SCBWI WWA is proud to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. The idea of honoring Hispanic Americans for their contributions to the culture of the United States was established in 1968. Hispanic Heritage Month starts on September 15, marking the independence wars of many Latin American countries.
According to the US census, Hispanics constitute 18.5% of the nation’s population, tracking their roots to Spain, Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Spanish-speaking nations of the Caribbean. Immigrants from Latin America are the largest migrant group in the USA. Among them are included indigenous groups with languages other than Spanish. You can read more about this history online.
And don’t forget to read books by local Western Washington members Donna Barba Higuera and Kim Baker. Their new middle grades, The Water Bears and Lupe Wong Won’t Dance, are full of heart and humor.
Once you’ve devoured these two books, here are some more recommendations from our SCBWI WWA team:
Kim Baker recommends Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland. It’s got immigration, aliens, folklore—so good!
Holly Huckeba recommends Lowriders in Space by Cathy Camper and Raúl the Third.
Suma Subramaniam recommends Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez. A powerful, #ownvoices contemporary YA for fans of The Poet X and I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter set in Argentina, about a rising soccer star who must put everything on the line—even her blooming love story—to follow her dreams.
Julie Artz recommends Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez. Magical weavers enchant us in this Bolivian-inspired fairy tale.