9 Must-Read Books That Celebrate Hispanic and Latinx Voices

Child prodigy, Teresa Carreño, achieved a once in a lifetime opportunity when her love for music was discovered by Abraham Lincoln. Based on a true story, Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln tells how young Teresa rose to fame after her family migrated from Venezuela.

This inspiring story follows Teresa as she helped her family define their American Dream and overcome new challenges, all while doing what she loved most: playing the piano.

This Randolph Caldecott Selection explores the sentimental meanings behind our names. Alma, whose full name is Alma Sofia Esperanza José Pura Candela, is embarrassed by her long name and decides to ask her father about it. Yet, when her father explains the various people her name honors, Alma recognizes the beautiful significance of her long name.

Full of warmth, this book helps kids realize that their unique attributes make them special and should be celebrated.

With beautifully illustrated pictures, My Papi Has a Motorcycle celebrates the love between a daughter and her father. Growing up in a predominantly Mexican-immigrant working-class town in California, Daisy sees the people that have shaped her hometown, like the mailman and the corner store owners, as she zooms around on the back of her papi’s motorcycle. While things are changing in her neighborhood, Daisy realizes that some things can never change. 

This moving story will encourage young readers to explore their own culture and ties with their hometown.

Young Mia is ecstatic when she learns her grandmother is moving from her sunny house to live with Mia and her parents in the city. As Mia prepares for her grandmother’s arrival, she thinks of all of the fun activities they will do together but forgets one important thing: her grandmother doesn’t understand English, and Mia doesn’t know Spanish! 

This endearing story tells how a family’s love can surpass language barriers and connect new generations to their ancestral roots.

Based on actual events, this historical fiction novel tells the stories of Esperanza and the struggles she and her family go through after the Mexican Revolution. Bandits threatening wealthy landowners, like Esperanza’s family, force her family to seek economic opportunities in the United States. 

As field workers in California, Esperanza tells of their stories and struggles by the fruit and vegetable seasons that have passed. If you are looking for a book that will touch your heart and captivate your senses, Esperanza Rising is the one for you.

A personal and heart-warming story, Efren Divided guides us through a twelve-year-old’s sudden transition into adulthood. When his family is separated by U.S. immigration policies and faces deportation, Efren’s world is turned upside down. The immediacy of his situation forces him to become an adult overnight and fight to get his family back.

While remaining deeply honest, this fictional book emphasizes the realities for many American families on issues surrounding immigration policies, family, and poverty.

Sisters Camino and Yahaira Rios are brought together after their father tragically dies on a flight from New York City to the Dominican Republic. As they cope with their father’s loss and mourn his memory, they discover more about his past and the secrets left uncovered. 

With occasional references in Spanish, the reader will be immersed in the Dominican culture and its love and grief.

The Dreamer follows the early experiences of Neftali Reyes, a boy who grows into the Nobel Prize winning poet, Pablo Neruda. Reyes is spellbound by the wonders of the natural world but is continuously ridiculed by his authoritarian father. Despite the critiques, Reyes is drawn to an unexplainable calling. 

This novel will keep you on the edge of your seat as you get transported to a world full of magical realism and poetry.

In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, is a work of historical fiction based on the true story of the four Mirabal sisters: Patria, Mariá Teresa, Minerva, and Dedé’s. These four women made history in the late 20th century by fighting for freedom under Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. 

In this powerful narrative, Alvarez places us years back as we read the effects of Trujillo’s dictatorship and the women who bravely fought against it. Through their unwavering courage, we witness their strength in face of deep adversity.