25 Books For All Grade Levels That Explore Latinx Heritage and Culture

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, check out this list of books written by Latinx/Hispanic authors designed for all grade levels that explore the rich culture and history of the Latinx/Hispanic community.

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National Hispanic Heritage Month is an annual celebration of Hispanic/Latinx heritage and culture. One of the best ways  to immerse yourself in a culture or region is through literature. In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, check out this list of books written by Latinx/Hispanic authors designed for all grade levels that explore the rich culture and history of the Latinx/Hispanic community.

Children’s Books: (K-4)

mi papi has a motorcycle

  • Mi Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero, illustrated by Zeke Peña
  • Cuando Amamos Cantamos:When We Love Someone We Sing to Them by Ernesto Javier Martínez, illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez
  • Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
  • Undocumented: A Worker’s Fight by Duncan Tonatiuh
  • I love Saturdays y domingos by Alma Flor Ada
  • A Gift from Papá Diego / Un regalo de papá Diego by Benjamin Alire Seanz
  • Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle
  • Mango Moon by Diane de Anda
  • I Am René, the Boy / Soy René, el niño  by René Colato Laínez
  • Me llamo Celia: la vida de Celia Cruz by Monica Brown
  • ¡Qué montón de Tamales! by Gary Soto

Young Adults Books: (5th- 12th Grade)

house on mango st

  • The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
  • The Education of Margot Sanchez by Lilliam Rivera
  • Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
  • When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago
  •  The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba’s Greatest Abolitionist by Margarita Engle
  •  A Thunderous Whisper by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
  • The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
  • Broken Beautiful Hearts by Kami Garcia
  • Pride & Prejudice by Ibi Zoboi
  • Dominicana: A Novel by Angie Cruz

Academic Literature

my time among the whites

  • Latina Outsiders: Remaking Latina Identity by Grisel Y. Acosta
  • My Time Among the Whites by Jennine Capó Crucet
  • Tell Me How it Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions by Valeria Luiselli
  • Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria Anzaldúa

By: Miranda Genao, B.A., City College of New York and Gianna Baez, Yale University Class of 2021.

Gianna and Miranda are KIPP NYC alumni and KIPP Foundation 2020 interns