Benito Juarez Fights for Justice by Beatriz Gutierrez Hernandez - ESSENTIAL

Benito Juarez Fights for Justice by Beatriz Gutierrez Hernandez PICTURE BOOK BIOGRAPHY Henry Holt and Company, An Imprint of MacMillan, 2023. $19. 9781250257772 

BUYING ADVISORY:  EL - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

Benito Juarez is as essential to the history of Mexico as Abraham Lincoln is to the history of the United States. Beatriz Hernandez has created a picture book biography outlining the life and impact of Benito Juarez on the Mexican people and culture. Benito is presented from his childhood in a poor native village, through his education, and then through his political career. His family life is also documented and presents the reader with an awareness of the sacrifices he and they made for the dream of a free and equal Mexico to be realized. 

Beatriz Gutierrez Hernandez is both author and illustrator. She uses a color scheme of muted greens and oranges that evoke a sense of the natural world Benito must have been familiar with. I liked how these colors created a sense of place for the reader. The outline of Benito's accomplishments is kept clear allowing the reader to feel the range of emotions that the story creates in a personal manner instead of being told what to feel. "Benito Juarez Fights for Justice" is a book that will be meaningful to Mexican American students because it is a history book for their family's culture. 

J. Smith, Teacher Librarian

Mariana and her Familia by Monica Mancillas and Erika Meza -

Mariana and her Familia by Monica Mancillas, illustrated by Erika Meza. PICTURE BOOK Balzer + Bray. 2022. $13. 9780062962461 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

Mariana and her mom travel to Mexico to visit their family. Even though Mariana is the same ethnicity as her family, her culture is very different. Mexico's looks, smells, and sounds are jarring to her at first. Mariana is nervous to meet her family. She has only seen pictures of them. Her abuelita reads her The Big Bad Wolf in Spanish. Mariana was amazed to see that they were able to share the same story, just with different words. After overcoming some language barriers, Mariana soon realizes that they are all familia. 

Mariana and her Familia can help teach or introduce Spanish words. Mariana learns words such as abuelita for grandma, and tio and tia that mean uncle and aunt. It helps show that even though you might have grown up in a different culture, there are many similarities. I liked the theme and the font of the print. 

A. Criswell, English Language Arts

My Two Border Towns by David Bowles and Erika Meza - ADVISABLE

My Two Border Towns by David Bowles, illustrated by Erika Meza. PICTURE BOOK Kokila (Penguin Random House), 2021. $18. 9780593111048 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

Every other Sunday, a little boy and his dad visit "the other side". They drive through town, and pay to cross at the border. The town on the other side of the river is the twin of the boy's town. They visit the boy's Uncle and cousins, then they get the things on mom's list, including t-shirts. treats and a prescription. On the way back, they stop on the bridge. The boy has a friend who is a refugee - living on the bridge because neither the US nor Mexico will take him. The boy leaves his family with many of the things they purchased, and they hope for the day everyone can travel freely back and forth 

Oh! What a surprise - this review is a bit of a spoiler, but so poignant, I couldn't leave it out. What started as a cute story about driving to another town to shop turned into a real life story about community, caring for each other, and the problems happening at the border, Wow. 

Lisa Librarian

Dear Abuelo by Grecia Huesca Dominguez and Teresa Martinez - ADVISABLE

Dear Abuelo by Grecia Huesca Dominguez, illustrated by Teresa Martinez. PICTURE BOOK. Reycraft Books, 2019. $7. 9781478868897 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

 Juana moves with her family from Mexico to New York. She will miss a lot about living in Mexico, but especially she misses her grandfather, her Abuelo. She writes him letters telling him about all her new experiences, strating with the plane taking them to New York. We get to know Juana through her letters to her grandfather.

 I loved this book. It is hard to move from one country to another, even harder when you do not speak the new language. I liked reading about her experiences at school, meeting her teacher and meeting children. She also meets a girl that speaks both Spanish and English. They become fast friends. The illustrations are bright and colorful and the story is told in pictures, too. A fun book to read. 

Ellen-Anita, Librarian 

Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border by Mitali Perkins - ADVISABLE

Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border by Mitali Perkins, illustrated by Sara Palacios. PICTURE BOOK. Farrar Straus Giroux (Macmillan), 2019. $18. 9780374303730

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Two kids and their mom head to the border between the U.S and Mexico to visit their grandma during the festival La Posada Sin Fronteras. They are allowed to see her through a fence and visit for half an hour. They can not, however, pass along gifts. Desperate to get a drawing to their grandma, the kids fly the drawing as a kite and send it over the wall. 

This story is a great introduction to the complicated new stories that come out of the border debates. This book has the potential to teach empathy as well as provide some context for young readers in America. The illustrations are sweet and the family acts with respect to both the guards and the citizens. 

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher

A Gift from Abuela by Cecilia Ruiz - ADVISABLE

A Gift from Abuela by Cecilia Ruiz. PICTURE BOOK. Candlewick Press, 2018. $16. 9780763692674

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) – ADVISABLE.  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

In Mexico City there is an Abuela who adores her Nina. They play together and have adventures together and eat pan dulce in the park together. One day Abuela starts saving money little by little to do something special for Nina, but eventually things get hard in Mexico and Abuela’s money is not worth anything anymore. Nina, however, does not care about the money and is happy just to spend time with Abuela. 

This book is a great reminder that people matter so much more than money. For how peaceful and cute the illustrations and text are, the political lessons in this book are jarring. It is not often that a picture book shows how money’s worth can change and how an entire economy can shift for the worst. I think it works though - peeking interest in understanding experiences beyond our own.  

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher