Odyssey to the North  / Odisea del norte Showing the heartbreak as well as the humor of misunderstandings in a foreign culture, award-winning author Bencastro creates a sensitive and caring portrait of a Hispanic immigrant, Calixto, as he struggles to survive. “Unpretentious and reportorial, Bencastro’s tone is welcomely understated . . . and his message is all the more powerful for it.”—Publishers Weekly “A heartfelt story of political oppression and exile…credible and quite moving.”—Kirkus Reviews“     The Border Patrol Ate My Dust / La Migra me hizo las mandados “These stories reflect the true and first-hand experiences of people who risked it all to cross over to a better life…Alarcón reminds us that when our chain y breaks, we all drown.”—El Paso Times   “This wonderful first-hand description of the immigration experience is recommended for public and academic libraries and bookstores.”—Críticas (starred review)       The Adventures of Don Chipote, or, …

This April, celebrate National Poetry Month by introducing a child to the many forms of poetry, convincing reluctant teen readers to try a poem each day or by starting a stimulating discussion among friends through poetry that blends the aesthetic and the political. Poetry is for everyone! For Children: Agua, Agüita / Water, Little Water by Jorge Argueta, illustrated by Felipe Ugalde Alcántara From its birth deep in Mother Earth, Little Water climbs to the surface, passing through roots and rocks, light and darkness. Finally, the tiny bead of water makes it to the top and rests, “a sigh of morning dew,” hanging on “the tips of leaves / on spider webs / or on the petals / of flowers.” The droplet becomes a river, a lake, an ocean, ultimately climbing to the sky and turning into a cloud. Then, “drop by drop / I return singing / to our Mother Earth. …

Three acclaimed authors—Luis J. Rodríguez, Javier O. Huerta and Henry A. J. Ramos—spoke at the Latino Young Men and Boys in Search of Justice: A My Brother’s Keeper Forum, which took place Friday, September 30, at the University of Houston-Downtown. Participants explored the unique challenges faced by Houston’s young Latino men along with successful approaches to improving positive outcomes. The forum featured sessions for local youth and adults who work with at-risk students. The panels for young people focused on identity, others’ perceptions of them, and goal-setting. The panels for adults involved with youth looked into the effect of zero tolerance policies, restorative justice practices, and examples of culturally grounded restorative justice practices being used successfully in Houston and around the country.