Latin+America

=Latin America= = =


 * Industrial / Scientific Revolution (1800 - 1914)**


 * __Fiction__**

Ephron, Amy. **//White Rose: Una Rosa Blanca.//** Morrow, 1999. This suspenseful novel, based on a true story, is set in 1897 Havana during Cuba's fight for freedom from Spanish rule. Evangelina Cisneros is the beautiful daughter of a Cuban revolutionary, just 19 years old and imprisoned on charges of insurrection, having angered the Spanish military governor by spurning his advances. A cause celebre among American women, her case receives the attention of William Randolph Hearst's newspaper, the //Journal//. Star reporter Karl Decker is dispatched to Havana under an assumed name, ostensibly to interview Evangelina, but actually to organize her escape to America, an extremely dangerous mission. The two find themselves in a web of intrigue where no one can be trusted and there is no margin for error. They also find themselves falling in love. Interest level: YA. [Excerpt from Booklist (Vol. 96, No. 2 September 15, 1999)) courtesy of Follett TitleWave]. Recommended by Nancy.

Engle, Margarita. //**The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom.**// Henry Holt, 2008. Using free verse poetry, Engle chronicles the 3 wars of independence which have been fought by Cubans from 1868-1898, as seen through the eyes of several of its citizens. Gr 6-10. Pura Belpre Author Award Winner & Newbery Honor Book, 2009. Booklist starred March 15, 2008, p.53. Teacher discussion guide at: [] by SB.


 * Post-World War II Era (1945 - 1980)**


 * __Fiction__**

Alverez, Julia. //**Before We Were Free.**// Knopf, 2002. This book bridges Alvarez's two adult novels set during the final days of the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. In the fall of 1960, Anita, almost twelve, tries to gain some control over frightening events by writing in her diary. Her final months in the country are a poignant blend of typical adolescent concerns and the terrible realities of life under a violent dictatorship. This is a compelling acount of a girl growing up too quickly while coming to terms with the cost of freedom. Grades 5-8. [Horn Book starred (Spring, 2003) courtesy of Follett TitleWave]. Recommended by Nancy.

Alvarez, Julia. //**In the time of the Butterflies.**// Penguin Group (USA), 1995. During the last days of the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic, three young women, members of a conservative, pious Catholic family, who had become committed to the revolutionary overthrow of the regime, were ambushed and assassinated as they drove back from visiting their jailed husbands. It was November 25, 1960, and the sisters were found near their wrecked Jeep at the bottom of a 150-foot cliff on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. The official state newspaper reported their deaths as an accident and it didn’t mention that a fourth sister still lived. Nor did it explain that the sisters were among the leading opponents of the dictatorship of General Trujillo, “El Jefe”. The Mirabal sisters had become mythical figures in their country, where they were known as las mariposas, the butterflies. In this novel, the voices of the martyred sisters—Minerva, Patria, María Teresa, speak across the decades to tell their own stories, from hair ribbons and crushes to running arms and torture in prison, and to describe the everyday horrors of life under Trujillo’s rule. Their surviving sister, Dede, frames the narrative with her own tale of suffering and dedication to their memory. Grades 9-12. (Erin)

Hill, Labin Carrick. **//Casa Azul: An Encounter with Frida Kahlo.//** Watson Guptill Publications, 2005. Two lost kids on the streets of Mexico City find a home with the great artist Frida Kahlo in her house, Casa Azul, a place not only safe but also magic, and they enter her world as she sees it. In the spirit of Kahlo's life and art, the magical realism is both playful and dark. Kahlo believes everything talks--the cat, a hummingbird, a monkey, a skull, the portraits on her walls. They argue, protect her, and worry about her suicidal depression and her passionate, on-and-off relationship with Diego Rivera. But for all the story about the two children, what will hold readers is the jargon-free talk about Kahlo's work, focusing on the surrealist self-portrait on the jacket, in which she's surrounded by all kinds of creatures and has a dead hummingbird hanging from her necklace. Gr. 7-10. [Excerpt from Booklist (October 1, 2005 (Vol. 102, No.3)) courtesy of Follett TitleWave]. Recommended by Nancy.

Mikaelsen, Ben. //**Red Midnight.**// Rayo, 2003. Guerrilla soldiers strike Santiago's village, destroying everything in their path. He and his sister escape, sailing in a sea kayak. He tells about their perilous journey to the United States, for the hope of a new life. Grades 6 - 10. (NCSS/CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book.) Recommended by SB.

Pellegrino, Marge. //**Journey of Dreams.**// Frances Lincoln Books, 2009. In the early 1980's, Tomasa and her family flee from the farm her family has owned and worked in Guatamala. Wealthy landlords have hired soldiers to drive them out. This is a fictionalized account of a Mayan family's exodus to the United States, where they are sponsored by members of the Sanctuary Movement. Grades 7 - 10. (Starred review in Kirkus.) Recommended by SB.

Temple, Frances. **//Taste of Salt: A Story of Modern Haiti.//** Harper Trophy, 1992. In the hospital after being beaten by Macoutes, 17-year-old Djo tells the story of his impoverished life to a young woman who, like him, has been working with the social reformer Father Aristide to fight the repression in Haiti. Interest Level: YA. (Courtesy of Follett TitleWave). Recommended by Nancy.


 * __Nonfiction__**

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In Cuba everything is prohibited and what is not prohibited is illegal, or so goes the old saying. In this wonderful travelogue and political discussion, loaded with fantastic photographs of modern Havana, Mendoza returns to his roots, his family having emigrated to the Midwest in 1960, when he was 18 years old. Now he returns to the island, expecting to find people hating the U.S. Instead, the natives largely despise the Castro revolution and think the country has steadily declined over the last 40 years. In fact, it took Mendoza a week to find someone who would defend Castro. Despite a superb educational system with no illiteracy, and a model medical system, most Cubans remain at the poverty level. Interest Level: YA. [Excerpt from Booklist (Vol. 96, No. 4 (October 15, 1999)) courtesy of Follett TitleWave]. Recommended by Nancy.=====

Miller, Calvin Craig. **//Che Guevara: In Search of Revolution.//** Morgan Reynolds Pub., 2006. Guevara's life, from his early years in one of Argentina's wealthiest families to mythic guerrilla revolutionary, is covered in detail. The author recounts how Che's childhood in a prominent but socialist-leaning family influenced many early decisions, including an all-important choice to study medicine. Guevara traveled Latin America as a young man, and encounters with peasants in the countryside sparked a determination that would guide his ideology throughout his life. A burning desire to see the downfall of capitalism through whatever means necessary, including armed revolution, spurred him to seek out causes and people that could help make that happen. The bulk of the book focuses on Guevara's time spent working closely with Fidel Castro to overthrow Batista and his U.S.-backed government. Grades 7 Up. [Excerpt from School Library Journal (March 1, 2007) courtesy of Follett TitleWave]. Recommended by Nancy.

Ray, Deborah Kogan. **//To Go Singing through the World: The Childhood of Pablo Neruda.//** Fances Foster Books, 2006. Intermingling excerpts from the poet's writings with her own well-written prose, Ray has created an appealing look at the people and events that both propelled Neruda toward his writing career and shaped his political ideals. She focuses primarily on two influential women: his stepmother who, raising him from infancy after his mother's death, was-in his own words-the "guardian angel" of his childhood, and Gabriela Mistral, principal of the girls' division of his school and a noted poet in her own right. The former introduced him to his Chilean heritage, telling him stories of the indigenous peoples and instilling in him a love of the rain forest. The latter recognized his talent and introduced him to the art of poetry, in which he found his true voice. [Excerpt from School Library Journal (November 1, 2006) courtesy of Follett TitleWave]. Recommended by Nancy.