booktalk Archives - Page 844 of 1356

Dreams from Many Rivers: A Hispanic History of the United States Told in Poems
by Margarita Engle (Author) and Beatriz Gutierrez Hernandez (Illustrator)

Booktalk: From Juana Briones and Juan Ponce de León, to eighteenth century slaves and modern-day sixth graders, the many and varied people depicted in this poetry narrative speak to the experiences and contributions of Latinos throughout the history of the United States, from the earliest known stories up to present day. A middle grade verse history of Latinos in the United States told through many voices

Snippet:

CONQUEST MEANS CRUELTY

PEDRO DE ACEVEDO
Puerto Rico, 1493

As the cabin boy on this ship,
I am a witness to the excitement
of Colón, whose first journey reached
other islands.

Now, this second voyage brings us reality.
It won’t be easy to find the spice trees we seek.

When I see a boy around my age,
I learn his name, Guacarigua.

He will be one of the captives,
a person enslaved.

A 2019 Cybils Poetry nominee

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Piñata Moon
by Torran Anderson (Author)

Booktalk: When Envo’s friend, J., commits suicide, he’s caught between his regular routine of driving around looking for parties and his own struggles with depression. Told over the course of one night in Tucson, Arizona, Enzo searches for a rite of passage that will help him confront J.’s death. As Enzo wrestles with his complicated history with J., he struggles to communicate with his friends, Matas and Sci-fi, and imagines the moon is his only confidant. Enzo keeps a running list of the tiny things he enjoys about living to combat his urge to follow in J.’s footsteps and he receives tweets from the moon that give him the guidance he craves.

Snippet:

@themoonforreal
Give me a good reason to exit this life early.
I can’t think of one.

@themoonforreal
No point in taking your life, Envo. You haven’t
lived yet.

A 2019 Cybils Poetry nominee