His children’s books’ subjects range from the lighthearted such as snowball fights and comedic cleaning mishaps to the serious including the struggles of families caught in revolutionary times and starting over in a new country.  And so to begin the new year, we at Hispanic Outlook are happy to feature the works of D. H. Figueredo in our first School Library of 2018.  Teacher’s Guides and other teaching tools are courtesy of Lee & Low Books. 

“WHEN THIS WORLD WAS NEW”
Lee & Low Recommended Grade Level: 2
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
ISBN-13: 978-1584301738
Teacher’s Guide: https://www.leeandlow.com/books/when-this-world-was-new/teachers_guide

It was Danilito's first day in America. He and his parents have just made a long, exhausting move from the Caribbean to New York City. Danilito is scared. He has heard that some Americans are not friendly to foreigners. In addition, he does not speak any English—only Spanish. His parents have worries, too. They will have to find new jobs, a new home and adjust to the new surroundings. This was going to be their first cold winter. Danilito's worries disappear the next morning, however, when he wakes up and Papa leads him on a magical trip of discovery. 

“THE ROAD TO SANTIAGO”
Lee & Low Recommended Grade Level: 2
Publisher: Lee & Low Books 
ISBN-13: 978-1620143179
Information on Book’s Historical Setting: https://www.leeandlow.com/books/the-road-to-santiago/interviews
Based on Figueredo’s experiences growing up in Cuba in the late 1950s, “The Road to Santiago” tells the story of Alfredito and his parents and their annual Christmastime trip to their relatives in Santiago. But this year things are different. The government is fighting a war against the rebels, and the trains aren’t running. Alfredito worries that they'll miss the family's traditional Christmas celebration and all the special foods. Alfredito's father enlists the help of a farmer, and they set out down the bumpy road. Little does Alfredito know, they are embarking on a great adventure he will never forget. 

“CLEANING DAY”
Lee & Low Recommended Grade Level: 1
Publisher: Bebop Books, an imprint of Lee & Low Books
ISBN-13: 978-1584309550
Teacher’s Guide: https://www.leeandlow.com/books/cleaning-day/teachers_guide
It’s cleaning day, and one look around the house shows it’s not a moment too soon.  There are newspapers, as well as plates of food on a table. The family dog’s fur is all over a red chair, and there’s a bone on the floor! Yes, it's time to get out the dustpan and brooms, but while helping her father with cleaning, the main character, a Cuban American girl, sometimes causes humorous results despite her good intentions. Sure, she’s happy to help sweep up, but she accidentally bumps a lamp. Helping wash dishes is good, but then having the dog lick them is not so good. Will they every finish their chores?

“BIG SNOWBALL FIGHT”
Lee & Low Recommended Grade Level: K
Publisher: Lee & Low Books  
ISBN-13: 978-1584308539
Teacher’s Guide: https://www.leeandlow.com/books/big-snowball-fight/teachers_guide

It’s a beautiful winter’s day. The ground is covered with thick, white snow—the perfect snow for a snowball fight. One-by-one a group of Cuban American children gather and begin to make snowballs.  Each page of the picture book helps little ones with counting as a new child appears and begins playing in the snow (“one snowball” “two snowballs”). But by the time there are four snowballs, a little girl in a green coat and hood starts to grin mischievously. Yes, this is not going to be just a snowball fight. This is going to be a big snowball fight! 

“THE CITY OF MUSICAL MEMORY: SALSA, RECORD GROOVES AND POPULAR CULTURE IN CALI, COLOMBIA”
by Lise A. Waxer  
Publisher: Wesleyan University Press
ISBN-13: 978-0819564429

Salsa is a popular dance music developed by Puerto Ricans in New York City during the 1960s and 70s, based on Afro-Cuban forms. By the 1980s, the Colombian metropolis of Cali emerged on the global stage as an important center for salsa consumption and performance. Despite their geographic distance from the Caribbean and from Hispanic Caribbean migrants in New York City, Caleños (people from Cali) claim unity with Cubans, Puerto Ricans and New York Latinos by virtue of their having adopted salsa as their own. “The City of Musical Memory” explores this and subjects like the place of technology in music culture.

“ABSTRACTION IN REVERSE: THE RECONFIGURED SPECTATOR IN MID-TWENTIETH-CENTURY LATIN AMERICAN ART” 
by Alexander Alberro  
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press 
ISBN-13: 978-0226393957

During the mid-twentieth century, Latin American artists working in several different cities radically altered the nature of modern art. Reimagining the relationship of art to its public, these artists granted the spectator an unprecedented role in the realization of the artwork. This, the first book to explore this phenomenon on an international scale, traces the movement as it evolved across South America and parts of Europe. Alberro demonstrates that artists such as Tomás Maldonado and Jesús Soto, in breaking with the core tenets of the form of abstract art known as Concrete art, redefined the role of both the artist and the spectator. 

“THE CHILD IN LATIN AMERICA: HEALTH, DEVELOPMENT, AND RIGHTS”
Edited by Ernest J. Bartell, C.S.C., and Alejandro O’Donnell
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
ISBN-13: 978-0268022587

Although most Latin American countries are considered middle-income nations, their child health and well-being statistics overall compare poorly with those of the U.S. This volume brings together contributors to consider the physical, educational, social, legal and economic status and progress of children throughout Latin America, focusing especially on health and rights issues. Topics covered include trends in malnutrition and undernutrition, iron deficiency, inadequate sanitation, contaminated water, youth violence and homicide, child labor and education, adolescents and the penal system, and future prospects for children’s rights. All of the articles contribute to a more complete understanding of the situation of children in contemporary Latin American development.

“MARCHING STUDENTS: CHICANA AND CHICANO ACTIVISM IN EDUCATION, 1968 TO THE PRESENT”
by Margarita Berta-Avila, Anita Tijerina-Revilla and Julie Figueroa 
Publisher: University of Nevada Press 
ISBN-13: 978-0874178418

In 1968 over 10,000 Chicana/o high school students in East Los Angeles walked out of their schools in the first major protest against racism and educational inequality staged by Mexican Americans in the United States. They ignited the Mexican-American civil rights movement, which opened the doors to higher education and equal opportunity in employment for Mexican Americans and other Latinos previously excluded. “Marching Students” is a collaborative effort by Chicana/o scholars in several fields to place the 1968 walkouts and Chicana and Chicano Civil Rights Movement in historical context, highlighting the contribution of Chicana/o educators, students and community activists to minority education.