There's a Coqui in My Shoe! (International Latino Book Award Winner-Best Educational Children's Book-English) is a distinctive and delightful story celebrating Puerto Rico's national treasure, the Eleutherodactylus (El-oo-thear-oh-dak-till-us) coqui (co-kee). It splendidly captures, in breathtaking illustrations, the vibrant color, culture, flora, and fauna of the island. A young boy named Armando surprisingly discovers a coqui in his red shoe. Carlito the Coqui is lost and cannot find his way home to the rain forest. Armando befriends Carlito and anxiously waits for the following day to accompany his mother, Lola, to sell their pushcart of piraguas (snow cones) to the Puerto Rican children. The storybook is full of yummy tastes, bright colors, and dramatic sounds, and Puerto Rico's cultural importance is described in the scenes and places mentioned such as El Yunque National Forest, El Morro, Old San Juan, Casa Rosa, and the white, sandy beaches. In There's a Coqui in My Shoe!, the author presents to children an educational and entertaining lesson, not only in this elusive amphibian, but also in the environmental, geographical, historical, and cultural references of the island. She cleverly incorporates these elements into the story and features some of Puerto Rico's most famous people who have made significant contributions to the arts and humanities such as Rita Moreno, Jose Feliciano, and others. In addition, children will be amused with finding hidden objects throughout the illustrations. Viva Puerto Rico!

Two stray puppies end up in the Grand Canyon, are rescued and find a good home.

A magical Spanish-language tale, Kiki Koki tells the story of a little Taino Indian boy who is too lazy to help his tribe prepare for the Moon Festival. To punish Kiki Koki, the Moon Goddess turns him into a tree frog. To return to his human form, he must rescue his new frog friends from dangerous pirates, and, in the process, learns that friendship takes courage, dedication, and hard work. With its vibrant illustrations, heartwarming message, and adorable hero, children will love this fun tale.

A 12-year-old boy named Ephraim is one of the finest Master Coffee Pickers in a small town in Puerto Rico at the height of the colonial era. Ephraim's endearing characteristics win the hearts of a few intriguing cast of characters portrayed in the story. Ephraim is poor, but he has a heart of gold. He is humble, but at the same time proud. He is clever and awfully daring. He is honest and has great respect for his family and religion.Ultimately , Ephraim questions his life as a "jíbaro" (hee-BAHroh), or peasant, working in the fields under the unforgiving demands of a Spanish landowner. In his journey to find the answers, Ephraim's newly found acquaintances aid him in discovering the rewards of his hard work and the hope that lies ahead of him.

Award-winning author Kao Kalia Yang delivers an inspiring tale of resourceful children confronting adversaries in a refugee camp After lunch the Yang warriors prepare for battle. They practice drills, balance rocks on their heads, wield magical swords from fallen branches. Led by ten-year-old Master Me (whose name means “little”), the ten cousins are ready to defend the family at all costs. After a week without fresh vegetables , the warriors embark on a dangerous mission to look for food, leaving the camp’s boundaries, knowing their punishment would be severe if they were caught by the guards. In this inspiring picture book, fierce and determined children confront the hardships of Ban Vinai refugee camp, where the author lived as a child. Yang’s older sister, seven-year-old Dawb, was one of the story’s warriors, and her brave adventure unfolds here with all the suspense and excitement that held her five-year-old sister spellbound many years later. Accompanied by the evocative and rich cultural imagery of debut illustrator Billy Thao, the warriors’ secret mission shows what feats of compassion and courage children can perform, bringing more than foraged greens back to the younger children and to their elders. In this unforgiving place, with little to call their own, these children are the heroes, offering gifts of hope and belonging in a truly unforgettable way.

This chapter book in Newbery Honor–winning and bestselling author Louis Sachar’s Marvin Redpost series stars Marvin and…the president of the United States? The president of the United States is coming to visit Marvin’s class. He’s even going to answer one question from each kid! Plus the whole thing is going to be on TV. Marvin is nervous. What if someone steals his question? What if he can’t speak when it’s his turn? Will he look silly in front of the president and everyone watching? Hilarious and relatable, Marvin Redpost is perfect for kids who love to bond with quirky characters like Junie B. Jones and George Brown, Class Clown.

Takes a close look at the relationship between humans and other (non-human) beings that are imbued with cemí power, specifically within the Taíno inter-island cultural sphere encompassing Puerto Rico and Hispaniola Cemís are both portable artifacts and embodiments of persons or spirit, which the Taínos and other natives of the Greater Antilles (ca. AD 1000-1550) regarded as numinous beings with supernatural or magic powers. This volume takes a close look at the relationship between humans and other (non-human) beings that are imbued with cemí power, specifically within the Taíno inter-island cultural sphere encompassing Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. The relationships address the important questions of identity and personhood of the cemí icons and their human “owners” and the implications of cemí gift-giving and gift-taking that sustains a complex web of relationships between caciques (chiefs) of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. Oliver provides a careful analysis of the four major forms of cemís—three-pointed stones, large stone heads, stone collars, and elbow stones—as well as face masks, which provide an interesting contrast to the stone heads. He finds evidence for his interpretation of human and cemí interactions from a critical review of 16th-century Spanish ethnohistoric documents, especially the Relación Acerca de las Antigüedades de los Indios written by Friar Ramón Pané in 1497–1498 under orders from Christopher Columbus. Buttressed by examples of native resistance and syncretism, the volume discusses the iconoclastic conflicts and the relationship between the icons and the human beings. Focusing on this and on the various contexts in which the relationships were enacted, Oliver reveals how the cemís were central to the exercise of native political power. Such cemís were considered a direct threat to the hegemony of the Spanish conquerors, as these potent objects were seen as allies in the native resistance to the onslaught of Christendom with its icons of saints and virgins.