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Middle Grade Book Spotlight--Hispanic Heritage Month Authors!!!

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!!

Efrén Divided by Ernesto Cisneros--Seventh-grader Efrén, whose parents are undocumented, returns from school to find his beloved mother Amá has been arrested by ICE and deported to Tijuana, Mexico. Efrén takes over the care of his five-year-old siblings, one of whom has a disability, when his father takes extra work to pay for his wife's legal bills. The stress eventually catches up with him, drawing the attention of his teachers, and prompting Efrén to make a choice about whom he can trust.

Stella Diaz Has Something to Say by Kyla Garcia--Stella Diaz loves spending time with her family and her best friend Jenny. But when Jenny is put in a different class for the school year, Stella feels lonely and self-conscious about her tendency to slip from English to Spanish and pronounce words wrong. But she has to find a way to overcome her worries as she prepares to present an assignment in front of her entire class.

The Other Half of Happy by Rebecca Balcárcel--Racially mixed seventh grader Quijana is reminded of how little she knows about her Guatemalan side when her cousins move to town and her father shows his disappointment in her cultural ignorance. Meanwhile, school grows more complicated when she meets two new friends, Zuri and Jayden, and realizes she might like Jayden as more than just a friend. And at home, Quijana spends her night Skyping with her ailing grandmother and her younger brother is becoming more and more withdrawn.

Stef Soto, Taco Queen by Jennifer Torres--Stef Soto just wants a normal life, without her dad's taco truck getting in the way of everything. But when new city regulations threaten the family business, everyone will have to dig deep and discover what really matters.

Bravo! Poems About Amazing Hispanics by Margarita Engle--In this collection of biographical poetry, author Engle's free-verse poems are paired with artwork by illustrator Rafael Lopez to celebrate the accomplishments of Latinos who have made significant contributions to American history through their work in such fields as the arts, sports, science, and civil rights. With brief biographical notes for each subject included, this work is a valuable exploration into Latinos who have made a lasting difference.

Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez--When 11-year-old Tyler Paquette's father is injured in a tractor accident and the family faces losing their Vermont farm, his father decides to hire undocumented Mexican workers to help save their farm from foreclosure. Tyler befriends one of the worker's daughters, Mari Cruz, and the families form a close-knit bond over the course of the year. Tyler becomes a witness to the struggles that the Cruz family must endure, from the fear of deportation and imprisonment to coping with the disappearance of Mari's mother.