Searching for Latinos in Children\'s Literature: A Reading List

Brad Vest/The New York Times Aurora Anaya-Cerda at the opening of her East Harlem bookstore in June.

Where are all the Latinos? That's the question raised in an article published Wednesday in The Times that focused on the dearth of books with Latino characters that are aimed at school-age children. (No disrespect meant to Dora the Explorer or her cousin Diego, who are both hugely popular and who started as cartoons.) This is an especially relevant issue given the increasing number of the country's public school seats that are oc cupied by Latinos.

It's an also issue that has personal resonance. Sure we want to stoke a passion for reading in our young son, who turns 4 in March, and our home is filled with all the age-appropriate classics - “Goodnight Moon,” “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” and so on. But as he gets older will he open books and find characters and themes that offer perhaps something more, something richer - a window into his culture?

I asked someone who knows something about Latino literature to weigh in. Aurora Anaya-Cerda is the owner of La Casa Azul, a bookstore that she opened in June in East Harlem and that she says is the only bookstore in New York City focusing on books by and about Latinos.

Ms. Anaya-Cerda, who was born in Mexico and raised in California, said that as a young girl she “was an avid reade r (Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, Francine Pascal). But reading works by Chicana/o writers connected me to stories that I could relate to.”

She continued: “I began seeking out more books that reflected my identity and experience after reading ‘Bless Me Ultima' by Rudolfo Anaya â€" a book I stumbled upon during one of my visits to the local public library. ‘Bless Me Ultima' was the first book in which I saw myself. Aspects of my culture and traditions were reflected back to me, providing a new sense of pride and validation in my cultural background.”

Ms. Anaya-Cerda also shared her partial list of recommended books by and about Latinos. This is one person's list, and readers are welcome to offer their own suggestions in the comments field below.

Elementary:
â€" “Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx / La juez que crecio en el Bronx” by Jonah Winter
â€" “My Name Is Gabito: The Life of Gabriel García Márquez/Me llamo Gabito: L a Vida de Gabriel García Márquez” by Monica Brown
â€" “Side by Side: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez/Lado a Lado: La Historia de Dolores Huerta y Cesar Chavez” by Monica Brown
â€" “Waiting for the Biblioburro” by Monica Brown

Middle school:
â€" “Call Me Maria” by Judith Ortiz Cofer
â€" “The Tree Is Older Than You Are” edited by Naomi Shihab Nye
â€" “Wachale! Poetry and Prose About Growing Up Latino in America” edited by Ilan Stavans
â€" “Cuba 15″ by Nancy Osa
â€" “The Smell of Old Lady Perfume” by Claudia Guadalupe Martinez
â€" “My Diary From Here to There/Mi Diario de Aqui Hasta Alla” by Amada Irma Perez

High school:
â€" “El Bronx Remembered” by Nicholasa Mohr
â€" “The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano” by Sonia Manzano
â€" “Efrain's Secret” by Sofia Quintero
â€" “Secret Saturdays” by Torrey Maldonado
â€" “Mexican WhiteBoyâ € by Matt de la Peña
â€" “Riding Low on the Streets of Gold: Latino Literature for Young Adults” edited by Judith Ortiz Cofer