July 1, 2020
SILVER VEINS, DUSTY LUNGS: MINING, WATER, AND PUBLIC HEALTH IN ZACATECAS | Nonfictin
by Rocio Gomez (University of Nebraska Press)
In Silver Veins, Dusty Lungs, Rocio Gomez examines the detrimental effects of the silver mining industry on water resources and public health in the city of Zacatecas and argues that the human labor necessary to the mining industry made the worker and the mine inseparable through the land, water, and air. Tensions arose between farmers and the mining industry over water access while the city struggled with mudslides, droughts, and water source contamination. Silicosis-tuberculosis, along with accidents caused by mining technologies like jackhammers and ore-crushers, debilitated scores of miners. By emphasizing the perspective of water and public health, Gomez illustrates that the human body and the environment are not separate entities but rather in a state of constant interaction.
July 7, 2020
13TH STREET #1: BATTLE OOF THE BAD-BREATH BATS | Chapter Book
by David Bowles; Illus. by Shane Clester (HarperCollins)
Cousins Malia, Ivan, and Dante are visiting their aunt Lucy for the summer. But on their way to Gulf City’s water park, they get lost on 13th Street. Only it’s not a street at all. It’s a strange world filled with dangerous beasts! Will the cousins find their way back to Aunt Lucy’s?
Each story in this hilarious and scary new series from award-winning author David Bowles is designed to set independent readers up for success—with short, fast-paced chapters, art on every page, and progress bars at the end of each chapter!
13TH STREET #2: THE FIRE-BREATHING FERRET FIASCO | Chapter Book
by David Bowles; Illus. by Shane Clester (HarperCollins)
Cousins Dante, Malia, and Ivan are happy to be back in their home town. But then their school bus takes a wrong turn and they end up on 13th Street! There are new monsters to fight, but at least they have their friend Susana and their bus driver to help them. Will the gang ever make it to their first day of class?
Each story in this hilarious and scary new series from award-winning author David Bowles is designed to set independent readers up for success—with short, fast-paced chapters, art on every page, and progress bars at the end of each chapter!
13TH STREET #3: CLASH OF THE CACKLING COUGARS | Chapter Book
by David Bowles; Illus. by Shane Clester (HarperCollins)
Ivan, Malia, and Dante are excited about their ski trip. There’s no chance they’ll stumble onto 13th Street in the mountains, right? WRONG! After being sucked through a portal, the cousins come face-to-face with joke-telling cougars that are more dangerous than they seem. How will the kids get out of trouble this time?
Each story in this hilarious and scary new series from award-winning author David Bowles is designed to set independent readers up for success—with short, fast-paced chapters, art on every page, and progress bars at the end of each chapter!
ALL THESE MONSTERS | Young Adult
by Amy Tintera (HMH Books for Young Readers)
Seventeen-year-old Clara is ready to fight back. Fight back against her abusive father, fight back against the only life she’s ever known, and most of all, fight back against scrabs, the earth-dwelling monsters that are currently ravaging the world. So when an opportunity arises for Clara to join an international monster-fighting squad, she jumps at the chance.
When Clara starts training with her teammates, however, she realizes what fighting monsters really means: sore muscles, exhaustion, and worst of all, death. Scrabs are unpredictable, violent, and terrifying. But as Clara gains confidence in her battle skills, she starts to realize scrabs might not be the biggest evil. The true monsters are the ones you least expect.
FREEDOM, WE SING | Picture Book
by Amyra León; Illus. by Molly Mendoza (Flying Eye Books)
As powerful as it is beautiful, Freedom, We Sing is a lyrical picture book designed to inspire and give hope to readers around the world. Molly Mendoza’s immersive, lush illustrations invite kids to ponder singer/songwriter Amyra León’s poem about what it means to be free. It’s the perfect book for parents who want a way to gently start the conversation with their kids about finding hope in these very tense times we are living in.
MUSE SQUAD: THE CASSANDRA CURSE | Middle Grade
by Chantel Acevedo (Balzer + Bray)
Callie Martinez-Silva didn’t mean to turn her best friend into a pop star. But when a simple pep talk leads to miraculous results, Callie learns she’s the newest muse of epic poetry, one of the nine Muses of Greek mythology tasked with protecting humanity’s fate in secret.
Whisked away to Muse Headquarters, she joins three recruits her age, who call themselves the Muse Squad. Together, the junior muses are tasked with using their magic to inspire and empower—not an easy feat when you’re eleven and still figuring out the goddess within.
When their first assignment turns out to be Callie’s exceptionally nerdy classmate, Maya Rivero, the squad comes to Miami to stay with Callie and her Cuban family. There, they discover that Maya doesn’t just need inspiration, she needs saving from vicious Sirens out to unleash a curse that will corrupt her destiny.
As chaos erupts, will the Muse Squad be able to master their newfound powers in time to thwart the Cassandra Curse . . . or will it undo them all?
OYE, MURO (HEY, WALL): UN CUENTO DE ARTE Y COMUNIDAD (SPANISH EDITION) | Picture Book
by Susan Verde; Illus. by John Parra; Translated by Alexis Romay (Paula Wiseman Books)
Hay un muro en el vecindario de Ángel. A su alrededor, la comunidad es un bullicio de vida: música, baile, risa. El muro, no. Es lúgubre. Un niño decide cambiar eso. Pero no lo puede hacer solo.
Narrado en la prosa elegante de Susan Verde e ilustrado con los tonos vibrantes de John Parra, este formidable libro celebra el poder del arte y su capacidad de contar historias y de unir a las comunidades.
July 14, 2020
RUNNING | Young Adult
by Natalia Sylvester (Clarion Books)
In this authentic, humorous, and gorgeously written debut novel about privacy, waking up, and speaking up, Senator Anthony Ruiz is running for president. Throughout his successful political career he has always had his daughter’s vote, but a presidential campaign brings a whole new level of scrutiny to sheltered fifteen-year-old Mariana and the rest of her Cuban American family, from a 60 Minutes–style tour of their house to tabloids doctoring photos and inventing scandals. As tensions rise within the Ruiz family, Mari begins to learn about the details of her father’s political positions, and she realizes that her father is not the man she thought he was.
But how do you find your voice when everyone’s watching? When it means disagreeing with your father—publicly? What do you do when your dad stops being your hero? Will Mari get a chance to confront her father? If she does, will she have the courage to seize it?
July 21, 2020
THE TOTAL ECLIPSE OF NESTOR LOPEZ | Middle Grade
by Adrianna Cueva (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
All Nestor Lopez wants is to live in one place for more than a few months and have dinner with his dad.
When he and his mother move to a new town to live with his grandmother after his dad’s latest deployment, Nestor plans to lay low. He definitely doesn’t want to anyone find out his deepest secret: that he can talk to animals.
But when the animals in his new town start disappearing, Nestor's grandmother becomes the prime suspect after she is spotted in the woods where they were last seen. As Nestor investigates the source of the disappearances, he learns that they are being seized by a tule vieja—a witch who can absorb an animal’s powers by biting it during a solar eclipse. And the next eclipse is just around the corner…
Now it’s up to Nestor’s extraordinary ability and his new friends to catch the tule vieja—and save a place he might just call home.
July 28, 2020
IT IS WOOD, IT IS STONE | Fiction
by Gabriella Burnham (One World)
Linda, an anxious and restless American, has moved to São Paulo, with her husband, Dennis, who has accepted a yearlong professorship. As Dennis submerges himself in his work, Linda finds herself unmoored and adrift, feeling increasingly disassociated from her own body. Linda’s unwavering and skilled maid, Marta, has more claim to Linda’s home than Linda can fathom. Marta, who is struggling to make sense of complicated history and its racial tensions, is exasperated by Linda’s instability. One day, Linda leaves home with a charismatic and beguiling artist, whom she joins on a fervent adventure that causes reverberations felt by everyone, and ultimately binds Marta and Linda in a profoundly human, and tender, way.
SHIRLEY CHISHOLM IS A VERB! | Picture Book
by Veronica Chambers; Illus. by Rachelle Baker (Dial Books)
Shirley Chisholm famously said, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” This dynamic biography illuminates how Chisholm was a doer, an active and vocal participant in our nation’s democracy, and a force to be reckoned with. Now young readers will learn about her early years, her time in Congress, her presidential bid and how her actions left a lasting legacy that continues to inspire, uplift, and instruct.
LA TRAVESÍA DE SANTIAGO | Middle Grade
by Alexandra Diaz (Paula Wiseman Books)
Las monedas en la mano de Santiago son para el boleto del autobús para regresar a la casa de su abuela abusiva. Pero él rehusa regresar. No lo van a extrañar. Su futuro es incierto hasta que se encuentra con María Dolores, cariñosa y maternal y su joven hija, Alegría. Este encuentro ayuda a Santiago a decidir lo que va a hacer. Va a acompañarlas hasta el otro lado, hasta los Estados Unidos de América.
Emprenden el viaje con muy pocas cosas, solo mochilas con agua y un poquito de comida. Viajar juntos requiere que confíen unos en los otros y Santiago está acostumbrado a ir solo. Ninguno de los tres viajeros se da cuenta de que la travesía a través de México hasta la frontera es solamente el comienzo de su historia.
