and literacy exercises to bring Día de los Muertos to the classroom.

Download the Dia de los Muertos Activity Guide

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November 11 – Veterans Day

Veterans Day is a federal holiday to honor those who have served in the United States Armed Forces. Did you know Hispanics and Latinos make up the second largest minority group that serves as active-duty military? This activity guide for middle school students includes an article about Sergeant Leroy Arthur Petry, who received the medal of honored followed by comprehension questions. Students will then watch the medal of honor ceremony paying close attention to extra details the article did not offer. A class discussion follows and, lastly an at home research activity where students learn about a Latino veteran and then share their findings with classmates. 

Download the Veterans Day Activity Guide

We Hear You. Our Response to the Continued #MeToo Movement

Earlier this week, Mia Wenjen of Pragmatic Mom, someone whom we deeply admire, responded to our review of Matt de la Peña’s Carmela: Full of Wishes. She called our attention to de la Peña’s position as one of the accused in the #metoo movement that emerged in recent years among the world of children’s literature.

Rather than respond with another brief comment, we’re taking this as the long overdue moment to acknowledge the #metoo movement and its impact on our work with the Vamos a Leer blog.

While we imagine that many of you are familiar with it, here’s a bit of background. When the #metoo movement in children’s book publishing began in February 2018, prompted by Anne Ursu’s article, “Sexual Harassment in the Children’s Book Industry,” it led to open and difficult conversations across platforms.

A number of acclaimed authors and illustrators drew criticism as women and men began speaking out for the first time. Drew Himmelstein, writing a response piece published by SLJ a month later, observed that “Ursu’s story weaved a narrative that emphasized the patterns and power dynamics that enable sexual harassment at publishing houses, literary conferences and other children’s publishing settings. The piece painted a vivid picture of sexual harassment suffered by authors, illustrators, editors and others that is prevalent even in a female-dominated industry and feeds off of the power discrepancies endemic to the publishing world.”

As space was created to discuss the sexual harassment and unequal power dynamics within the publishing industry, difficult conversations ensued. Among the accused were individuals who had been long revered by many, and whose books held treasured spots on the shelves. This, though, is part of the power of this movement: that individual voices could be heard despite legendary reputations. Matt de la Peña was among those whose names were raised with concerns regarding his conduct toward women.

Similar to many others, de la Peña’s career is characterized by award-winning publications and programming, but these accomplishments should not drown out the voices of the women who have accused him, as Mia Wenjen of Pragmatic Mom pointed out. Thank you, Mia, for making sure that we heard their voices.

We stand with Mia and others working in the field of diversifying children’s literature, particularly for Latinx audiences. To read how others have engaged in this conversation, see De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children and Latinos in Kid Lit – bloggers who responded last year to the #metoo movement, and offered resources to learn more.

Going forward, we will do our best to acknowledge when an author or illustrator has been accused. We will annotate our past posts to include a link to this discussion and will do our best to avoid featuring those individuals in the future. We hear the voices of the men and women who have spoken out, and we stand with them.

~ Vamos a Leer

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2019

Dear Vamos a Leer friends and followers,

Feliz año nuevo! Here we are, ready to leap into 2019 with new reviews of children’s books and suggestions for how to enrich your classroom experience for all students.

We are excited to be back with you this term and sharing in the world of multicultural literature for children and youth, and no week seemed so perfect as this week, on the eve of Multicultural Children’s Book Day (MCBD) (1/25/19).

Now in its 6^th year, MCBD was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom, whose mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.

We’re pleased not just to celebrate MCBD from afar, but to actively participate with reviews. Stay tuned for Katrina’s discussion on that front! In the meantime, here’s more about the 6th annual MCBD:

MCBD 2019 is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board!

Honorary: Children’s Book Council, The Junior Library Guild, TheConsciousKid.org.

Super Platinum: Make A Way Media

GOLD: Bharat Babies, Candlewick Press, Chickasaw Press, Juan Guerra and The Little Doctor / El doctorcito, KidLitTV,  Lerner Publishing Group, Plum Street Press,

SILVER: Capstone Publishing, Carole P. Roman, Author Charlotte Riggle, Huda Essa, The Pack-n-Go Girls,

BRONZE: Charlesbridge Publishing, Judy Dodge Cummings, Author Gwen Jackson, Kitaab World, Language Lizard – Bilingual & Multicultural Resources in 50+ Languages, Lee & Low Books, Miranda Paul and Baptiste Paul, Redfin, Author Gayle H. Swift,  T.A. Debonis-Monkey King’s Daughter, TimTimTom Books, Lin Thomas, Sleeping Bear Press/Dow Phumiruk, Vivian Kirkfield,

MCBD 2019 is honored to have the following Author Sponsors on board!

Honorary: Julie Flett, Mehrdokht Amini,

Author Janet Balletta, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Josh Funk, Chitra Soundar, One Globe Kids – Friendship Stories, Sociosights Press and Almost a Minyan, Karen Leggett, Author Eugenia Chu, CultureGroove Books, Phelicia Lang and Me On The Page, L.L. Walters, Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Hayley Barrett, Sonia Panigrah, Author Carolyn Wilhelm, Alva Sachs and Dancing Dreidels, Author Susan Bernardo, Milind Makwana and A Day in the Life of a Hindu Kid, Tara Williams, Veronica Appleton, Author Crystal Bowe, Dr. Claudia May, Author/Illustrator Aram Kim, Author Sandra L. Richards, Erin Dealey, Author Sanya Whittaker Gragg, Author Elsa Takaoka, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo, Anita Badhwar, Author Sylvia Liu, Feyi Fay Adventures, Author Ann Morris, Author Jacqueline Jules, CeCe & Roxy Books, Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace, LEUYEN PHAM, Padma Venkatraman, Patricia Newman and Lightswitch Learning, Shoumi Sen, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Traci Sorell, Shereen Rahming, Blythe Stanfel, Christina Matula, Julie Rubini, Paula Chase, Erin Twamley, Afsaneh Moradian, Lori DeMonia, Claudia Schwam, Terri Birnbaum/ RealGirls Revolution, Soulful Sydney, Queen Girls Publications, LLC

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event.

Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts

A Crafty Arab, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Biracial Bookworms, Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Descendant of Poseidon Reads, Educators Spin on it,  Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joy Sun Bear/ Shearin Lee, Jump Into a Book, Imagination Soup,Jenny Ward’s Class, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Raising Race Conscious Children, Shoumi Sen, Spanish Playground

TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Make A Way Media:

MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual @McChildsBookDay Twitter Party will be held 1/25/19 at 9:00 pm.E.S.T. TONS of prizes and book bundles will be given away during the party ( a prize every 5 minutes!). GO HERE for more details.

FREE RESOURCES from MCBD:

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta

Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teacher-classroom-empathy-kit/

Hashtag:

Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

Hang in there! Back soon!

Hi all,

We’re busy behind the scenes planning new content to bring you, but it’s taking us longer than anticipated. Thanks for hanging with us! We’ll be back from the archives before long.

Happy reading,
Keira

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Photo by Eugenio Mazzone on Unsplash

International Day of Peace

Happy Peace Day, folks!

Today, September 21, is recognized as the International Day of Peace by the United Nations. As the UN describes it, “Established in 1981 by unanimous United Nations resolution, Peace Day provides a globally shared date for all humanity to commit to Peace above all differences and to contribute to building a Culture of Peace.” It’s a moment to pause and reflect on peace or to literally cease firing at one another.

In 2018, #PeaceDay overlaps with the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The two being intertwined, it seems an apt opportunity to talk about how peace can only be achieved by bringing about a world in which human rights are upheld for all, and human rights can only be upheld if we start from a place of mutual understanding, respect, and empathy. 

If you’re to broach this conversation with students, books can help shape their understanding – as can just getting to know one another beyond tropes and stereotypes.

• From Medium, a 2016 article on “Children’s Literature as a Vehicle for Peace” by Summer Edward, Editor-in-Chief of Anansesem.
  “…is there anything more important than creating a peaceful world for our children? If we are not here on earth to be vehicles for peace, to add our voice, our energy and our talents to the task of creating a better world, then what are we here for? Is social justice an elite tool to be wielded in the hands of a few acclaimed activists or is it a human imperative to which each individual is called? These are serious questions for each and every human being.” 

• “50 Books About Peace and Social Justice” from the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC).
• Social Justice Books. Run by Teaching for Change, this website provides “more than 50 carefully selected lists of multicultural and social justice books for children, young adults, and educators.”
• “Picture Books with a Message” from the Teach Peace Now website. This is a long list of carefully selected books on topics such as Anti-War and Peace Education,  Activism and Social Justice, Anti-Racism/Anti-Bias Books, Anti-Bullying, and Conflict Resolution | Kindness & Caring | Cooperation, among others.
• “30 Children’s Books About Diversity that Celebrate Our Differences” from Bookriot.
• “2018 We’re the People Summer Reading List.” This may be last but is certainly not least. It’s a curated collection of books that celebrate “diversity and all its intersections” put together “by and about IPOC (Indigenous and People of Color), people with disabilities, and people from the LGBTQ| community. Chosen books are thoroughly discussed, vetted and given second reads.”

Let us know in the comments if there are other resources you turn to for discussing peace, change making, empathy, and human rights with your students, or other ways you frame these discussions.

~ Keira

 

 

 

Welcome Back! Our Reading List for the Year

Dear friends,

We’re excited to be back with you for the start of a new school year. Stay tuned for introductions to our current blogging team (with some returning from last year and others as fresh faces), news from the world of children’s lit for teachers, book reviews in English and Spanish, curated bibliographies, and more!

Today (September 10th) we’ll get underway with the 2018-2019 round of our local Vamos a Leer book group here in Albuquerque. Starting Monday (9/10), we’ll get together every month at Red Door Brewing in downtown Abq to enjoy a pint and discuss our favorite quotes. Join us if you’re local!

Below are the books that we’re looking forward to sharing with you. The complete list is the product of some amazing summertime days spent scouring the shelves and sifting through many worthwhile titles. Here’s a printable flyer for quick reference. Enjoy!!

Cheers,
Keira

SEPTEMBER 10th: The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez • Lee & Low Books, 2017 •
Grades 3-6

From debut author and longtime zine-maker Celia C. Pérez, The First Rule of Punk is a wry and heartfelt exploration of friendship, finding your place, and learning to rock out like no one’s watching.

There are no shortcuts to surviving your first day at a new school–you can’t fix it with duct tape like you would your Chuck Taylors. On Day One, twelve-year-old Malu (Maria Luisa, if you want to annoy her) inadvertently upsets Posada Middle School’s queen bee, violates the school’s dress code with her punk rock look, and disappoints her college-professor mom in the process. Her dad, who now lives a thousand miles away, says things will get better as long as she remembers the first rule of punk: be yourself.

The real Malu loves rock music, skateboarding, zines, and Soyrizo (hold the cilantro, please). And when she assembles a group of like-minded misfits at school and starts a band, Malu finally begins to feel at home. She’ll do anything to preserve this, which includes standing up to an anti-punk school administration to fight for her right to express herself!

OCTOBER 8th: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez • Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2017 • Grades 9+

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian meets Jane the Virgin in this poignant but often laugh-out-loud funny contemporary YA about losing a sister and finding yourself amid the pressures, expectations, and stereotypes of growing up in a Mexican-American home.

Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents’ house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family.

But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga’s role.

Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed.

But it’s not long before Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect as everyone thought. With the help of her best friend Lorena, and her first love, first everything boyfriend Connor, Julia is determined to find out. Was Olga really what she seemed? Or was there more to her sister’s story? And either way, how can Julia even attempt to live up to a seemingly impossible ideal?

NOVEMBER 12th: The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya • Viking Books for Young Readers, 2017 • Grades 7+

Save the restaurant. Save the town. Get the girl. Make Abuela proud. Can thirteen-year-old Arturo Zamora do it all or is he in for a BIG, EPIC FAIL?

For Arturo, summertime in Miami means playing basketball until dark, sipping mango smoothies, and keeping cool under banyan trees. And maybe a few shifts as junior lunchtime dishwasher at Abuela’s restaurant. Maybe. But this summer also includes Carmen, a cute poetry enthusiast who moves into Arturo’s apartment complex and turns his stomach into a deep fryer. He almost doesn’t notice the smarmy land developer who rolls into town and threatens to change it. Arturo refuses to let his family and community go down without a fight, and as he schemes with Carmen, Arturo discovers the power of poetry and protest through untold family stories and the work of Jose Marti.

DECEMBER 10th: Wild Beauty by Anna-Maria McLemore • Feiwel & Friends, 2017 • Grades 7+

Love grows such strange things.

Anna-Marie McLemore’s debut novel The Weight of Feathers garnered fabulous reviews and was a finalist for the prestigious YALSA Morris Award, and her second novel, When the Moon was Ours, was longlisted for the 2016 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. Now, in Wild Beauty, McLemore introduces a spellbinding setting and two characters who are drawn together by fate—and pulled apart by reality.

For nearly a century, the Nomeolvides women have tended the grounds of La Pradera, the lush estate gardens that enchant guests from around the world. They’ve also hidden a tragic legacy: if they fall in love too deeply, their lovers vanish. But then, after generations of vanishings, a strange boy appears in the gardens.

The boy is a mystery to Estrella, the Nomeolvides girl who finds him, and to her family, but he’s even more a mystery to himself; he knows nothing more about who he is or where he came from than his first name. As Estrella tries to help Fel piece together his unknown past, La Pradera leads them to secrets as dangerous as they are magical in this stunning exploration of love, loss, and family.

JANUARY 14th: Step Up to the Plate, Maria Singh by Uma Krishnaswami • Tú Books, 2017 • Grades 3-5

Nine-year-old Maria Singh longs to play softball in the first-ever girls’ team forming in Yuba City, California. It’s the spring of 1945, and World War II is dragging on. Miss Newman, Maria’s teacher, is inspired by Babe Ruth and the All-American Girls’ League to start a girls’ softball team at their school. Meanwhile, Maria’s parents–Papi from India and Mama from Mexico–can no longer protect their children from prejudice and from the discriminatory laws of the land. When the family is on the brink of losing their farm, Maria must decide if she has what it takes to step up and find her voice in an unfair world. In this fascinating middle grade novel, award-winning author Uma Krishnaswami sheds light on a little-known chapter of American history set in a community whose families made multicultural choices before the word had been invented.

FEBRUARY 11th: Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera • Riverdale Avenue Books, 2016 • Grades 9 +

Juliet Milagros Palante is leaving the Bronx and headed to Portland, Oregon. She just came out to her family and isn’t sure if her mom will ever speak to her again. But Juliet has a plan, sort of, one that’s going to help her figure out this whole “Puerto Rican lesbian” thing. She’s interning with the author of her favorite book: Harlowe Brisbane, the ultimate authority on feminism, women’s bodies, and other gay-sounding stuff.

Will Juliet be able to figure out her life over the course of one magical summer? Is that even possible? Or is she running away from all the problems that seem too big to handle? With more questions than answers, Juliet takes on Portland, Harlowe, and most importantly, herself.

MARCH 11th: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo • HarperTeen, 2018 • Grades 7 +

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about.

With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out. But she still can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.

APRIL 8th: The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary by NoNieqa Ramos • Carolrhoda Lab, 2018 • Grades 9 + 

Macy’s school officially classifies her as “disturbed,” but Macy isn’t interested in how others define her. She’s got more pressing problems: her mom can’t move off the couch, her dad’s in prison, her brother’s been kidnapped by Child Protective Services, and now her best friend isn’t speaking to her. Writing in a dictionary format, Macy explains the world in her own terms—complete with gritty characters and outrageous endeavors. With an honesty that’s both hilarious and fearsome, slowly Macy reveals why she acts out, why she can’t tell her incarcerated father that her mom’s cheating on him, and why her best friend needs protection . . . the kind of protection that involves Macy’s machete.

Community Highlight: Anansesem Introduces Starred Review

Hi all,

The summer months may seem quiet at times, but really there’s a veritable buzz of activity.  In the world of children’s literature, authors, illustrators, publishers, reviewers, librarians, and even teachers (whose summer breaks are rarely ever actual breaks) are hard at work pushing for diversity, representation and accuracy. Anansesem is in this vanguard.

A brief aside for those unfamiliar with the organization. In their own words,

Anansesem is an online magazine devoted to Caribbean children’s and young adult literature written by both new and established writers. It was founded in 2010 to encourage the writing and illustration of Caribbean literature for and by young people. Major issues are published twice a year in .pdf format while guest posts and online-only features are published throughout the year. 

We are proud to have published some of the most distinctive and distinguished voices in Caribbean literature for young people. Previous contributors to the ezine have included Alix Delinois, Floella Benjamin, Ibi Zoboi, Itah Sadu, Lynn Joseph, Margarita Engle, Nadia L. Hohn, Olive Senior, Tracey Baptiste, Vashanti Rahaman and Verna Wilkins. 

The ezine invites submissions of Caribbean short stories, poetry and illustrations for children regardless of the geographical location of either the author or characters. We also publish book reviews, interviews and non-fiction. Submissions by Caribbean citizens get first priority.

We’re huge fans of Anansesem here at Vamos a Leer, and frequently turn to them to help contextualize and better understand the Caribbean literature that crosses our desks. Their latest announcement has us even more over the moon than usual. They’ve introduced starred reviews! This means that they’re putting the power of meaningful and informed reviews back in the hands of the Caribbean community. Read more about why they’re doing this, what they aim to achieve, and how they’ll go about it, in the announcement from Summer Edward, Anansesem editor-in-chief: Introducing the Anansesem Starred Review (And Giving Caribbean Books For Young People The Reviews They Deserve).

Their May issue (forthcoming) introduces starred reviews for Marti’s Song for Freedom / Martí y sus versos por la libertad by Emma Otheguy and Beatriz Vidal, The Field by Baptiste Paul and illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara, All the Way to Havana by Margarita Engle and illustrated by Mike Curato, and Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender. The issue also includes, among other items, spotlights on illustrators Lulu Delacre and Rosa Colán Guerra. Check their website for the full PDF (nominal cost associated) or a free sample of the publication.

Happy reading,
Keira

Catching our Breath and Celebrating the Américas Award

Dear fellow readers,

Summer is most certainly upon us now, with just about every classroom emptied of students and community libraries filled with youth reading summer book lists.

Here at our Vamos a Leer offices at the University of New Mexico, everything is extra quiet after a busy year. Some of our nearest and dearest student bloggers, including Alin and Kalyn, have graduated this term from their master’s program with us, and are moving on to new adventures; our last student blogger, Santiago, is thankfully still with us one more year, but at the moment is tthrough Mexico and Spain, among other places; our education consultant and blogger-in-chief, Katrina, is catching up to life after a wonderful year in the classroom; and I am spending these  days trying to catch up on reading and mapping out our titles for the coming year (it’s a hard life, eh?!). Yet even while this feels a bit calmer than the frenetic school year, there’s still much afoot just outside our doors in the world of children’s literature. The Américas Award was just announced in Spain, for example, as part of the annual congress of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), with four of our absolutely favorite writers acknowledged as the top recipients. Winners include Ibi Zoboi’s American Street and Duncan Tonatiuh’s DANZA! , and Honorable Mentions include Margarita Engle and Mike Curatos’s All the Way to Havana and Ruth Behar’s Lucky Broken Girl. Plus there’s a whole list of Commended Titles that are either already on our shelves (hello, Bravo!, Marti’s Forest World, Song for Freedom, Rubén Darío, Lucia la luchadora, among others) or just crying out to be read (The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora, The First Rule of Punk, Sing Don’t Cry, and more).

Here at Vamos we’re fortunate to support the Américas Award through our university’s involvement with the Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs, and we’re particularly excited to be a part of it in 2018 because the award is celebrating 25 years! Stay tuned for details about anniversary celebration activities during Hispanic Heritage Month.

All of which is to say, we’re still here! Drop us a line, give us some ideas, ask us some questions, and join us in delving into summer books.

Happy reading,
Keira