A gift for Abuelita

Sample

Leslie Pietrzyk

Fifteen-year-old Alice dreams of her first kiss, has sleepovers, auditions for Our Town, and tries to pass high school biology. It's 1975, and at first look, her life would seem to be normal and unexceptional. But in the world that Leslie Pietrzyk paints, every moment she chronicles is revealed through the kaleidoscope of loss, stained by the fact that Alice's mother, without warning, note, or apology, deliberately parks her car on the railroad tracks, in the path of an oncoming train.In the emotional year that follows, Alice and her older brother find themselves in the care of their great aunt, forced to cope and move forward. Lonely and confused, Alice absorbs herself in her mother Annette's familiar rituals, trying to recapture their connection — only to be stunned by the sound of her mother's voice speaking to her, engaging Alice in "conversations" and offering some insight into the life that she had led, beyond her role as Alice's mother.

Sample

Faye-Lynn Wu

A collection of nursery rhymes in English and Chinese, some originating from each tradition, interspersed with facts about Chinese culture and traditions.

Sample

Carmen T. Bernier-Grand

Born in 1927 in Yuma, Arizona, C sar Chavez lived the hard-scrabble life of a migrant worker during the Depression. Although his mother wanted him to get an education, C sar left school after eighth grade to work. He grew to be a charismatic leader and founded the National Farm Workers Association, an organization that fought for basic rights for farm workers.

Sample

Rene Saldana, Jr

Three Mexican American teenagers in a small-town in Texas struggle with difficulties at home and at school as they try to attain the elusive status of adulthood.