This article explores how a local community came to value a Latinx bookstore as a supplementary knowledge space for Latinx history, literature, and culture. Findings detail how the bookstore served as a catalyst for a heterogeneous group of Latinx families and educators to: (1) access empowering reflections of Latinx histories that were not found…

This essay posits that an institution's program design mandates the curriculum for the classes we teach and that curriculum affects the concept of "canonical" literature, teacher preparation, textbook content, and comfort with discussing difference in the second language classroom for undergraduates. For that reason, this essay argues…

This essay explores the relationship(s) between English and Spanish in the novel "Raining Backwards" (1988) by Cuban American Roberto G. Fernandez. While the many linked plots and characters suggest many protagonists, this study demonstrates how language itself takes on the role of protagonist. Through the author's use of calques and…

It is imperative that in conversations about literacy instruction teachers incorporate curriculum dedicated to youth empowerment, especially for emergent bilingual and LGBTQ youth, as recognizing and honoring students' linguistic and epistemic privileges entails taking their claims about the world seriously. In this article, the author discusses…

By reading Helena Maria Viramontes's "Cariboo Cafe" and Daniel Chacon's "Godoy Lives," this essay argues that Chicana/o fiction articulates what I call a "borderlands ethics." Both Viramontes and Chacon give the undocumented migrant the power to merge the United States and Latin America, self and other, citizen and…

This article gives an analysis of two books: Thomas Rivera's "...y no se lo trago la tierra" and Helena Maria Viramontes's "Under the Feet of Jesus". The two books are strong and important literary texts that stand in close relation to each other. Both texts treat the subject of migrant childhood by affirming central themes of Chicano literature.…

The term "Latino" in this paper adopts a U.S. definition to refer to those persons born/living in the United States who are of Latin American ancestry. U.S. Latino literature is defined as literature that is originally composed mostly in English, but not exclusively, by authors of U.S. Latino background. Selections of Latino literature…

This article explores how Sandra Cisneros alludes to and recasts popular fairy tales in "The House on Mango Street" to reveal their troubled legacy in the lives of many women in the novel. Drawing upon Latina feminist theory and Cisneros's autobiographical writing, this article posits that the main character Esperanza's alternative "happily ever…

"Curanderismo," a Mexican folk practice, is a prevalent subject in Mexican American literature. Because much of the presence of "curanderismo" in Mexican American literature is only explored in ethnographic studies, the purpose of this study is to examine the artistic representation of "curanderismo" in the novels "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo…

This paper examines the ways in which Latino children's literature portrays cultural models of bilingualism and identity affiliations based on language and cultural practices. We focus attention on the messages in seven children's books about practices of and attitudes toward Spanglish, standard Spanish, and individual and societal bilingualism.…

Illustrates relationships between sociopolitical themes identified in selected exemplary pieces of children's literature written and/or illustrated by Latino/as and the aesthetic expression of these themes. Contributes to more expanded, informed interpretations and mediations of Latino/a art in children's literature research and education.…

The fifth graders interpretations of one piece of Latino/a realistic fictions in a mid-western school, specifically around the theme of Mexican Americans living on the U.S/Mexico border is looked at. A demonstration is given on how drama-in-education strategies serve as a powerful set of tools to facilitate complex dialogues and interpretation of…

Despite the importance of children's literature written by and about people of color, little multiethnic literature is available. However, the situation has improved somewhat. In recent years there has been a greater focus in African-American literature upon folk tales, family stories, family histories, and biographies. Still, books about the…

This article examines the responses of eight sixth grade students discussing four realistic fiction Hispanic-American multicultural stories with universal themes by Gary Soto in peer-led literature discussion groups. The results indicate the importance of a reader's sociocultural frame--class, race, and gender, on their interpretation of…