A beautifully tender story touching on the range of emotions immigrants may feel when leaving their home countries – excitement and sorrow, fear and courage. Anita watches the dragons high above her as she hops from one cement roof to another in her village in the Dominican Republic. But being the valiant princesa she is, she never lets them scare her. Will she be brave enough to enter the belly of the beast and take flight to new adventures? A Barnes & Noble Bookseller Favorite. A BookTrust Book of the Month. A Love Reading For Schools Book of the Month. “A gorgeous story about the love of one’s homeland and the courage it takes to emigrate”—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED “Anita's courage as she flies off with the dragons to a new land will linger long after the final page”—Girls Read The World “What a punch this book packs. Hannah Carmona’s lyrical narrative is paired with THE dreamiest artwork by Anna Cunha – I’m obsessed with the color palette, and the gentle simplicity of her spreads is calming, yet full of energy”—The Little Literary Society

Hispanic children of immigrants are a diverse and fast growing population in the United States. This book explores the challenging environment in which these children are raised, high poverty rates, low academic achievement, limited access to health and social services, negative sentiments about immigrant families, and uncertain political and legal support, and examines how neighborhood, family, school, and community affect their development and well being. A bold policy agenda can improve these children's lives and help them thrive. This volume is based on presentations and discussions from Penn State University's National Symposium on Family Issues, "Development of Hispanic Children in Immigrant Families: Challenges and Prospects." Diverse scholars examine the children's social ecologies, how families influence children's adaptation to new environments, the effects of education policies on children's school experiences, and the roles of health care policies and social services in children's well being.

Young Hispanic children are the largest and fastest growing ethnic minority population in the United States, representing diverse racial, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds. Educational skills and achievement lag significantly for this population, creating an unacceptable achievement gap at the beginning of Kindergarten that grows even further by the end of 3rd grade. What can we learn from the empirical literature, theory, programs, and policies associated with language and early learning for young Hispanics? What are the home and school factors important to differences in early cognitive development and educational well-being? In this timely collaboration, a renowned researcher and a seasoned practitioner explore these questions with a focus on specific instructional interventions that are associated with reducing the achievement gap for young Hispanic children. Chapters emphasize educational practices, including teacher competencies, instructional strategies, curricular content, parent involvement, and related policy. The text includes teacher-friendly artifacts, instructional organizers, and lesson descriptions. “The authors provide the combination of theoretical orientation, background knowledge, and practical experience that is needed to do justice to this topic.” —Nancy Commins, University of Colorado Denver “Fills a void in current research and will spark vital policy discussions.” —Patricia Gándara, Co-Director of The Civil Rights Project, UCLA

The Hispanic Child: Speech, Language, Culture and Education is a multicultural book that addresses the issues and struggles of today's Hispanic school-age children. As Hispanics and Latinos are the fastest growing minority population, school-based speech-language pathologists and special educators need appropriate information in order to provide appropriate services. This book is a comprehensive volume that serves this necessary function. The book is made practical and accessible through the inclusion of "Best Practice" suggestions and the author's experiences. This book is meant to help all clinicians and educators understand their bilingual caseload, provide appropriate services and approach all their interactions with their bilingual students in an informed and compassionate manner. For clinicians and educators working with Hispanic children.