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Happy Book Birthday to Cool Green: Amazing, Remarkable Trees

3/28/2023

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Join us in celebrating COOL GREEN: AMAZING, REMARKABLE TREES book birthday! We sat down with Musa Lulu Delacre to learn all about the inspiration behind this book. 

But first, a little bit about Cool Green: Amazing, Remarkable Trees (simultaneously published in Spanish VERDE FRESCO: ÁRBOLES ASOMBROSOS Y EXTRAORDINARIOS).

COOL GREEN: AMAZING, REMARKABLE TREES is a portrait of some of the world's most incredible trees, seen through the eyes of a landscaper who loves them--and his granddaughter who is beginning to understand why.


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Happy Book Birthday to The Witch and the Vampire!

3/27/2023

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​Join us in celebrating the THE WITCH AND THE VAMPIRE book birthday!
Francesca Flores, the author, shares with us all about the inspiration behind her story!

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​But first, a little bit about this young adult novel:


THE WITCH AND THE VAMPIRE IS a queer Rapunzel retelling where a witch and a vampire who trust no one but themselves must journey together through a cursed forest with danger at every turn.

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Happy Book Birthday to Turtles of the Midnight Moon!

3/16/2023

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Join us in celebrating the TURTLES of the MIDNIGHT MOON book birthday! We sat down with María José Fitzgerald to learn all about the inspiration behind the book! 

But first, a little bit about this new middle grade novel:

Twelve-year-old Barana lives in a coastal village in Honduras, where she spends every spare minute visiting the sea turtles that nest on the beach. Abby is feeling adrift in sixth grade, trying to figure out who she is and where she belongs after her best friend moved away from New Jersey.

When Abby’s papi plans a work trip to Honduras, she is finally given the opportunity to see his homeland—with Barana as her tour guide. But Barana has other plans: someone has been poaching turtle eggs, and she’s determined to catch them! Before long, Abby and Barana are both consumed by the mystery, chasing down suspects, gathering clues, and staking out the beach in the dead of night. . . . Will they find a way to stop the poachers before it’s too late?

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Happy Book Birthday to Jovita Wore Pants, The Story of a Mexican Freedom Fighter!

3/10/2023

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Join us in celebrating the book birthday of JOVITA WORE PANTS, The Story of a Mexican Freedom Fighter! 

​We sat down with award-winning Musa Aida Salazar to learn all about the inspiration behind this book. 


But first, a little bit about Jovita Wore Pants: 

Jovita dreamed of wearing pants! She hated the big skirts Abuela made her wear. She wanted to scale the tallest mesquite tree on her rancho, ride her horse, and feel the wind curl her face into a smile.

When her father and brothers joined the Cristero War to fight for religious freedom, Jovita wanted to go, too. Forbidden, she defied her father's rules - and society's - and found a clever way to become a trailblazing revolutionary, wearing pants!
​

This remarkable true story about a little-known maverick Mexican heroine is brought vividly to life by her great-niece and Américas Award-winner Aida Salazar, and Eisner Award-honoree Molly Mendoza.

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Happy Book Birthday to The Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejía

2/27/2023

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Join us in celebrating THE ENCHANTED LIFE OF VALENTINA MEJIA book birthday! We sat down with debut Musa Alexandra Alessandri to learn all about the inspiration behind this book. 

But first, a little bit about The Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejía:

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Twelve-year-old Valentina wants to focus on drawing the real world around her and hopefully get into art school in Bogotá one day, but Papi has spent his life studying Colombia’s legendary creatures and searching for proof of their existence. So when Papi hears that a patasola—a vampire woman with one leg—has been sighted in the Andes, Valentina and her younger brother Julián get dragged along on another magical creature hunt.While they’re in the Andes, a powerful earthquake hits. Valentina and Julián fall through the earth…and find an alternate Colombia where, to Valentina’s shock, all the legends are real.

​To get home, Valentina and Julián must make a treacherous journey to reach this land’s ruler: the madremonte, mother and protector of the earth. She controls the only portal back to the human world—but she absolutely hates humans, and she’ll do anything to defend her land.
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Cover Reveal: Elizabeth Santiago's The Moonlit Vine and Claro de luna

2/22/2023

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Today, we're thrilled to reveal the cover for The Moonlit Vine and Claro de luna by Elizabeth Santiago, with cover art by Laylie Frazier and interior art by McKenzie Mayle. This young adult novel (pubbing on May 30, 2023 from Tu Books, an imprint of LEE & LOW BOOKS INC.) places Taíno people and culture into a living, modern-day story—the first of its kind for middle-grade and high school readers.

A little bit about the book:
Despite her name, Taína Perez doesn't know anything about her Taíno heritage, nor has she ever tried to learn. After all, how would ancient Puerto Rican history help with everything going on? There's constant trouble at school and in her neighborhood, her older brother was kicked out of the house, and with her mom at work, she's left alone to care for her little brother and aging grandmother. It's a lot for a 14-year-old to manage.
 
But life takes a wild turn when her abuela tells her she is a direct descendant of Anacaona, the beloved Taíno leader, warrior, and poet, who was murdered by the Spanish in 1503. Abuela also gives her an amulet and a zemi and says that it's time for her to step into her power like the women who came before her. But is that even possible? People like her hardly make it out of their circumstances, and the problems in her home and community are way bigger than Taína can manage. Or are they?
 
A modern tale with interstitial historical chapters, The Moonlit Vine brings readers a powerful story of the collective struggle, hope, and liberation of Puerto Rican and Taíno peoples.

 
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Cover art by Laylie Frazier

​Elizabeth says: 

When I saw the cover, I gasped. What had been in my head all those months had been perfectly captured by Laylie Frazier, the artist. From the way Taína, my main character, looked, to the glare on her glasses, the blue nail polish, the vibrant background colors reminiscent of Borinquén/Puerto Rico, to the moon glowing majestically toward the reader. It is everything I had imagined and more. I am thrilled that The Moonlit Vine/Claro de Luna is making its debut and in awe of the beautiful artwork.

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​Elizabeth Santiago is a fiction writer, creative writing teacher and narrative coach. She obtained her PhD in Educational Studies from Lesley University, Master of Education from Harvard University, and Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Emerson College. Her first loves remain creative writing and teaching, never losing her desire to create characters based on her beloved community, or support students in leveraging storytelling to be better overall writers. She lives in Boston.



​Visit her online at theuntoldnarratives.com, or on GoodReads.
Follow her on Twitter & Instagram at @LizNarratives.

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Cover art by Laylie Frazier
​Pre-order The Moonlit Vine via the links below:
  • Indiebound
  • Bookshop
  • Barnes & Noble
  • Amazon
 
Pre-order Claro de luna via the links below:
  • Indiebound
  • Bookshop
  • Barnes & Noble
  • Amazon
 
Add The Moonlit Vine to your Want-to-Read List on GoodReads!
 
Add Claro de luna to your Want-to-Read List on GoodReads!
 
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Cover Reveal: Lourdes Heuer's translation of Martha Riva Palacio Obón's Secrets We Tell the Sea!

2/13/2023

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We are excited to share the stunning cover for Lourdes Heuer's translation of Martha Riva Palacio Obón's award-winning middle-grade novel about family, grief, and the sea. Secrets We Tell the Sea, published by Bloomsbury Children's Books, will be released on October 24, 2023. 

But first, a little bit about the book:


The only good thing about Sofia's mom sending her to live with her abuela is that finally Sofia and the sea will meet face-to-face.

The sea has always called to Sofia. That's how she knows she’s a mermaid—that, and the fact that the ocean and its creatures are much easier to understand than people. Sofia longs to meet another mermaid, someone who understands her and the sea completely. And when she meets Luisa, it seems like she's found just that—until the sea betrays them both in one irreversible moment. Soon their town is overtaken by hurricanes and floods and emotions and questions so big Sofia doesn't know what to do with them. Like, how do you make friends with the sea again? And how do you calm the rough waters within yourself?
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Book cover designed by John Candell and illustrated by Dana SanMar.
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Lourdes Heuer is a children's book author, poet, translator, and college professor. Her debut picture book, On this Airplane, illustrated by Pura Belpré Award Honoree Sara Palacios, was selected in 2023 for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. The first book in the Esme! early chapter book series, Esme's Birthday Conga Line, with art by #1 New York Times Bestselling illustrator Marissa Valdez, was named a 2022 Chicago Public Library Best Fiction Book for Younger Readers and one of Evanston Public Library's 101 Great Books for Kids of 2022. 

​The daughter of Cuban immigrants, Lourdes was born in Spain and immigrated to the United States in 1984. She currently resides in South Florida.
​Find her on Instagram and Twitter.


Pre-order Secrets We Tell the Sea today!
Add Secrets We Tell the Sea to your Goodreads!


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Happy Book Birthday to Plátanos Go With Everything!

1/31/2023

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Join us in celebrating PLÁTANOS GO WITH EVERYTHING book birthday! We sat down with Musa Lissette Norman to learn all about the inspiration behind this book. 

But first, a little bit about Plátanos Go With Everything:

Plátanos are Yesenia’s favorite food. They can be sweet and sugary, or salty and savory. And they’re a part of almost every meal her Dominican family makes. 

​Stop by her apartment and find out why plátanos go with everything—especially love!



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Happy Book Birthday to                            Abuela's Super Capa!

1/17/2023

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Join us in celebrating ABUELA'S SUPER CAPA book birthday! We sat down with award-winning Musa Ana Siqueira to learn all about the inspiration behind this book. 

But first, a little bit about Abuela's Super Capa:

Saturdays are superhero days. Equipped with their milkshakes and capas, Luis and his abuela can turn anything into una aventura. But when Abuela gets sick, Luis has to learn a new way to be a hero. With some help from his sister, Luis learns that change isn’t all that bad and there are so many new aventuras to have, even if they look a little different.

​And now to our interview with Ana!


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Happy Book Birthday to City Feet!

1/14/2023

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Join us in celebrating CITY FEET'S book birthday! We sat down with debut Musa Aixa Pérez-Prado to learn all about the inspiration behind this book. 

But first, a little bit about City Feet:

CITY FEET is a multilingual rhyming tribute to the rhythms and diversity of city streets, shown from a toddler's view of funny, fancy and fabulous feet. 

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  • About
    • Mission and History
    • Community Standards
    • FAQ
  • Meet Las Musas
    • 2023 Releases
    • 2024 Releases
    • Alumni >
      • 2022 Releases
      • 2021 Releases
      • 2020 Releases
      • 2018 - 2019 Releases
  • Mentorship
    • Hermanas
    • Madrinas
  • BLOG
  • Contact
  • Podcast, Book Club & more
    • Podcast
    • Book Club
    • Latinx Kidlit Resources
    • Webinar Series