K-12

“MARIA PAINTS THE HILLS”

by Pat Mora

Amazon Recommended Reading level: 5 - 6 years

Publisher: Museum of New Mexico Press

ISBN-13: 978-0890134016

Maria, who was a self-taught artist who was born in Santa Fe in 1909 and died there in 1994, was also the daughter of Peregrina Delgado Campbell and James Conklin. Until her children “were grown up a bit,” Maria did not devote significant time to her art. Then, in her own words, she “got the nerve to start.” She admired the work of another self-taught artist, Grandma Moses, because “her paintings tell stories.” Maria’s paintings do also. They tell the stories of the seasons and traditions of her rich northern New Mexico heritage, a heritage she helped to preserve.

“ABUELOS”

by Pat Mora

Amazon Recommended Reading level: 4 - 7 years

Publisher: Groundwood Books

ISBN-13: 978-0888997173

Long ago, in the cold midwinter of Northern New Mexico, village men would go up into the mountains, disguise themselves as scary old men and then go down to the village to see who had been good and who had been bad. The villagers would gather around huge bonfires where the abuelos – wearing masks and covered with soot – would tease the children and then have them sing or dance around the fire. Afterwards everyone would enjoy traditional treats such as bizcochitos and empanadas. This midwinter masquerade died out in New Mexico for a time, but has been revived in recent years.

“PABLO’S TREE”

by Pat Mora

Amazon Recommended Reading level: 3 - 8 years

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

ISBN-13: 978-0027674019

“Every year I spend the night after my birthday at my grandfather’s house.  We sit under my tree.  We play with my new toys.  Every year Lito decorates my tree for my birthday visit.”  In a heartwarming intergenerational story, Pablo cannot wait to visit his grandfather and discover what treasures will be placed on his tree – the same tree that was purchased when Pablo was adopted.  Each year, the tree is decorated with special surprises, but as Pablo and his mother set off for Lito’s house, he starts to worry.  Could his grandfather have forgotten to decorate his tree this year?

“HERE KITTY, KITTY/¡VEN GATITA, VEN!”

by Pat Mora

Amazon Recommended Reading level: 4 - 8 years

Publisher: HarperCollins

ISBN-13: 978-0060850449

The Rosas children star in their own bilingual book series.  In this story, the three have a new kitten that keeps hiding on them.  And this elusive little kitten is very good at it!  Under the table, behind the curtains, under the bed, in a flowerpot, behind the sofa, under a baby carriage – and every time the Rosas children find her, she just finds another place to hide.  “We call out to her,” they explain, adding “…will she ever come close enough to pet?”  And if she never does, can the Rosas children really call the new kitten their pet?

Higher Education

“QUALITY EDUCATION FOR LATINOS/AS: PRINT AND ORAL SKILLS FOR ALL STUDENTS, K-COLLEGE”

by Rita and Marco Portales

Publisher: University of Texas Press 

ISBN-13: 978-0292706330

As educators and legislators across the country debate how to improve public schools, the most vital factor often disappears from the equation – the relationship between the teacher and the student. According to veteran educators Rita and Marco Portales, this relationship is the central issue in the education of students, especially Latino/a students who often face serious barriers to school success because of the legacy of racism, insufficient English-language skills, and cultural differences with the educational establishment. The Portaleses focus attention on the teacher-student relationship and offer a proven method that teachers can use to strengthen their student’s print and oral skills.

“‘SHAKIN’ UP’ RACE AND GENDER: INTERCULTURAL CONNECTIONS IN PUERTO RICAN, AFRICAN AMERICAN, AND CHICANO NARRATIVES AND CULTURE (1965-1995)”

by Marta E. Sánchez

Publisher: University of Texas Press

ISBN-13: 978-0292706934

The second phase of the civil rights movement (1965-1973) was a pivotal period in the development of ethnic groups in the U.S. In the years since then, new generations have asked new questions to cast light on this watershed era. In this book, Marta E. Sánchez creates an intercultural frame to study the historical and cultural connections among Puerto Ricans, African Americans, and Chicanos/as since the 1960s. Her frame opens up the black/white binary that dominated the 1960s and 1970s. It reveals the hidden yet real ties that connected ethnics of color and “white” ethnics in a shared intercultural history.

“GUATEMALA-U.S. MIGRATION: TRANSFORMING REGIONS”

by Susanne Jonas and Nestor Rodríguez

Publisher: University of Texas Press

ISBN-13: 978-0292760608

This comprehensive, multifaceted study of Guatemalan migration to the U.S. from the late 1970s to the present. It analyzes this migration in a regional context including Guatemala, Mexico, and the U.S. This book illuminates the perilous passage through Mexico for Guatemalan migrants, as well as their settlement in various U.S. venues. Moreover, it builds on existing theoretical frameworks and breaks new ground by analyzing the construction and transformations of this migration region and transregional dimensions of migration. This book addresses the experiences of both Maya and ladino Guatemalan migrants, incorporating gendered, as well as ethnic and class dimensions of migration.

“UNDOCUMENTED DOMINICAN MIGRATION”

by Frank Graziano

Publisher: University of Texas Press

ISBN-13: 978-0292725850

This book is the first comprehensive study of boat migration from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico. It brings together the interactive global, cultural and personal factors that induce thousands of Dominicans to journey across the Mona Passage. It provides in-depth treatment of decision-making, experiences at sea, migrant smuggling operations and U.S. border enforcement. It also explores the psychology of migrant motivation, religious beliefs, corruption and impunity, procreation and parenting, compulsive recidivism after failed attempts, social values in relation to law, marriage fraud, and the use of false documents for air travel from Puerto Rico to the mainland United States.