With it being Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15th-October 15th), our middle grade book spotlight this week is on books that are authored by Latino and Latina authors!!! These books are amazing and so many of these authors have written more than just the titles that are being featured--so if you like this one there are others you can read as well. We have some stand alones and other titles are the beginning of a series. These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #youthhispanicheritage as well as on Libby and Hoopla. Check back next week for a new middle grade book spotlight and if you have any book suggestions, please let us know!!
Each Tiny Spark by Pablo Cartaya--Twelve-year-old Emilia Torres finds her life in upheaval when her father returns from deployment and his mother immediately leaves on a business trip. Her father begins to spend all his time in the garage working on an old car and Emilia, despite her Inattentive Type ADHD becomes fascinated by his welding and her father, a shell of his former self, becomes more animated as he teaches her the craft. Meanwhile, a project at school brings new insight to her immigrant status and she is forced to confront a friend's bigotry.
The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas--Nestor Lopez isn't your typical kid. He has a psychic ability to talk to animals. When Nestor and his mother move in with his grandmother, he's pulled into a mystery involving a shapeshifting witch whose power grows during a solar eclipse. With the next eclipse fast approaching, Nestor must hurry to save the new town he calls home.
¡¡Manu!! By Kelly Fernandez--Manu, who attends a magical school run by nuns in the Dominican Republic, is deemed a troublemaker by her teachers for her lackadaisical attitude towards magic learning and her penchant for getting into mischief. When her once-strong magic begins to disappear due to a hastily uttered curse put on her by her friend Josefina, Manu decides to restore it with a spell. However, the spell has unintended consequences and Manu finds herself struggling to control her new powers.
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan--Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression.
The First Rule of Punk by Celia Pérez--Twelve-year-old Malu gets off on the wrong foot from the very start at her new middle school. Between violating dress code with her punk rock attire to offending the most popular girl in her grade, it seems she never stood a chance of fitting in. But Malu would rather be herself than fit the mold, and she's determined to blaze a path for all the misfits she finds along the way as she fights the school's administration for her right to express herself, and stands up to her own mother.
The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes--As the Mayan gods threaten a battle that will destroy the world, thirteen-year-old Zane must resolve an ancient prophecy and discover how his physical disability connects him to his ancestry.