The modern world is diverse and with diversity, people must learn to understand one another’s cultural values.  This annotated bibliography explores the topic of multicultural relationships in young adult literature with a special emphasis on Latin and Hispanic culture.  Creating an annotated bibliography of top quality young adult titles that show the development of friendship and an understanding of cultural and ethnic lines provide young readers with an opportunity to explore and appreciate the world of various cultural groups.  Books selected in this bibliography depict in a real way the Hispanic and Latin cultural groups in regards to family, friends, and society. The focus group for this project includes students in ninth through twelfth grade.  All the titles within this bibliography have received an award or have starred reviews from a professional journal.  Within this bibliography, the selected titles are in four categories.  The categories are fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and short stories.

 

Fiction

 

1. Alvarez, Julia. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. 1991. North Carolina: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. ISBN 0-945575-57-2

 

This is the story of the four Garcia sisters and their adjustment to life in America after they and their family flee from the Dominican Republic. . How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents is a young adult novel that offers the reader a perspective on immigration and families as well as a look at America through the eyes of a Hispanic family. (Library Journal starred review)

 

2. Alvarez, Julia. Before we were Free. 2002. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0-375-91544-3

 

In this pitch-perfect narrative, twelve-year-old Anita shares the events in her family’s life in 1960 during the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic.  Told in the present tense and sometimes in diary form, readers will find Anita a very believable character. (Horn Book starred review; Publishers Weekly starred review)

 

3. Cofer, Judith Ortiz. The Meaning of Consuel. 2003. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. ISBN 0-374-20509-4

 

This is a coming of age story about a girl named Consuelo.  Consuelo is the eldest of two daughters in a 1950s Puerto Rican family.  In this story, Consuelo is a keen observer that works desperately to keep her family together during a difficult family period. (2003 Americas Award Winner; Booklist starred review)

 

4. Hernandez, Jo Ann Yolanda. White Bread Competition. 1997. Texas: Pinata Books. ISBN 1-55885-210-7

 

Luz a ninth-grade student in San Antonio wins a spelling bee competition.  Her success triggers a variety of emotions among family, friends, and the broader community. (1997 Americas Honor Book)

 

5. Herrera, Juan Felipe. Crash Boom Love. 1999. New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0-8263-2114-3

 

After his father leaves home, sixteen-year old Cesar Garcia, living with his mother, struggles through the painful experience of growing up as a Mexican American high school student. (1999 Americas Book Award; Booklist starred review)

 

6. Jimenez, Francisco. Breaking Through. 2001. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-34248-6

 

This story is a sequel to The Circuit.  It is the story of fourteen-year-old Francisco who moved from Mexico to California ten years ago and is still working in the fields but fighting to improve his life and complete his education. (ALA Notable/Best Books; Booklist starred review; Horn Book starred review; 2002 Pura Belpre Honor book)

 

7. Martinez, Floyd. Spirits of the High Mesa. 1997. Texas: Arte Publico Press. ISBN 1-55885-1984

 

Told from the viewpoint of the young protagonist, Flavio, Spirits of the High Mesa is a moving coming-of-age novel set in rural New Mexico.  In this story, Flavio is torn between the seductiveness of progress and new technology and his loyalty to village traditions so steadfastly preserved by his grandfather, El Grande. (1998 Pura Belpre Honor Book)

 

8. Martinez, Victor. Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida: A Novel. 1996. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-06-026704-6

 

This is a coming of age story about a young protagonist named Manuel (Manny) Hernandez.  Manny is the second child of four children born to poor Mexican American parents.  His father is an alcoholic and only adds to the families struggles as Manny tries to help his family and find his way. (Horn Book starred review; Publishers Weekly starred review; 1998 Pura Belpre Award) 

 

9. Osa, Nancy. Cuba 15: A Novel. 2003. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 0-385-90086-4

 

Violet Paz, a Chicago high school student, reluctantly prepares for her upcoming "quince," a Spanish nickname for the celebration of a Hispanic girl's fifteenth birthday.

 (ALA Notable/Best Books; Booklist starred review; Horn Book starred review; Pura Belpre Honor Book)

 

10. Soto, Gary. The Afterlife. 2003. San Diego: Harcourt. ISBN 0-15-204774-3

 

Seventeen-year-old Chuy is dead.  He mistakenly complimented a young man’s shoes in the bathroom of a club and the dude killed him.  The story does not end there, but rather it is actually the beginning.  Soto takes the reader on a humorous simplistic journey of Chuy’s afterlife.  Chuy visits family and friends and reflects on his past life. (2003 Americas Commended List; Booklist starred review)

 

11. Soto, Gary. Buried Onions. 1997. San Diego: Harcourt. ISBN 0-15-201333-4

 

Life is struggle for nineteen-year-old Eddie.  When he drops out of college, he struggles to find a place for himself as a Mexican American living in a violence-infested neighborhood of Fresno, California. (ALA Notable/Best Books; Horn Book starred review)

 

 

Nonfiction

 

1. Ada, Alma Flor. Under the Royal Palms: A Childhood in Cuba. 1998. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0-689-80631-0

 

The author shares stories about growing up in Cuba in the 1940s in this autobiography. (2000 Pura Belpre Award)

 

2. Atkin, S. Beth. Voices from the Field: Children of Migrant Farm Workers Tell Their Stories. 1993. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-05633-2

 

This book presents through photographs, poems, and interviews with nine children the hardships and hopes of Mexican American migrant farm workers and their families. (1994 Consortium of Latin American Studies Program (CLASP) Commended Children’s Book)

 

3. Villasenor, Victor. Walking Stars: Stories of Magic and Power. 1994. Texas: Arte Publico Press. ISBN 1-55885-118-6

 

This is an autobiographical collection of stories about the author growing up as the son of Mexican immigrants in California. (1994 Consortium of Latin American Studies Program (CLASP) Commended Children’s Book)

 

4. Winick, Judd. Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I learned. 2000. New York: Henry Holt. ISBN 0-8050-6403-6

 

Winick pays tribute to the life Pedro Zamora, his roommate on MTV’s show The Real World.  In this graphic novel, Winick addresses the moral depth of friendship, the molding processes of family, the attention required to discern and pursue a vocation, HIV education, acceptance of gay-identifying youth by themselves and by their families, and the role of death in the human life cycle. (ALA Notable/Best Books; Kirkus starred review; Publishers Weekly starred review; School Library Journal starred review)

 

 

Poetry

 

1. Carlson, Lori M.,ed. Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing Up Latino in the United States. 1994. New York: Henry Holt and Co. ISBN 0-8050-3135-9

 

Collection of poetry by poets of Latin American heritage, which focus on a variety of cultural issues such as an immigrant's frustration at not being able to speak English, to the violence suffered both within and outside of the ethnic community, to the familiar adolescent desire to belong, and the celebration of life’s simple joys. (ALA Notable/Best Books; Horn Book starred review; School Library Journal starred review)

 

2.  Herrera, Juan Felipe. Laughing Out Loud, I Fly: Poems in English and Spanish. 1998. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-06-027604-5

 

The author has written a series of poems in both English and Spanish celebrating his childhood. (2000 Pura Belpre Honor Book)

 

Short Stories

 

1. Cofer, Judith Ortiz. An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio. 1995. New York: Orchard Books. ISBN 0531-06897-8

 

This book presents 12 stories centered on young people living within a Puerto Rican neighborhood in New Jersey as they deal with every day issues and living in two cultures. (1995 Americas Honor Book)

 

2. Jimenez, Francisco. The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child. 1999. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-97902-1

 

Twelve semi-autobiographical stories focus on a migrant family and their experiences moving through labor camps, facing hardships and poverty.  The stories explore how through faith, hope, and hard work, the family perseveres. (ALA Notable/Best Books; Booklist starred review)

 

3. Soto, Gary. Baseball in April and Other Stories. 2000. San Diego: Harcourt. ISBN 0-15-202573-1

 

This book is a collection of eleven short stories that focus on the everyday adventures of young adult Hispanic people growing up in Fresno, California. (1996 Pura Belpre Narrative Honor Book)

 

4. Soto, Gary. Local News. 1993. San Diego: Harcourt. ISBN 0-15-248117-6

 

A collection of thirteen short stories about the everyday lives of Mexican American young people in California’s Central Valley.

 

 

Selection Resources

 

American Library Association. Book/Media Awards. 2004. Internet. Available from

http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=bookmediaawards accessed 15 November 2004.

 

Amazon.com. 2004. Internet. Available from http://www.amazon.com accessed 29 November 2004.

 

Books in Print. 2004. Internet. Available from http://www.booksinprint.com/bip/ accessed 1 December 2004.

 

Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. 2004. Internet. Available from http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CLACS/outreach/pastwinners.html accessed 1 December 2004.

 

Follett Library Resource. 2004. Internet. Available from http://www.titlewave.com/ accessed 15 November 2004.

 

Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. 2004. Internet. Available from http://www.sru.edu/pages/8912.asp accessed 15 November 2004.