Zulema and the Witch Owl / Zulema y la bruja lechuza


Book Description

Nine-year-old Zulema, the meanest girl in school, decides to change her wicked ways after receiving a visit from the witch owl.




The Owl and the Lemming


Book Description

As Owl blocks the entrance to a lemming den, he's sure he'll have a tasty meal in the little animal. But this smart rodent will appeal to the boastful owl's sense of pride to get away.




Forgiving Moses


Book Description

Moses Vargas hates his life. He has been forced to move four times in as many years, and he’s tired of starting at another school, having everyone stare at him and trying to make new friends. Most of all, he doesn’t want to have to deal with questions about his father—an inmate in the California Department of Corrections. When Moses discovers that someone has been sending out text messages with a photo of him and his father in a prison uniform, he ends up in a fight and then suspended for three days. School counselor Ray Gutiérrez reaches out to Moses, inviting him to an after-school support program called Círculos for students dealing with absentee fathers. Moses grudgingly attends the sessions that draw on indigenous and cultural roots to empower the boys. Realizing he is not the only one with a problematic home life—and the new friendship of a pretty classmate whose father is also in prison—helps Moses to begin talking about his anger and embarrassment. But will he really be able to overcome his resentment towards his father? The tenth installment in Velásquez’s acclaimed Roosevelt High School Series that focuses on social issues relevant to teens, Forgiving Mosesaddresses the painful issue of children, particularly brown and black youth, whose fathers are not present in their lives. Touching on the disproportionately high number of men of color in prison and its effects on society, this short novel for teens will generate conversations about the possible consequences of making bad choices, responsibility to family and the impact of incarceration.




The Woman Who Lost Her Soul and Other Stories


Book Description

The writer Jovita González was a long memeber- and ultimately seved as president- of Texas Folklore Society, which strve to preserve the oral traditions and customs of her native state. Many of the folklore-based stories in this volume were published by González in periodicals such as Southwest Review from the 1920s through the 1940s but have been gathered here for the first time. Sergio Reyna has brought together more than thirty narratives by González and arranged them into Animal Tales (such as "The Mescal-Drinking Horse"); Tales of Humans ("The Bullet-Swallower"); Tales of Popular Customs ("Shelling Corn by Moonlight); Religious Tales ("The Guadalupana Vine); Tales of Mexican Ancestrors ("Ambriosio the Indian); and Tales of Ghosts, Demons, and Buried Treasure ("The Woman Who Lost Her Soul"). Reyna also provides a helpful introduction that succinctly surveys the authors life and work, analyzing her writings within their historical and cultural contexts.




Under the Bridge: Stories from the Border / Bajo el puente: Relatos desde la frontera


Book Description

ñSuddenly I saw him appear in the train yard on the other side of the river, between the boxcars, Martin and a Migra, it looked like they were arguing, they lifted up their arms like they were gonna start wailing on each other, the Migra guy grabbed Martin by his shoulder and shook him, me and all the people on this side were watching close to see what was gonna happenƒî In the title story of this short story collection set along the Texas-Mexico border, young Monica waits for her boyfriend Martin under the bridge next to the Rio Grande running between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez. Martin is a pasamojados, someone who smuggles people across the river. When he asks her if she wants to leave with him, sheÍs afraid. Afraid to suffer the way her parents did when they went north, suffocating in heat and fear, unable to find a job. But in spite of her fears, she finds herself at the river bank, being pushed into the tire tube that serves as a raft, under the bridge. Mexican writer Rosario Sanmiguel crafts intriguing narratives about solitary women in search of their place, caught between the past and the present. Set in the border region, this collection follows these women?some from privileged backgrounds and others from more desperate circumstances?through seedy bars, hotel rooms, and city streets. A woman who has escaped the night life, dancing on platforms in front of thousands of eyes; Francis, who finally finds the strength to leave her married lover; young Fatima, whose mother abandons her, leaving her to take her place as a maid in a wealthy El Paso familyÍs mansion; Nicole, who has risen from dismal poverty to become an accomplished immigration attorney. Originally published in Mexico as Callejon Sucre y otros relatos (Ediciones del Azar, 1994), this edition contains a profound English translation by John Pluecker. The seven stories included in this collection interweave the opposing themes of solitude and connectedness, longing and privilege, fear and audacity, all of which are juxtaposed on the boundary of self-awareness.




Maximilian & the Mystery of the Guardian Angel (Max's Lucha Libre Adventures #1)


Book Description

Margarito acts like any other eleven-year-old aficionado of lucha libre. He worships all the players. But in the summer just before sixth grade, he tumbles over the railing at a match in San Antonio and makes a connection to the world of Mexican wrestling that will ultimately connect him—maybe by blood!—to the greatest hero of all time: the Guardian Angel. A 2012 Pura Belpré Author Honor Award winner! Xavier Garza was born in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. An enthusiastic author, artist, teacher, and storyteller, his work is a lively documentation of the dreams, superstitions, and heroes in the bigger-than-life world of south Texas.




The Artist and Me


Book Description

A boy recounts how he took on the attitude of the adults around him and bullied an eccentric painter in 1880's France, before discovering that there is more than one way to see the world.




Maximilian and the Lucha Libre Club


Book Description

The fights still rage on in the third installation of Max's Lucha Libre Adventures series. Max seems like any other nerdy kid until he's asked to join the Lucha Libre Club. The super-secret club admits only the offspring of wrestling royalty. And Max is a prince, descended through his mother from royal blood, his uncle the very king of lucha libre: The Guardian Angel. Trouble is, the club is so secret that Max can't tell his best friend or girlfriend what he is up to. Just that vexing girl, Paloma. Xavier Garza lives in San Antonio, Texas.




Graduation Day


Book Description

In an dilapidated urban school, the children are getting ready for their commencement to the next level. One little girl, bullied and alone, manages to make a positive change in their environment as she prepares to leave.




Democracy and the Next American Economy


Book Description

Progressive intellectual Henry A. J. Ramos believes the United States is at a crossroads, facing the most challenging moment since the civil rights movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. In fact, absent major new interventions and investments, he sees this moment as a pivotal turning point in the American journey in which political polarization, income and wealth disparity and public violence"€"much of which is race related"€"threaten the very essence and integrity of our democracy and economy. Ramos examines the policies that have contributed to America's decline, including those that have led to the concentration of great wealth in the hands of a few while condemning many to systemic poverty and inequality. Current economic and social trends, he stresses, are unsustainable and call for organized, concerted action by people of conscience and those affected. Ultimately, Ramos provides a roadmap for the future so the United States can continue to provide opportunities for its people and serve again as a leader in the international community. He offers case studies of organizations that have successfully created and administered programs that further equity in society, restore democratic practices, implement better urban and city planning and protect the environment. Demonstrating both the critical importance and real possibility of leveraging prosperity and justice for all Americans, this compelling work is a must-read for anyone interested in democracy, economic restoration and environmental sustainability.