Abuela, Isla, Arthur Dorros: Lovely books about a grandmother and granddaughter flying to the places in the stories the grandmother tells.

Chato Goes Cruisin', Chato's Kitchen, Chato and the Party Animals, Gary Soto; Chato is an East LA "cool" Chicano cat. The stories incorporate Spanish words and phrases in an engaging manner.

The Desert Mermaid, Alberto Blanco: The bilingual story of one of the last oasis mermaids in the Mexican Sonora Desert.

Dona Flor, A Tall Tale about a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart, Pat Mora & Raul Colon: A tall tale set in the American Southwest involving tortillas as big as life rafts and a pillaging gato.

Gathering the Sun, An Alphabet in English and Spanish, Alma Flor Ada: An alphabet book with beautiful illustrations and poetry that focuses on the experiences of agricultural workers in the U.S. Each letter is associated with a Spanish word, such as "arboles" for A.

Grandma and Me at the Flea, Super Cilantro Girl, The Upside Down Boy, and Calling the Doves, Juan Felipe Herrera: All of these books are wonderful. The "Upside Down Boy" tells of a young Mexican boy's adjustment to an Anglo school. "Calling All Doves" is a memoir about growing up as a migrant farm worker. Grandma and Me at the Flea is about a boy going to the flea market with his grandmother where she barters for medicinal herbs, churros, and chiles. "Super Cilantro Girl" is the story of a little girl who imagines turning into a super-hero to help her mother cross the border from Tijuana.

How Tia Lola Came to Stay and The Secret Footprints, Julia Alvarez: Children's' books by the well-known author of adult books. The first book is about a Mexican-American boy in Vermont and his eccentric Tia Lola. The second book is a legend about people who live underwater and have their feet on backwards to avoid being tracked.

I love Saturdays Y Domingos, Alma Flor Ada: An award-winning book about the joys of being part of a bilingual family.

Isabel's House of Butterflies, Tony Johnston: A book about a little girl's attempt to save a special tree in Michoacán, Mexico, the town where thousands of monarch butterflies spend the winter.

Juan Bobo Goes to Work, Montes; Juan Bobo, Four Folktales from Puerto Rico, Bernier-Grand; Juan Bobo is a Puerto Rican folk hero. The stories are very amusing and incorporate Spanish words and phrases.

Just a Minute, A Trickster Tale and Counting Book, Yuyi Morales: A beautifully illustrated tale of how an old woman tricks Senor Calavera when he comes to her door. Using English and Spanish, Grandma Beetle counts what she has to do to prepare for her birthday party.

Magda's Tortillas, Magda's Piñata Magic, Becky Chavarria-Chairez: Magda is the 7 year old Mexican-American girl at the center of these bilingual stories. One tells of making tortillas with her grandmother while the other describes a birthday party for her brother.

Mama Goose, A Latino Nursery Treasury, Alma Flor Ada & F. Isabel Campoy: A bilingual collection of Latino nursery rhymes, finger games, tall tales, riddles, jump rope songs, and much more.

Mama Provi and the Pot of Rice, Sylvia Rosa-Casanova: Mama Provi makes a pot of arroz con pollo to take to her sick granddaughter on the 8th floor. Along the way she trades a cup of rice with her neighbors for their ethnic cuisines. The final meal is a veritable feast.

Moon Rope, Lois Eblert; A bilingual telling of a Peruvian folktale about a mole and a fox.

Piñata, Rebecca Emberley: This book introduces the history and place of piñatas in Hispanic culture. It has beautiful pictures depicting everything going into the piñata and the final break.

Rafi and Rosi, Lulu DeLacre: Three "easy-to-read" stories about brother and sister Puerto Rican tree frogs and their adventures.

Salsa, Lilian Colon-Vila: A musical book that tells a story where Rita learns about salsa music and dancing.

Senor Don Gato, A Traditional Song, John Manders: A Mexican rhyme that tells the story of a romantic cat.

Uncle Nacho's Hat, Harriet Rohmer: Two folktales from Nicaragua.

The Woman Who Outshone the Sun, Alejandro Cruz Martinez & Fernando Olivera: A bilingual tale of a beautiful girl with hair that soaks up all the water and fish in the river. It is a story about treating everyone with kindness.

• Go to Children's Story Collections
• Go to Fiction for Older Children
• Go to Children's Non-Fiction