Nov 4 2014

2014 Reading Challenge: September & October Update

We’re nearing the end of our 2014 Reading Challenge, which is hard to believe, and titles continue to pour in from readers dedicated to diversifying their reading habits. Join us these last two months and consider buying some books by or about Latin@s as holiday gifts! Here are the guidelines: read one book a month that is written by a Latin@ author (any subject) or a book written by anyone that has Latin@ characters, themes, settings, etc. You’re not required to review–only read and enjoy and let us know what you have read! If you do post a review somewhere, we will link it to the book covers below. If you choose not to review, we will link the covers to Goodreads. Explore our book lists, past book talks (Libros Latin@s), and titles read by readers in the challenge for suggestions. Below are the books read by challenge participants in September and October.

Sep 23 2014

2014 Reading Challenge: July & August Update

If you want to diversify your TBR pile, this is the perfect month to do it since it is National Hispanic Heritage Month. Our challenge is heading into its final months, but it’s never too late to join us. Here are the guidelines: read one book a month that is written by a Latin@ author (any subject) or a book written by anyone that has Latin@ characters, themes, settings, etc. You’re not required to review–only read and enjoy and let us know what you have read! If you do post a review somewhere, we will link it to the book covers below. If you choose not to review, we will link the covers to Goodreads. Explore our book lists or past book talks (Libros Latin@s) for suggestions.

Also, since this is National Banned Books Week, you can choose from the Latin@ titles that have been challenged, according to this list kept by the National Council of Teachers of English. Here they are:

And here are some of the titles read by our Reading Challenge participants:

Jul 8 2014

2014 Reading Challenge: June

Participants in our 2014 Latin@s in Kid Lit Reading Challenge are out of control in the best possible way! Take a look at the variety of books that were read in June, which happens to be the half-way point of the challenge. Now would be a great time to join us or renew your commitment to the challenge, which is to read one book a month that is written by a Latin@ author (any subject) or a book written by anyone that has Latin@ characters, themes, settings, etc. You’re not required to review–only read and enjoy and let us know what you have read! If you do post a review somewhere, we will link it to the book covers below. If you choose not to review, we will link the covers to Goodreads. For July, you may want to consider some of the new winners of the International Latino Book Awards.

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Jun 3 2014

2014 Reading Challenge: May Update

Students are counting down the days to the end of the school year, but teachers and librarians are making sure they don’t leave the building without summer reading lists. Although educators offer suggestions, be sure to review the lists of titles with an eye out for diversity. If the lists lack a wide range of topics and diverse characters, then seek out those books. Below are some suggestions from readers participating in our 2014 Latin@ in Kid Lit Reading Challenge. Thank you to everyone for participating in the challenge and purposely selecting books by/about/for Latin@s. Remember, you can join the challenge any time during the year, and you’re not required to review–only read and enjoy! If you do post a review somewhere, we will link it to the book covers below. If you choose not to review, we will link the covers to Goodreads.

Also, keep in mind that June is National Caribbean-American Heritage Month! Here are a few suggestions of authors known to write about people from the Caribbean: Julia Alvarez (Dominican Republic), Margarita Engle (Cuba), Eric Velazquez (Puerto Rico), Christina Diaz Gonzalez (Cuba), Lynn Joseph (Dominican Republic, Trinidad), Judith Ortiz Cofer (Puerto Rico), and Nancy Osa (Cuba). Happy reading!

A note to participants: As you complete books, please send us the information, so we can share what you’re reading each month.

May 2 2014

2014 Reading Challenge: April Update and We Need More Diverse Books Campaign

We love to post the monthly Reading Challenge update because it’s fun to see what people are reading, readers give us titles to add to our book lists, people are reading more Latin@ Kid Lit (yay), and look at all the beautiful artwork on those covers. We’re even more excited than usual about this month’s post because it comes as the We Need Diverse Books Campaign is underway. The hashtag #WeNeedDiverseBooks has been trending on Twitter since before the campaign official began.

Here are contributions from our own Zoraida Córdova, Lila Q. Weaver, and Cindy L. Rodriguez (well, her daughter):

Today, people are engaged in the second part of the campaign. A Twitter chat is scheduled for 2 p.m. (EST). Use the same hashtag and share your thoughts on the issues with diversity in literature and why diversity matters to you.

Tomorrow, is the third part of the campaign, called the Diversify Your Shelves initiative to encourage people to buy diverse books and take photos of them. Before you head out to buy books, take a look at what participants in our 2014 Latin@s In Kid Lit Challenge read in April.

We will say this and mean it every month: Thank you to everyone for participating in the challenge and purposely selecting books by/about/for Latin@s. Remember, you can join the challenge any time during the year, and you’re not required to review–only read and enjoy! If you do post a review somewhere, we will link it to the book covers below. If you choose not to review, we will link the covers to Goodreads.

Apr 4 2014

2014 Reading Challenge: March

We continue to be blown away by the number of books being read each month by participants of our 2014 Latin@s in Kid Lit Challenge. Thank you to everyone for participating in the challenge and purposely selecting books by/about/for Latin@s. Remember, you can join the challenge any time during the year, and you’re not required to review–only read and enjoy! If you do post a review somewhere, we will link it to the book covers below. If you choose not to review, we will link the covers to Goodreads. This month, we’d like to stand up and applaud Elisabeth Ellison and Cecelia Cackley for their vigorous reading (13 books total!) And since April is National Poetry Month, we suggest you try some novels in verse this month!

A note to participants: As you complete books, please send us the information, so we can share what you’re reading each month.