Stories rooted in Latine families, language, and everyday joy.
This hub is family and language as they actually sound at the table. Latine kids on InclusiReads get to be poets, motel clerks, crush-havers, and kids who cannot remember the Island. They are not a heritage-month display.
We look for books that keep Spanish, English, or both attached to the life on the page. We look for joy and work in the same story. We skip titles that flatten every country into one carnival.
Islandborn is for kids born here with a somewhere-else in the family. Dreamers is arrival and a library. Front Desk is middle grade with a notebook and a fight worth having. The Poet X is YA verse that sounds like a girl talking.
Immigration stories overlap this shelf on purpose. If the journey is the point, also open immigration books. If the life after arriving is the point, stay here. The Poet X is also on the YA shelf because a notebook and a church and a girl's mouth are a life, not a heritage unit.
We use Latine as a finding aid for who appears, or what the book is about. We do not guess an author's identity from a surname. Policy: what tags mean.
Related guides: Kids' Books About Immigration and Belonging · Starting an Inclusive YA Shelf
47 books · Page 2 of 2
Ages 8–12
InvisibleChristina Diaz Gonzalez
This Breakfast Club--inspired story by Christina Diaz Gonzalez, award-winning author of Concealed, and Gabriela Epstein, illustrator of two Baby-Sitters Club graphic novel adaptations, is a must-have graphic novel about unexpected ...
Ages 8–12
Sal and Gabi Break the UniverseCarlos Hernandez
Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents a brilliant sci-fi romp with Cuban influence that poses this question: What would you do if you had the power to reach through time and space and retrieve anything you want, including your mother, ...
Young adult
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the UniverseBenjamin Alire Sáenz
Fifteen-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends, Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents, and his family that he has never asked before.
Young adult
The Poet XElizabeth Acevedo
Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent. “Crackles with energy and snaps with authenticity and voice.” —Justina Ireland, author of Dread Nation “An incredibly potent debut.” ...
Young adult
With the Fire on HighElizabeth Acevedo
From the New York Times bestselling author of the National Book Award longlist title The Poet X comes a dazzling novel in prose about a girl with talent, pride, and a drive to feed the soul that keeps her fire burning bright.
Young adult
Clap When You LandElizabeth Acevedo
Great for summer reading or anytime! Clap When You Land is a Today show pick for "25 children's books your kids and teens won't be able to put down this summer! Plus don't miss Elizabeth Acevedo's The Poet X and With the Fire on High!
Young adult
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican DaughterErika L. Sánchez
When the sister who delighted their parents by her faithful embrace of Mexican culture dies in a tragic accident, Julia, who longs to go to college and move into a home of her own, discovers from mutual friends that her sister may not have ...
Young adult
Cemetery BoysAiden Thomas
Cemetery Boys is necessary: for trans kids, for queer kids, for those in the Latinx community who need to see themselves on the page. Don’t miss this book." —Mark Oshiro, author of Anger is a Gift and co-author of The Sun and the Star
Young adult
They Both Die at the EndAdam Silvera
Uplifting and devastating, charming and haunting, They Both Die at the End is a tour de force from acclaimed author Adam Silvera, whose debut novel the New York Times called “profound.” It’s a story that reminds us there’s no life ...
Young adult
The House on Mango StreetSandra Cisneros
She is not only a gifted writer, but an absolutely essential one.” —The New York Times Book Review The House on Mango Street is one of the most cherished novels of the last fifty years.
Ages 8–12
I Lived on Butterfly HillMarjorie Agosín
Celeste Marconi’s peaceful life on Butterfly Hill in Valparaíso, Chile, ends when a dictatorship takes hold. She is sent to Maine while her parents go into hiding — a Pura Belpré Medal novel about exile, waiting, and finding a way home.
Ages 8–12
Return to SenderJulia Alvarez
After Tyler’s family hires undocumented Mexican workers to save their Vermont farm, he becomes close with Mari Cruz. Letters between the two children hold a secret that could split both families apart. Pura Belpré Medal.
Ages 3–8
César: ¡Sí, Se Puede! Yes, We Can!Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
Poems and David Diaz’s illustrations trace César Chávez’s life and his fight for farmworkers. A Pura Belpré Honor that keeps the chant — sí, se puede — on the page.
Ages 8–12
The Only RoadAlexandra Diaz
After a gang kills his cousin in Guatemala, twelve-year-old Jaime and his sister Ángela flee north toward the United States. A Pura Belpré Honor about the journey families should not have to make.
Ages 8–12
90 Miles to HavanaEnrique Flores-Galbis
Julian and his brothers leave Havana on Operation Pedro Pan and land in a Miami camp where bullies run the yard. Inspired by the author’s childhood. Pura Belpré Honor.
Ages 8–12
Breaking ThroughFrancisco Jiménez
Jiménez’s memoir continues after The Circuit: a migrant farmworker student in 1950s California fights to stay in school. Pura Belpré Honor.
Young adult
Reaching OutFrancisco Jiménez
The third Jiménez memoir: leaving the fields for Santa Clara University, carrying family duty and the fear of not belonging. Pura Belpré Honor.
Ages 3–8
Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar ChavezKathleen Krull
Yuyi Morales illustrates César Chávez from a shy boy in Arizona to the leader of a 300-mile march for farmworkers. Pura Belpré Honor.
Ages 3–8
My Diary from Here to There / Mi diario de aquí hasta alláAmada Irma Pérez
Amada records the family’s move from Mexico to California — worry, the journey, and the first nights in a new country. Bilingual. Pura Belpré Honor.
Ages 3–8
First Day in GrapesL. King Pérez
Chico, a child of migrant farmworkers, starts yet another new school in a grape-growing town and finds he can stand up for himself. Pura Belpré Honor.
Ages 3–8
Dear Primo: A Letter to My CousinDuncan Tonatiuh
Charlie in American city and Carlitos in a Mexican village write about their days — same cousins, different details. Mixtec-inspired art. Pura Belpré Honor.
Ages 3–8
Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s TaleDuncan Tonatiuh
When Papá Rabbit is late coming home from work up north, Pancho sets out and meets a coyote who offers help — for a price. Pura Belpré Honor for narrative and illustration.
Ages 3–8
Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for DesegregationDuncan Tonatiuh
Sylvia Mendez is turned away from the neighborhood school because she is Mexican American. Her family takes the fight to court — years before Brown v. Board. Pura Belpré Honor.
