Today we celebrate the book birthday of Musa Marcia Argueta Mickelson's The Writing Room. We sat down with Marcia to learn more about this book.

Immediately after high school graduation, eighteen-year-old Maya is kicked out of her wealthy
dad's NYC home; he prides himself on forcing his kids to "make their own way in the world". Maya's mom lives in Guatemala, so Maya crashes with friends while working and trying to land
freelance writing gigs.

Maya struggles to find her footing until she gets access to a writing room―a shared workspace where she can focus (and get to know the intriguing neighbor, Jake, who's often there).

When she discovers her dad is bankrolling a virulently anti-immigrant candidate for governor, Maya―the daughter of an immigrant―realizes she can’t continue quietly accepting his choices. She’ll have to take a stand, using the voice she's found in the writing room.

​Read more about this exciting YA novel after the link...

Grab your cafecito and join us for a conversation with Maritere R. Bellas about her beautiful book Tío Ricky Doesn't Speak English / Tío Ricky No Habla Inglés.

Maritere, welcome to this interview with Las Musas! We are eager to learn about your project. Tell us more! 
Parents will adore this bilingual English/Spanish hardcover picture book as it spotlights a nephew-uncle relationship in which language barriers know no boundaries. This book showcases the genuine importance of speaking two languages, encouraging bilingualism in our future generations, and the power behind translation, especially between multigenerational individuals.​

Today we celebrate the book birthday of Leslie Adame's Chloe Vega and the Agents of Magic. We sat down with Musa Leslie to learn more about this book.

Twelve-year-old Chloe Vega’s biggest fear is that her undocumented parents will be detained by immigration. That is, until she learns that her parents are actually part of a secret magical society…and that the suspicious looking police officers who have been hanging around their block are henchmen for an evil sorcerer determined to settle a decades-old score.

Just when Chloe discovers that she has powers, too, her parents are kidnapped! In order to rescue them, she’ll need to harness her abilities at an elite academy, run by the very agency who exiled her parents from the magical world. Finding herself in the center of a magical war that might destroy everything she has ever known,

Chloe can’t shake the feeling that the Agents of Magic are hiding secrets. With her parents’ lives hanging in the balance, she must uncover who is truly on her side and fast to save her family—and the world itself.

Read more about this exciting new book after the link...

We immediately fell in love with the cover art, and could not wait to ask you, what is this book about? 
This book is a moving portrait of the absence lost loved ones leave in our lives—and the food traditions that keep their memories from fading. Lila and her Abuelo Carlos miss Abuela Ana. Without the sound of her laughter, the rhythm of her dancing, or the aromas of her cooking, home just isn’t the same. So Lila devises a plan to hold onto every detail she can remember. She and Abuelo will make Abuela’s signature dish—sancocho! Off to the market they go, guided by a faded recipe that takes them through the stalls, where each ingredient sparks a warm memory. As Lila and her abuelo learn to lean on each other, Abuela’s words help them recreate a dish that tastes like love. When We Find Her is a contemporary picture book (ages 4-8). 

Read more after the break ...

We are delighted to welcome Lulu Delacre and hear all about the newest addition to her Rafi and Rosi book series! Let's dive in. 

Lulu, what is this beautiful, beginner reader book about? 
Rafi and Rosi, the curious, fun-loving tree frog siblings, are cooking up a storm with delicious Puerto Rican treats on the menu. 
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Rafi and his younger sister, Rosi, are excited to help Abuela make her holiday order for sixty pasteles, a traditional Puerto Rican root vegetable dish. When Abuela discovers she is missing one key ingredient, Rafi and Rosi set out to buy it. On the way back they get to make crunchy arañitas and at home they learn Abuela's secret recipe for yummy guava shells in syrup. Later, when their friends can't come to help make the pasteles, Rafi and Rosi save the day, and the best Pasteles Making Party ensues! 

Engaging and informative, this book is perfect for newly independent readers. Children will enjoy Rafi and Rosi's explorations of some of their favorite foods.

Read more after the link ...

Today we celebrate the release of BOLD, BRILLIANT, AND LATINE written by Musa Alyssa Reynoso-Morris and illustrated by Sol Cotti. We checked in with Alyssa to learn more about the book:

Inspire the next generation of changemakers with this celebratory biography anthology of 52
Latine and Hispanic heroes. In Bold, Brilliant and Latine, young Latine and Hispanic children
can see themselves reflected in 52 heroes from the past and present, whom everyone can
look up to.

From sporting legends to fashion icons, political leaders to fearless changemakers,
as well as renowned writers, musicians, artists, scientists, and more, these heroes’ lives are
vividly recounted by queer award-winning Dominican and Puerto Rican storyteller Alyssa
Reynoso-Morris and brought to life by Argentinian illustrator Sol Cotti’s artwork. Kids will find
motivation in the stories of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (politician, youngest woman ever to be elected to Congress), Lionel Messi (superstar soccer player), Sonia Sotomayor (US Supreme Court Justice), Frida Kahlo (iconic artist), Cesar Chavez (activist and labor leader), Ellen Ochoa (first Latina astronaut in space) and Lin-Manuel Miranda (actor, composer, creator of Broadway musicals).

A heartwarming and empowering book for Latine and Hispanic children and families, this
anthology is also ideal for homeschoolers and educators looking to diversify their
perspectives through Latine and Hispanic history and achievements, with one new figure to
explore each week of the year. Proud, talented, and boundless, these extraordinary men and
women will inspire readers of all backgrounds to chase their dreams… whatever they may be.

Read more after the link...

Today we celebrate the series launch of Terry C. Jenning's CAMI CAMPOS. We sat down with Terry to learn more about this series.

Grumpy Cami Campos is always getting in a mess-mostly of her own making. How she gets herself out of these messes, real and imagined, is the source of hilarity--from dealing with a splinter in her butt and a baby brother’s blow out at the posaditas pageant; to saving snakes around St. Patrick’s Day; to finding the true history of America’s Thanksgiving.

With a diverse cast of characters, the six-book chapter book series follows Cami as she finds solutions and navigates American holidays within the backdrop of her Cuban and Latine customs, exploring the intersection of culture, family, and sense of self.

Read more after the link...

We are delighted to welcome Hilda Eunice Burgo as she celebrates her newest book, Bodega Cats: Pawsome Pals. 

Hilda, welcome to this Las Musas blog interview. Please tell us about this fun project.
This illustrated middle grade book is told in two points of view: 11-year-old Gregory, and Amber the cat. Baseball means everything to Gregory. It feels like he’s flying when he hits a home run, and it also reminds him of summers spent playing with his cousin in the Dominican Republic. But when an accident benches him for the rest of the season, he’s doomed to sit around his parents’ bodega every afternoon and weekend. For stray cat Amber, who was born with a missing leg and left on the street as a kitten, life has always been about staying away from danger, keeping her belly full, and finding joy in the little things. When she spots a human boy whose leg is broken she remembers what it’s like to need help when you feel lost and alone. How far will these two go to make a friend when they need one most?

Sandra, welcome to this Las Musas blog interview. Please tell us about this project.
In this Latinx YA fantasy debut inspired by El Zorro, Lola de La Peña becomes the masked heroine Salvación in order to save her family and town from a man who would destroy it for the magic it contains ... if she doesn’t fall in love with a boy in his company first.

​Today we celebrate the book birthday of Musa Jackie Morera's wonderful new book, Together We Remember, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación. We sat down with Jackie to learn more about this book. 

Together We Remember is a fiction picture book about imagination, the power of memories, and the “why” behind daydreaming. It follows a girl and her father as they embark on an imagination adventure that includes rainforest hikes, intergalactic planet-hopping, and most of all, remembering Mami through her favorite activity—creating stories and memories together.

“An imaginative journey through grief, love, and the promise of adventures yet to come.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“In Morera and Encarnación’s wistful bilingual story, imagination-fueled play helps ‘chase the
blues away’ for a father and child…loving work about a family’s bond.” —Publishers Weekly

Read more after the link...