New Nonfiction Children’s Books!

Oh my goodness, this book!!! This is the story of two Josés who live in the city of Bogata, in the barrio of La Nueva Gloria. One José looks forward to visiting Paradise, the house with all the books, every Saturday, and the other José is a garbage collector. As José works each day, he scans the trash for books that he rescues and adds to his collection to share with his community on Saturdays. I loved this book so much!

This gorgeous books tells the story of Darlene Arviso, a woman who provided water to people living in New Mexico. Darlene not only drove a school bus, but she also drove a tanker that she filled with 3,000 gallons of water and delivered to hundreds of families every month. Here is en eye-opening quote from the book: “While almost every other American will use around a hundred gallons of water today, many of the Navajo reservation will use only seven.”

Elizebeth Friedman (1892–1980) was a brilliant American code breaker who smashed Nazi spy rings, took down gangsters, and created the CIA’s first cryptology unit. I really loved the illustrations in this picture book biography, which is rich with information and good for readers both young and old. Her story came to light when her secret papers were finally declassified in 2015. From thwarting notorious rumrunners with only paper and pencil to “counter-spying into the minds and activities of” Nazis, Elizebeth held a pivotal role in the early days of US cryptology.

This book is formatted much like Little Dreamers by Vashti Harrison (one of my favorites!). In Latinitas, Juliet Menéndez creates gorgeous artwork for each influential woman she profiles along with a summary of achievements. I love the portraits, which I think should be made into posters and hung in classrooms all throughout the world! I love that the book features woman living in different eras, including a few contemporary figures. The book features Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Juana Azurduy de Padilla, Policarpa Salavarrieta, Rosa Peña de González, Teresa Carreño, Zelia Nuttall, Antonia Navarro, Matilde Hidalgo, Gabriela Mistral, Juana de Ibarbourou, Pura Belpré, Gumercinda Páez, Frida Kahlo, Julia de Burgos, Chavela Vargas, Alicia Alonso, Victoria Santa Cruz, Claribel Alegría, Celia Cruz, Dolores Huerta, Rita Moreno, Maria Auxiliadora da Silva, Mercedes Sosa, Isabel Allende, Susana Torre, Julia Alvarez, Sandra Cisneros, Sonia Sotomayor, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Mercedes Doretti, Sonia Pierre, Justa Canaviri, Evelyn Miralles, Selena Quintanilla, Berta Cáceres, Serena Auñón, Wanda Díaz-Merced, Marta Vieira da Silva, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Laurie Hernandez.

This new chapter book series is an extension of Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger’s bestselling picture book, She Persisted. The chapter book series explore various influential women and are written by a variety of award winning and bestselling authors. In this book, readers will learn about Claudette Colvin, who at age fifteen refused to give up her seat in a time before Rosa Parks famously did so. Claudette stood up for what was right, and in doing so, fought for equality, fairness, and justice. Check out the whole series, which currently includes eight titles.