Reviewed by Kyle Lukoff Review Source: KyleLukoff.com Book Author: It’s tremendously challenging to write good picture books about deeply important historical events. The most well-intentioned picture books about Christopher Columbus, or Rosa Parks, or the Vietnam War are often too vague or too specific, overly didactic or just plain boring. Lyon chose an incredibly difficult subject to […]
Side By Side/Lado a Lado
Reviewed by: Maria Ramos-Chertok Review Source: Latinxs in Kid Lit Book Author: Growing up, my mother told us we had to boycott grapes. At that time, I only understood farmworkers were treated badly and Cesar Chavez was helping them. Years later, I’ve found a bilingual children’s book that would have helped me understand, not only the […]
The World Beneath
Reviewed by: Marylee Crofts Review Source: Africa Access Book Author: This young adult novel is riveted with suspense and fear, providing the reader with a realistic view of the danger and unpredictability of life in urban South Africa during the period of school boycotts and armed conflict, in the mid 1970s. The main character is […]
Return to Sender
Reviewed by: Cindy L. Rodriguez Review Source: Latinxs in Kid Lit Book Author: Although Before We Were Free and Return to Sender are set in different countries, they have similarities. In Return to Sender, Mari and her family are migrant workers on a Vermont dairy farm. She encounters a mix of acceptance and scorn from her […]
César: ¡Sí, Se Puede! Yes, We Can!
Reviewed by Beverly Slapin Review Source: De Colores Book Author: In a powerful collection of lyrical, free verse poems rich in farmworker idiom, Bernier-Grand has reconstructed the life and work of the founder and organizer of the United Farm Workers. What makes these poems remarkable is that they not only chronicle the life of a […]
Silver People: Voices from the Panama Canal
Reviewed by: Deborah Menkart Reviewed Source: Zinn Education Project Book Author: Using her trademark style—multiple voices in free verse to share untold historical events —Margarita Engle introduces young readers to the builders of the Panama Canal. The protagonist is Mateo, a young boy from the Caribbean, lured with promises of good pay and work. Instead, […]
