THE LATINA BOOK CLUB

  The Latina Book Club is honored to participate once again in  Multicultural Children's Book Day .  The book was a gift, but the review is our own.  ACCORDIONLY: Abuelo and Opa Make Music by Michael Genhart, PhD Illustrated by Priscilla Burris Magination Press “Watching Abuelo and Opa made my heart sing with happiness. With all my family together, in harmony.” Genhart has written a heart-warming tale about family, about straddling two cultures, and about bridging the gap. This story was inspired by his childhood, family gatherings and his father playing the accordion. The illustrations by Burris are colorful and lively. Her father also played the accordion so this story brought back loving memories. SUMMARY: Young Michael is worried over the silence between his grandfathers – one who is Mexican and the other is Swedish. Neither grandfather spoke the other’s language so family gatherings were very quiet, until Michael had an idea. He asked both grandfathers to bring...

The Latina Book Club is honored to participate once again in  Multicultural Children’s Book Day January 29, 2021.  The book was a gift, but the review is our own.  We welcome author Vanessa Varela. ATTRIBUTES OF A HISPANIC GIRL: I CAN  Written and illustrated by Vanessa Varela, M.Ed., M.A. FLL.  (Bilingual Book)  The stick-figure drawings are powerful in their simplicity and femininity. The book is short, sweet, pink!, and to the point. The author has taken all the negative remarks about girls and Latinos, and turned them into positive attributes, like speaking two languages allows girls to bridge two cultures. And she does it all in English and Spanish.  All we can say is: Brava! INTERVIEW The Latina Book Club: This book started as an academic paper based on Gloria Anzaldua’s book BORDERLANDS & Jaques Lacan’s MIRROR STAGE. Share with us what you saw in their work that inspired you. Vanessa Varela: Literature is the window that has let me unders...

   My visit to Puerto Rico had also shown me I wasn’t just a detective,  or just  a girl from the Northeast, or even Puerto Rican. I was all those things . . . —Detective Flaca Piňata Books  The Latina Book Club wishes everyone a Happy Three Kings’ Day.  We too remember our holidays in Puerto Rico, putting grass out for the camels, and awakening to boxes of little gifts. We also remember the mosquito bites, the sun burn and the tongue twisters when speaking Spanish to our cousins.  But all that is part of our traditions and about family. The Latina Book Club is happy to have found a great book that showcases the best of the holidays and of family in THE CASE OF THE THREE KINGS: THE FLACA FILES by Alidis Vicente.  This is book two in the Detective Flaca series but it stands alone.  We know our readers will fall in love with Flaca and look forward to reading more of her adventures, and her books are bilingual so yo...

  Many thanks to the MCCBD creators  Mia and Valarie for including  The Latina Book Club i n their lineup.    We strongly believe in diversity in schools, on TV and  at the Oscars.—mcf Publisher: Making Spirits Bright...one book at a time I love chocolate milk.  In fact, every Wednesday it is my ritual to visit my local Farmer’s Market and buy a pint of chocolate milk from the Ronnybrook Farm.  It is so rich and creamy. It’s like drinking a chocolate bar.  I also love making hot chocolate by melting pieces of a Cortés Sweet Chocolate Bar in Carnation evaporated milk.  Yum. Hence, I was very pleased to receive a copy of CHOCOLATE MILK, POR FAVOR! by Maria Dismondy to review for Multicultural Children’s Book Day, January 27.  It is a beautiful and touching story of inclusion, diversity and empathy.   As Maria Dismondy puts it: “It is about how actions speak louder than words!”   Children of all ag...