An annotated bibliography of books by U.S. Latino writers for children and teens, excluding picture storybooks. Entries include interest levels, subject headings, major awards given, and if the book is included in Accelerated Reader or Reading Counts tests. Brief biographical information about the authors is also given.

Children's and young adult literature has become an essential medium for identity formation in contemporary Latino/a culture in the United States. This book is an original collection of more than thirty interviews led by Frederick Luis Aldama with Latino/a authors working in the genre. The conversations revolve around the conveyance of young Latino/a experience, and what that means for the authors as they overcome societal obstacles and aesthetic complexity. The authors also speak extensively about their experiences within the publishing industry and with their audiences. As such, Aldama's collection presents an open forum to contemporary Latino/a writers working in a vital literary category and sheds new light on the myriad formats, distinctive nature, and cultural impact it offers.

Using Gloria Anzaldúa's theories of conocimiento as a critical lens, the authors examine several literary works including Side by Side / Lado a lado; They Call Me Güero; Land of the Cranes; Efrén Divided; and Gabi, a Girl in Pieces.

Highlighting the lives and careers of writers whose cultural roots are embedded in a variety of racial, ethnic, regional, and religious traditions, the book not only makes it easier to locate their work - it provides insights into their writing styles, motivations, and points of view.

★“Pura Belpré honoree Delacre’s chronicles—each different from the next—offer moving snapshots of family heartbreak, disadvantage, dysfunctionality, heartbreak, privilege, and joy.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) ★ “Beautifully written with candor, honesty and perfect brevity. Delacre illustrates as well, providing a gorgeous mixed-media portrait of each story’s main character. A collection not to be missed.” — Booklist (starred review) “This welcome update to short story collections such as Gary Soto’s Baseball in April and prose alternative to Alma Flor Ada’s Yes!: We Are Latinos is a solid addition to libraries and would also add much-needed diversity to classroom study.” — School Library Journal “Portraits are indeed beautiful...will surely inspire discussion of current issues.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books “Delacre’s collection challenges existing misconceptions by giving readers an intimate and varied look into what it is like to be young and Latino in the United States today.” — The Horn Book “Middle grade readers will appreciate reading stories that reflect their lives, not their parents’ or grandparents’ stories” (from the “10 Exciting New Middle Grade Books with Latinx Main Characters”) — Brightly

ChicaNerds in Chicana Young Adult Literature analyzes novels by the acclaimed Chicana YA writers Jo Ann Yolanda Hernández, Isabel Quintero, Ashley Hope Pérez, Erika Sánchez, Guadalupe García McCall, and Patricia Santana. Combining the term "Chicana" with "nerd," Dr. Herrera coins the term "ChicaNerd" to argue how the young women protagonists in these novels voice astute observations of their identities as nonwhite teenagers, specifically through a lens of nerdiness—a reclamation of brown girl self-love for being a nerd. In analyzing these ChicaNerds, the volume examines the reclamation and powerful acceptance of one’s nerdy Chicana self. While popular culture and mainstream media have shaped the well-known figure of the nerd as synonymous with white maleness, Chicana YA literature subverts the nerd stereotype through its negation of this identity as always white and male. These ChicaNerds unite their burgeoning sociopolitical consciousness as young nonwhite girls with their "nerdy" traits of bookishness, math and literary intelligence, poetic talents, and love of learning. Combining the sociopolitical consciousness of Chicanisma with one aligned to the well-known image of the "nerd," ChicaNerds learn to navigate the many complicated layers of coming to an empowered declaration of themselves as smart Chicanas.

First awarded in 1993, the Américas Award is given in recognition of books that authentically and engagingly portray Latino/as in Latin America, the Caribbean or the United States. By combining both and linking the Americas, the award reaches beyond geographic borders, as well as multicultural-international boundaries, focusing instead upon cultural heritages within the hemisphere. The Award is unique in that selects Latino/a youth literature for classroom use and in that it focuses on the entire Western Hemisphere. Scholars from the fields of literature, education, lbrary science, and theater engage with Latino/a Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) in this ecollection of essays about the Américas Award, the Award-winning and honored books, and the contexts in which the books are used. This collection offers essays on the history of the award, close readings of Award-winning and honored books situated in the classroom, and discussions of how best to use the books in the classroom, library and theater.