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Reading to Celebrate Latine/x Heritage Month
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Happy Latine/x Heritage Month!
At the height of the civil rights movement in 1968, California Congressman George E. Brown made a push to recognize the contributions of the Latine/x community to American history. Latine/x Heritage Month began as a week of commemoration and was later signed into law as a month-long celebration in 1989.
For some, there has been contention over the use of Hispanic vs. Latino/e/x. The words Latine/x present alternatives that offer gender inclusivity. However, individuals are always encouraged to self-identify with the term they are most familiar with; Chicano, Latino, Indigenous, Spanish.
Latine/x Heritage Month falls between two months, aligning with the independence anniversaries of Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Día de la Raza, the celebration of the first encounters of Europeans and the Native Americans, also falls within this 30-day period.
The OLC recognizes the influence of Latine/x champions on American culture, language, and literature. The world of children’s literature is infinitely more colorful with all voices and stories included. The OLC believes in the importance of highlighting Latine/x stories, authors, voices, and experiences. Youth literature functions as a way of keeping these stories in view of young audiences of all cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. In commemoration, we have curated a list of books for grades PreK-12 highlighting Latine/x authors and illustrators. These books and titles can be enjoyed year-round as the stories are pertinent to all kids.
Latine/x Book List
We have also designed book-specific reading guides for the following titles: