Read and Shine » baseball

Latinx voices are important contributors to the fabric of American life. Spanning many countries, people from Latinx backgrounds have a rich and varied history and culture. Latinx Heritage Month, which occurs from September 15 through October 15, is when Americans come together to recognize and celebrate the many contributions of Latinx people. No matter their background, readers of all ages can learn something new about their community members through this book list. These books are specifically geared toward readers ages 8-12 and feature both factual and fictional characters of Latinx heritage. Each story reflects a piece of the Latinx community and provides a means of connection and understanding for all.
Contributed by: Mary Lanni

	Bravo! Poems About Amazing Hispanics By: Margarita Engle Illustrated by: Rafael López Bold, graphic portraits and beautiful poems present famous and lesser-known Latinos from varied backgrounds who have faced life’s challenges in creative ways.
	The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora By: Pablo Cartaya When his family’s restaurant and Cuban American neighborhood in Miami are threatened by a greedy land developer, thirteen-year-old Arturo, joined by Carmen, a cute poetry enthusiast, fights back, discovering the power of poetry and protest through untold family stories and the work of José Martí.
	The First Rule of Punk By: Celia C. Pérez Twelve-year-old María Luisa O’Neill-Morales (who really prefers to be called Malú) reluctantly moves with her Mexican-American mother to Chicago and starts seventh grade with a bang—violating the dress code with her punk rock aesthetic and spurning the middle school’s most popular girl in favor of starting a band with a group of like-minded misfits.
	Lucky Broken Girl By: Ruth Behar In 1960s New York, fifth-grader Ruthie, a Cuban-Jewish immigrant, must rely on books, art, her family, and friends in her multicultural neighborhood when an accident puts her in a body cast.
	Maximilian & the Mystery of the Guardian Angel By: Xavier Garza Eleven-year-old Margarito, a big fan of wrestling known as lucha libre, begins to suspect that he has a close connection with his favorite luchador, El Angel de La Guardia, the Guardian Angel.
	The Moon Within By: Aida Salazar Eleven-year-old (nearly twelve) Celi Rivera, who is a mix of Black-Puerto Rican-Indigenous Mexican, is secretive about her approaching period and the changes that are happening to her body. She is horrified that her mother wants to hold a traditional public moon ceremony to celebrate the occasion. She must choose loyalty to her life-long best friend, who is contemplating an even more profound change of life or the boy she likes.
	Red Panda & Moon Bear By: Jarod Roselló Red Panda and Moon Bear, magical defenders of their community, battle ghosts, evil robots, alien invaders, and time portals, all before Mami and Papi get home.
	The Red Umbrella By: Christina Diaz Gonzalez Cuba, 1961: Two years after the communist revolution, Lucia still leads a carefree life, dreaming of parties and her first crush. But when the soldiers come to her small town, everything begins to change. Suddenly the revolution hits home. Freedoms are stripped away. Neighbors disappear. Her friends feel like strangers. And her family is being watched. As the revolution’s impact becomes more oppressive, Lucia’s parents make the heart-wrenching decision to send her and her little brother to the United States—alone. Suddenly plunked down in Nebraska with well-meaning strangers, Lucia struggles to adapt to a new country, a new language, a new way of life. But what of her old life? Will she ever see her home or her parents again? And if she does, will she still be the same girl?
	Rooting for Rafael Rosales By: Kurtis Scaletta In the Dominican Republic, a boy who dreams of playing professional baseball in the United States crosses paths with a young environmentalist from Minneapolis who is passionate about saving bees.
	Stef Soto, Taco Queen By: Jennifer Torres Mexican-American Stef Soto is hoping to break free from her overprotective parents and embarrassing reputation from her family’s taco truck business, but she soon learns that family, friendship, and the taco truck are important and wonderful parts of her life.
	Us, In Progress: short stories about young Latinos By: Lulu Delacre A collection of short stories featuring Latin Americans allows readers to experience life through their eyes, celebrate their victories, and see their hardships.
	What if a Fish By: Anika Fajardo Eleven-year-old Eddie Aguado is convinced that winning the 14th Annual Arne Hopkins Dock Fishing Tournament (once he actually learns how to fish) will bring him closer to his dad, who died when Eddie was only five.

The smell of cut grass, hot dogs, peanuts, and nachos. No, we aren’t talking about your backyard barbeque. We’re talking about the baseball field. There are so many books dedicated to the great game of baseball that it was hard to choose only 9 for our list. From biographies to cookbooks, we’ve chosen 9 unique books to satisfy the baseball lover.

	Baseballogy: supercool facts you never knew By: Kevin Sylvester Offers facts about the American pastime, including such topics as stadium size, batting basics, and women in baseball.
	Ballpark Cookbook: The National League By: Katrina Jorgensen Forget peanuts and Cracker Jacks! National League Ballparks now offer a dizzying array of edible options. These make-like stadium recipes give young chefs and sports fans a culinary road trip at home. From the famous fish tacos at the Giants’ AT&T Park in San Francisco to brats and cheese curds at the Brewers’ Tropicana Field, these diamond dishes are perfect for any seventh-inning stretch.
	Hank Aaron: Home Run Hero By: Jessica Morrison Although Jackie Robinson and a few others blazed the trail, Aaron was among the first African-Americans to integrate professional baseball and this book in the Crabtree Groundbreaker Biographies series recounts the many indignities Aaron and fellow black teammates faced on the road traveling for the Braves. Want to read about more famous baseball players? Simply type in the player’s name in the CLCD search box.
	Baseball Hour By: Carol Nevius Follows a multicultural group of boys and girls through their team’s baseball practice.
	The Chicago Cubs By: Mark Stewart Includes the history of the team, fun facts, and places to see in Chicago. Want to read about other baseball teams? Simply type in the team’s name in the CLCD search box.
	Zachary’s Ball By: Matt Tavares Dad takes Zachary to his first Boston Red Sox game, where they catch a ball and something magical happens.
	Mr. Strike Out By: Jake Maddox David is a great baseball pitcher, but he always strikes out at bat until he learns about Babe Ruth and the importance of practice.
	Rivals By: Tim Green Twelve-year-old Josh looks forward to facing a true rival in the Baseball Hall of Fame tournament, but first he and his friends Jaden and Benji put themselves at great risk trying to expose the truth about a conspiracy to bribe the head umpire.
	8-bit baseball By: Brandon Terrell Jared Richards is great at baseball video games, but when he loses a bet to his best friend Jared is forced to try out for his school’s baseball team–and finds out that playing the game for real is very different from virtual reality. A graphic novel.