Yes! We Are Latinos: Poems and Prose About the Latino Experience

I received Yes! We are Latinos as an Early Reviewer book. The book is composed of 12 poems each celebrating the experience of a Latino or Latina living in the United States. Following each poem is a description of a time in history that explains and enhances ones understanding of the narrator’s

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personal experience. I thoroughly enjoyed this children’s book. The book’s appearance is handsome, bound in hardback and with an eye catching cover and interesting graphics within. One of the poems describes a young Sephardic Jews life in San Francisco with her grandmother who keeps their culture alive by teaching her songs that have been sung for over 500 years. Following the poem is a piece that explains why many Sephardic Jews fled from Spain many hundreds of years ago. Another poem is told by a Guatemalan of Chinese descent and the accompanying story details how Chinese immigrants originally came to Guatemala. This book expanded my understanding of the Latin people and their history and heritage.

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Enjoyed reading the various stories in this book. Alma Flor Ada has created a book that represents many different Latino groups and their experiences in relocating to the United States. I am the Media Coordinator in an elementary school with a large Latino population. I have placed this book in the

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collection so that these students can read about the experiences of other Latino students like themselves.

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I loved this book! I really liked each poem from a child's perspective and then the following essay further explaining the Latino experience mentioned. I liked how they went into different types of experiences, to show the diversity of the community.

A solid choice for any collection looking to improve their Latin@ Identity options. Particularly useful for those serving early and middle grade children.

I enjoyed this book. I read it in about an hour. It would be best for 5th-8th graders, and for them to read it with their parents. Kids on their own (unless searching for their origins) probably will not care for the book. Each chapter consists of a fictional Latino child and ends with a brief

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history of that child's country of origins. Because it is brief it can stand as jumping off point for children and their parents to research more about a particular country or person. I liked the historical aspect much more than a short fictional story of a child. But that fictional story will also be a good bridge for kids who think they don't like history.

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This book was absolutely wonderful! As a theatre teacher, I often use poetry with my classes, and the imagery and characterization in the poems is just gorgeous. The mixture of poetry and non-fiction sections makes this book perfect for young people beginning to explore Latin American and Latino

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culture. I would absolutely recommend this book for anyone looking to add more diverse texts into their classroom or their lives.

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This book explores and celebrates Latin identity, culture, heritage, and history in the United States and Latin America . The chapters start with a explanatory non-fiction section focusing on Latin ethnicities such as Sephardic Jews and Latin issues such as Latino immigration and is followed by a

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poetry or prose section highlighting individual voices. The prose section voices the experiences of many individuals from a variety of latin ethnicities and regions, showing the diversity of Latino identities. Even the Chinese and Japanese Presence in Latin America is covered. This is a great book for young adults exploring their own Latin identities or for those who want to learn more about the Latino experience in the United States.

The book succeeds is showing a variety of Latino/Latino cultural perspectives. The pictures or in black and white and have a folk quality to them. While nice they don’t really add much to the stories. Also, when you get to the end, you find out that the vignettes in the prose section are fictional which is a bit disappointing when you think what you are reading has been written by real people. I enjoyed the non-fiction sections more than the prose sections because those sections are more straightforward. Some sections show the authors liberal leanings which show their political bias. All in all though, this book is a great introduction on the Latino heritage for young adults of for anyone looking for an easy to understand introduction on Latinos.

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Alma Flor Ada is such a blessing to the Latino community. I remember reading so many of her books while studying for my MSeD in Literacy. My favorite book was always "My Name Is Maria Isabel". It is still my very favorite but this compilation is a close second!

A rainbow of Latino identities is

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showcased in this book that even as a Colombian-American I didn't know about! I welcomed learning more about the Sephardic Jews, Chinese & Japanese presence. The poems are great to use individually with students especially the extra information provided after each piece. I would recommend this book for children at 4th grade level and up for independent reading and 2nd grade level if you are reading to them. I would also recommend this for any multicultural library.

Thank you Alma!

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This book is a welcomed addition into my classroom library as it is an excellent resource to educate students on the backgrounds of Latinos. The text is a powerful series of vignettes from different perspectives. The material is engaging and offers a wide body of first person circumstances of

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Latinos. The book addresses many topics with art, culture, customs, and adapting to the world around them. The vignettes are powerful alone or together as a whole.

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A great collection of character vignettes and brief essays about the diverse cultural heritage and historical roots of Latino Americans.

This book explores the history of Latinos in our country and around the world. Interspersed between pages of facts are poems that children (and adults) can relate to. With our current immigration crisis combined with the underrepresentation of the Latino population in literature, this is a wise

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book to add to any collection.

From the book:
"My father says illegal / is a dirty word. / All human beings / are made legal / by God / when they are born.

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Excellent resource for educators to understand Latinos. The nonfiction parts between the poems give great background information. The poems are different viewpoints based on country of origin. Great collection to use with older elementary students and higher level students.

Excellent resource for educators to understand Latinos. The nonfiction parts between the poems give great background information. The poems are different viewpoints based on country of origin. Great collection to use with older elementary and higher students.