Yesterday I shared a wonderful new book about environmental activist Christiana Figueres which is perfect for the upcoming Hispanic Heritage Month and today I am sharing another one also released this week! Today's book is a book of poems sharing some amazing Latinos' stories. The book is Hopeful Heroes: More poems about amazing Latinos by Margarita Engle and illustrated by Juliet Menéndez. It is recommended for ages 5 to 8.
About the Book:
In this companion to Bravo!, Margarita Engle's beautiful poetry introduces young readers to lesser-known Latinos from varied backgrounds who have all shown tremendous resilience.Prepare to be inspired by this empowering collection of poetry that tells a larger story about fortitude and community across Hispanic history. From environmental activists such as Christina Figueres to record breaking athletes like Pelé, each role model featured is a legend in their own right. There’s no better time to champion the accomplishments of this remarkable group of unsung heroes from all across Latin America!
Those profiled in this collection include Anacaona, Martín de la Cruz and Juan Badiano, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Micaela Bastidas Puyucahua, Simón Bolívar, Mariana Grajales Cuello, Ana Roqué de Duprey, Julio Garavito Armero, Ramón Fonst Segundo, Christiana Figueres, Juano Hernández, Gabriela Mistral, Martín Chambi de Coaza, Marina Núñez del Prado, Noé Canjura, Nicolás García Uriburu, Pelé, and Rigoberta Menchú Tum.
From Me:
I found this book so interesting. It has some familiar names (and ones I have featured previously) as well as some new ones. The people featured are from the 1400s until present day and they range from Haiti, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, El Salvador, Argentina, and Guatemala. The people are leaders, educators, scientists, writers, athletes, activists and so much more! There are even a few pages that celebrate all the artisans and creative people as well as all the courageous people. On these pages some are listed but many others are implied. It includes people who were brought to the countries as slaves as well as indigenous people and other Latinx beginnings. The people featured vary in just about every way.
Each page has an illustration of the person with their name, dates of birth and death (if dead) as well as the location or locations he or she comes from. Then there is a poem about the person, and it shares a bit about what the person has done to be remembered. The illustrations are colorful and fun. The theme of the book is these people are resilient. Many of the people are lesser known or lesser thought of Latinx. But each is special in their own right.
Honestly this book makes me want to research some of the people more! It is the perfect book to kick of Hispanic Heritage Month because it provides a list of people to learn about to explore the history of the Latino world. The obvious activity to go with the book in a classroom is to choose one person and research him or her further.
At the end of the book there are short paragraph biographies about the people featured in the book. It can give the students a starting point for their research or the reader just a little more information about each person.
