LAS MUSAS BOOKS
  • About
    • Mission and History
    • Community Standards
    • FAQ
  • Meet Las Musas
    • 2025 Releases
    • 2026 Releases
    • Alumni >
      • 2024 Releases
      • 2023 Releases
      • 2022 Releases
      • 2021 Releases
      • 2020 Releases
      • 2018 - 2019 Releases
  • Mentorship
    • Hermanas
    • Madrinas
  • BLOG
  • Contact
  • Podcast, Resources & more
    • Podcast
    • Latinx Kidlit Resources
    • Webinar Series

Mirrors, Windows and Walls: 8 Children’s Books for Seeing Ourselves, Others and Breaking Down the Walls that Separate Us

8/12/2019

 
We have so much information. We have voices on the TV and hot takes on social media. We have photographs that pierce our hearts and haunt our dreams. We have oceans of ink spent on getting the details, the facts – and sometimes the lies – just right. As Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop said, we need mirrors and windows to understand people who are like us (or like our parents or grandparents) and people who are not like us. We need something greater than information. We need story.
 
In my debut YA novel, The Grief Keeper, Marisol Morales crosses borders, sacrifices her physical and mental well-being and endures racism, for the chance of safety for her sister, Gabi, and herself. I can easily understand why someone would risk so much, but I am a daughter of immigrants. The idea of having to flee your homeland, whether because of violence or because of a lack of opportunities does not seem farfetched to me at all. But I know that for some people, it can seem foolish, or downright selfish. My intention in writing The Grief Keeper was to engender understanding and deep empathy—of ourselves and of others who are not like us.

​Here are 8 books for children that I think do the same.
Picture
​PANCHO RABBIT AND THE COYOTE: A MIGRANT’S TALE
​
by Duncan Tonatiuh

In this allegorical picture book, a young rabbit named Pancho eagerly awaits his papa’s return from the north, where he went to find work and earn money for his family. When Papa does not return, Pancho sets out to find him. A beautiful story about the hardships faced by thousands of families who seek to make better lives for themselves and their children by illegally crossing the border. (Recommended ages 6-9)

BUY THE BOOK
Picture
WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
​
by Yamile Saied Méndez

When a girl is asked where she’s from—where she’s really from—none of her answers seems to be the right one. Unsure about how to reply, she turns to her loving abuelo for help. He doesn’t give her the response she expects. She gets an even better one. (Recommended ages 4-8)

BUY THE BOOK
Picture
THE OTHER HALF OF HAPPY
by Rebecca Barcárcel

Quijana is a girl in pieces. One-half Guatemalan, one-half American: When Quijana's Guatemalan cousins move to town, her dad seems ashamed that she doesn't know more about her family's heritage. This lyrical debut from Rebecca Balcárcel is a heartfelt poetic portrayal of a girl growing up, fitting in, and learning what it means to belong.
(Recommended ages 9-12)

​PRE-ORDER THE BOOK
Picture
INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN
by Thanhha Lai

Inspired by the author's childhood experience of fleeing Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and immigrating to Alabama, this coming-of-age debut novel told in verse has been celebrated for its touching child's-eye view of family and immigration. (Recommended ages 8-12 )

​BUY THE BOOK
Picture
INTERNMENT
by Samira Ahmed

A near-future story following 17-year old Layla Amin as she and her family are forced into an internment camp for Muslim Americans, INTERNMENT is horrifying and prescient as it reminds us of our past transgressions, and of the precarious path we’re on as a nation of dehumanizing others. (Recommended ages 13-18)

BUY THE BOOK
Picture
NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN AMERICAN DAUGHTER
by Erika Sanchez

When her perfect sister, Olga, is tragically killed, Julia must contend with her own feelings of grief, along with her parents’ expectations that she be their ‘perfect Mexican daughter.’ But Julia struggles with those expectations, and with finding her identity as an American. A bracing view of first generation Americans and the way family can be an anchor and a burden at the same time.
 (Recommended ages 14-18)

BUY THE BOOK
Picture
THE RADIUS OF US
by Marie Marquardt
 
A dual point of view love story, The Radius of Us follows Gretchen and Phoenix as each struggles with the trauma that inflicts their lives. Phoenix escapes the violence in his homeland of El Salvador with his brother Ari, only to have to leave Ari behind as he is taken in by a suburban family. 
 (Recommended ages 13-19)

​BUY THE BOOK
Picture
THE LINES WE CROSS
by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Michael’s parents belong to an anti-immigrant group, and drag him to rallies that protest the tide of refugees that poor into the country. It all makes sense to Michael until he meets Mina, a beautiful Muslim refugee from Afghanistan. Set in Australia against a backdrop of a refugee crisis, the love story slowly develops to show the complications of family and societal expectations. Love across protest lines is fraught, and issues are never black and white.
(Recommended ages 12-18)

BUY THE BOOK

About the author of the blog post...

Alexandra Villasante has always loved telling stories—though not always with words. She has a BFA in Painting and an MA in Combined Media (that’s art school speak for making work out of anything). Born in New Jersey to immigrant parents, Alex has the privilegio of dreaming in both English and Spanish. When she’s not writing, painting or chasing chickens around the yard, Alexandra plans conferences and fundraisers for non-profits. She lives with her family in the semi-wilds of Pennsylvania.
www.alexandravillasante.com

Alison link
4/10/2023 07:36:55 pm

Because of life conditions, the Flute player's family thinks of themselves as destitute. Subsequent to moving into a haven, Flute player is battling with being named as destitute. Through new kinships and the objective to reconnect a road canine with his older proprietor, Flute player finds the genuine importance of home. Remain is an endearing story loaded with secret, tension, and trust.


Comments are closed.

    Las Musas Speak

    Welcome to our blog!  

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018

    Categories

    All
    Activism
    Book Birthday
    Chapter Book
    Cover Reveal
    Gift Guide
    Hermanas
    Madrinas
    Middle Grade
    Personal Essay
    Picture Book
    Reading Lists
    Rom-Com
    Webinar Series
    YA
    Young Adult

    RSS Feed

© COPYRIGHT 2021 . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • About
    • Mission and History
    • Community Standards
    • FAQ
  • Meet Las Musas
    • 2025 Releases
    • 2026 Releases
    • Alumni >
      • 2024 Releases
      • 2023 Releases
      • 2022 Releases
      • 2021 Releases
      • 2020 Releases
      • 2018 - 2019 Releases
  • Mentorship
    • Hermanas
    • Madrinas
  • BLOG
  • Contact
  • Podcast, Resources & more
    • Podcast
    • Latinx Kidlit Resources
    • Webinar Series