Another year of celebrating Latinx culture! We are well into Hispanic Heritage Month and have a calendar full of festivals and opportunities to taste foods that represent every corner of our culture. It is also a great opportunity learn about the folklore and enjoy dancing. For me, the best way to celebrate is by embracing and reading Latinx literature. These amazing authors create engaging books about my culture and our experiences. To me, this is a wonderful way to connect with how we can contribute and build up the United States.
It is hard to generalize our experiences, since Latinx represents an array of colors and backgrounds, but one thing I have found universally throughout Latinx literature is that we find our place. The duality of our identity is so beautiful, yet so difficult to understand. As a mother, I have been trying to connect my boys to those varying voices. My initial idea was to provide them a gateway to those voices that I had searched for a long time. I was lucky to know so many great published authors, which expanded their opportunities to find something they would like, connect with, and read.
Understand you child’s interests in literature
As we navigated Latinx authors, I started getting books on topics I connected with. Of course, pushing my personal agenda did not help since my oldest kept rejecting anything I suggested. But just as I do with food, I kept offering until we found something they liked. It took time to find something of interest for the boys. My oldest son loves anything with magic and mythology, but his refusal to read my suggestions made things very challenging. Fortunately, we found a way to explore new books.
My oldest was very drawn to specific literature, and had a big preference for series over stand alone novels. As a child who loves anything Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, it was clear that the genre had to be mythical in some way. Thankfully the world of #bookstagram kept providing recommendations to add to out TBR (to be read) list. Finally, we hit a sweet spot.
Middle School Latinx Literature
As with everything, focusing on our children’s interests makes things much more enjoyable. When it comes to reading, the main point is for them to enjoy the process. It’s hard not to impose our own preferences, but with time the process becomes more natural.
The gates to our enjoyment of Latinx literature came courtesy of Charlie Hernandez. As my 9 year old says, Percy Jackson with a twist. The Hernandez series of three books go through Latino and Hispanic mythology in a very engaging way, while Charlie learns to understand his identity. This book has sparked the curiosity on Latinx literature and the bilingual nature of our community. Here are our top Latinx Literature recommendations for middle schoolers as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.
- Charlie Hernandez by
- “The total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez” by Adriana Cuevas
- Lotería by Karla Arenas Valenti (A book with beautiful illustrations)
- Muse Squad by Chantel Acevedo and Muse Squad 2
As we continue to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, let’s read Latinx Literature to listen to and support the many emerging authors who continue to provide us with amazing reads.
