Reviewed by Jennifer Langreck No life is worth more or less than any other, right? Well, in The House of the Scorpion that becomes a more complex question. In this imagined future world, Mexico is now called Aztlán, and the border between Aztlán and the US has become its own country called Opium. Opium is…
Reviewed by Ali Larson Unhei is worried nobody will like her at her new school, especially with a name that’s so difficult to pronounce. Does she need a new name? Unhei is filled with anxiety on her first day of school in America. It only gets worse as students on the bus tease her about…
Reviewed by Cristina Silvia Gleason Years before Brown vs. Board of Education’s monumental ruling ended segregation in American schools, a similar, but lesser known fight for educational equality was brewing in Westminster, California. Sylvia Mendez had been born in the United States to Mexican and Puerto Rican parents and spoke perfect English. She was new…
How well do you know your family? Have you ever dug deep into the roots of your family to find out where you are from? Some of the answers may surprise you as they did surprise 11-year-old Sonny in Hidden Roots.
Reviewed by Daniel Grussing What can a small, proud culture offer the world’s largest cultural power in its time of unprecedented national trauma? Naiyomah’s tale is a poignant illustration of the universal human connection that can arise when a powerful story is shared. Recorded in an interview by Carmen Agra Deedy, Wilson Naiyomah’s true story…
Children's Literature at UMN 