Kirjahaku

A story of the times. Jos and his family live in small town in the department of Sacatep quez, Guatemala. Their life, which is simple and good, becomes challenging when their earnings become insufficient to maintain the family. Concerned for the welfare of his family whom he loves, Jos makes the difficult decision to make his way to the United States in search of work opportunities. Based on a story told to the author, this book recounts Jos 's journey north as well as examines the effect of his absence on the family he leaves behind.Readers learn facets of Guatemalan culture through entry level vocabulary and grammar.Teachers: depending on your students this can be a level 1 or a level 2 book.

After years of living with uncertainty, first with his mother and then in foster care, J.P.'s life is finally becoming more predictable, routine and even comfortable. Now that he is living with his father, his stepmother and his two half-sisters, J.P. finally has the opportunity to learn more about himself. As a fan of professional wrestling that he views on TV, he decides to pursue that sport at his new school. What he is not nearly as keen on is the idea of studying, mostly because it's hard for him. Nevertheless, he resolves to do well enough to ensure eligibility for participation on the wrestling team, as his sights are set on winning a state championship that year. J.P.'s father, Juan, is also learning. He is learning how to contend with the challenges that come with raising a teenager. Juan tries to better understand the son who recently came to live with him and attempts to connect with him further by letting J.P. know that he, too, was once a wrestler back in Mexico, a luchador mexicano. Wrestling serves as the topic of most of the father/son conversations as they get to know each other better at this stage of their lives - conversations that are peppered with J.P. constantly reminding his father of the desire to get his driver's license as soon as he turns 16. But there is a problem, one J.P. knows nothing about, and one that Juan hopes can be fixed before his son finds out.In this novel, readers are presented with a wealth of vocabulary and grammatical structures while delving into family and social issues. The cultural component is that of Mexican wrestling - la lucha mexicana.Teachers: depending on your students this can be a level 3 or a level 4 book.

Taruka is the new girl at the high school in town. The story takes the reader through a year of high school that Taruka is not likely to forget. She makes friends and meets a boy, Cooper. Like Cooper and many of the students at the school Taruka is very involved in sports, so she gets along with her new classmates well. But issues arise with her newfound friendship with Cooper when their differences are highlighted by the adults in their lives. This book is intended as a reader for students learning English. While the story has a plot similar to the classic story of Romeo and Juliet or Tony and Maria, the vocabulary and grammar are simple and comprehensible even for those just beginning with English.

As if teenaged friendships aren't hard enough...Marissa and Jack have been best friends for as long as they can remember, only having troubles when Jack wasn't always honest about himself. Despite their differences, their friendship endures. However, that friendship is challenged when a new student, Julio, moves to town and upsets the longstanding dynamic between Marissa and Jack.In this level 2+ book, which includes aspects of Puerto Rican culture, readers learn useful vocabulary and are introduced to a progression of verb tenses through the easily understandable plot - understandable even if the emotions of the teenagers are not.Teachers: depending on your students this can be a level 2 or a level 3 book.

Mat as is a typical 7-year-old boy. He is huge fan of the professional soccer teams in Europe, especially the teams in the Spanish league, La Liga. When Mat as is not playing soccer, he is watching soccer videos on the iPad. He always looks the part, too, as he can mostly be found wearing uniforms of players on his favorite team, FC Barcelona. He focus on the ball continues as when he travels to Guatemala with his family on an annual trip where he meets Brayan. Brayan is a 6-year-old Guatemalan boy who also loves soccer. Like Mat as he plays every chance he gets. Also like Mat as, Brayan idolizes his favorite player on the Bar a team, Lionel Messi, #10. He wants nothing more than to wear a jersey with the famous forward's name and number, but those are difficult to find where he lives on Lake Atitl n. In this level 1 book, readers will learn about the culture of Guatemala and how a soccer jersey further connects two soccer-obsessed boys from two different countries. Teachers: depending on your students this can be a level 1 or a level 2 book.

As if teenaged friendships aren't hard enough...Marissa and Jack have been best friends for as long as they can remember, only having troubles when Jack wasn't always honest about himself. Despite their differences, their friendship endures. However, that friendship is challenged when a new student, Julio, moves to town and upsets the longstanding dynamic between Marissa and Jack.

Kamila is a 9-year-old girl living with her parents in a little blue house in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. Their life is simple and easy. Both of her parents work and she attends school nearby. The family is very close, especially given that Kamila's abuela, whom she loves dearly, lives just blocks away. Life goes along at a beautiful pace, as it does on the island, until a family matter in Connecticut requires Kamila's mom, Stefany, to travel there to spend a few weeks helping her sister recover from surgery. Though Stefany's absence is an upset to regular life for the family, the situation is further intensified by the impending arrival of Hurricane Maria, the storm that decimated many islands in the Caribbean. Learn how this family prepares for the coming of the storm and deals with its aftermath. Through these experiences, some of which are tremendous losses, Kamila gains knowledge of what it means to be boricua (Puerto Rican), both as a daughter of the island and in spirit.

Kamila is a 9-year-old girl living with her parents in a little blue house in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. Their life is simple and easy. Both of her parents work and she attends school nearby. The family is very close, especially given that Kamila's abuela, whom she loves dearly, lives just blocks away. Life goes along at a beautiful pace, as it does on the island, until a family matter in Connecticut requires Kamila's mom, Stefany, to travel there to spend a few weeks helping her sister recover from surgery. Though Stefany's absence is an upset to regular life for the family, the situation is further intensified by the impending arrival of Hurricane Maria, the storm that decimated many islands in the Caribbean. Learn how this family prepares for the coming of the storm and deals with its aftermath. Through these experiences, some of which are tremendous losses, Kamila gains knowledge of what it means to be boricua (Puerto Rican), both as a daughter of the island and in spirit.Teachers: depending on your students this can be a level 2 or a level 3 book.

Mat as is a typical 7-year-old boy. He is huge fan of the professional soccer teams in Europe, especially the teams in the Spanish league, La Liga. When Mat as is not playing soccer, he is watching soccer videos on the iPad. He always looks the part, too, as he can mostly be found wearing uniforms of players on his favorite team, FC Barcelona. He focus on the ball continues as when he travels to Guatemala with his family on an annual trip where he meets Brayan. Brayan is a 6-year-old Guatemalan boy who also loves soccer. Like Mat as he plays every chance he gets. Also like Mat as, Brayan idolizes his favorite player on the Bar a team, Lionel Messi, #10. He wants nothing more than to wear a jersey with the famous forward's name and number, but those are difficult to find where he lives on Lake Atitl n. In this level 1 book, readers will learn about the culture of Guatemala and how a soccer jersey further connects two soccer-obsessed boys from two different countries.

Imag nate. Imagine.Imagine having your life turned upside down before you even knew it could be. When Andr s is just a toddler, his parents leave their small town in Honduras in search of economic opportunities that no longer exist due to the deadly hurricane that devastated the country in 1998, Hurricane Mitch. He is left in the care of extended family members, some more caring than others, until a plan is formed that takes him from everything he knows in Quebrada Seca, Honduras, first to the border between Mexico and the United States, and then to a new life in New England. Take the journey with Andr s and his aunt, a girl not too much older than he, experiencing the trials they face along the way. Then learn how his life unfolds as he becomes reacquainted with his parents, a completely new language, and in a place that is nothing like the one he left behind. This fictional story is about a boy who arrives to the United States and how he navigates the simplicity of a kid's life with the complexities of his legal status. Andr s's experience is unique as it is his, though it is one of many that unfold with the arrivals of tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors to the United States annually. Imag nate. Can you?Teachers: depending on your students this can be a level 2 or a level 3 book.

Taruka is the new girl at the high school in town. The story takes the reader through a year of high school that Taruka is not likely to forget. She makes friends and meets a boy, Cooper. Like Cooper and many of the students at the school Taruka is very involved in sports, so she gets along with her new classmates well. But issues arise with her newfound friendship with Cooper when their differences are highlighted by the adults in their lives. This book is intended as a reader for students learning Spanish. While the story has a plot similar to the classic story of Romeo and Juliet or Tony and Maria, the vocabulary and grammar are simple and comprehensible even for those just beginning with Spanish.Teachers: this is a level 1 book.

If being in the minority in a particular demographic isn't demanding enough, Yamila discovers a family secret that threatens to derail the success she has encountered thus far at her competitive high school, even given the economic challenges confronted by her and her family. Experience the trials that Yamila faces in contrast to the seemingly carefree life of her best friend, Ashley, as the two characters illustrate their differences all while maintaining their relationship. La ni era is a common story, but one rarely told in accessible Spanish. In this reader, students of Spanish have access to rich vocabulary, a review of the present tense and an introduction to the past tenses in context through a story whose cultural content also presents topics worthy of discussion.Teachers: depending on your students this can be a level 1 or a level 2 book.

For Oscar, life is good. Living and working with his cousins in Dodge City, Kansas, he is living what one might call the American Dream. After many years Oscar finally receives his permanent resident card (green card), and opens a business, a house-painting company. The work is steady and honest. In fact, it is so constant that Oscar looks to buy a new vehicle to support the business. He is offered a truck at an incredible price, but he has to travel to San Antonio in order to pick it up. What should be a quick 2-day trip, turns into one of panic when Oscar loses something he worked so hard to achieve.Michelle is also living a good life. She and her husband, Marcos, live in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Michelle and Marcos work hard - she as a delivery driver and he as a restaurant manager - in the hopes of bringing the rest of the family to live with them in New Mexico. Marcos is originally from Mexico and has two daughters who still live there with his mother. What the couple lacks, however, is the money needed to secure a lawyer to help with legal paperwork. On one particular trip to San Antonio, though, Michelle's luck seems to turn when she finds a large sum of cash - a perfect solution to her problem. Or is it?Learn how the lives of two people on separate journeys intersect in San Antonio, one of the colonial cities of the southwest United States.Teachers: this is a level 1 book.

One year just after Christmas when Ximena is thirteen, she overhears her parents talking - a conversation she is not supposed to hear. She catches the word, "father," but wonders why they are whispering? Federico is the only father Ximena has ever known since he and her mom married six years ago. Of course, she knows she has a biological father, but her mom never talks about him - and Ximena never asks. All she knows is that he is "away" and doesn't live near them. But after overhearing her parents' discussion, she starts to wonder why she has no contact with him. At the same time, too, life is becoming more challenging for Ximena in school - academically, but mostly socially. And, after learning what "away" really means, she is faced with a decision that will alter her life. At the age where her friends and cousins are having their quincea eras (many of which are much more extravagant than the one she knows her parents will be able to afford for her), Ximena is also forced to confront some ugliness that arises with the occurrence of these parties. Feeling like an outsider even in her own community, she begins to question everything about who she is. It's not until she starts communicating with Daniel that her life changes even more - as if she needs the extra drama. In this story, read how a father and a daughter finally learn of each other's existence and how they navigate that connection in challenging times; ones of overwhelm and danger. Can their newfound relationship withstand the pressures of life? Teachers: depending on your students this can be a level 1 or a level 2 book.

For Oscar, life is good. Living and working with his cousins in Dodge City, Kansas, he is living what one might call the American Dream. After many years Oscar finally receives his permanent resident card (green card), and opens a business, a house-painting company. The work is steady and honest. In fact, it is so constant that Oscar looks to buy a new vehicle to support the business. He is offered a truck at an incredible price, but he has to travel to San Antonio in order to pick it up. What should be a quick two-day trip, turns into one of panic when Oscar loses something he has worked so hard to achieve.Michelle is also living a good life. She and her husband, Marcos, live in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Michelle and Marcos work hard - she as a delivery driver and he as a restaurant manager - in the hopes of bringing the rest of the family to live with them in New Mexico. Marcos is originally from Mexico and has two daughters who still live there with his mother. What the couple lacks, however, is the money needed to secure a lawyer to help with legal paperwork. On one particular trip to San Antonio, though, Michelle's luck seems to turn when she finds a large sum of cash - a perfect solution to her problem. Or is it?Learn how the lives of two people on separate journeys intersect in San Antonio, one of the colonial cities of the southwest United States.

Three teens: one girl, two boys. Two friends to start. Then three. Then two. As if teenage friendships aren't hard enough... Marissa and Jack have been best friends for as long as they can remember, only having troubles when Jack wasn't always honest about himself. Despite their differences, however, their friendship endures. But that friendship is challenged when a new student, Julien, moves to town and upsets the longstanding dynamic between Marissa and Jack. Through an uncomplicated plot learn how the teens navigate some fairly complex emotions.Teachers: you know your students best, but this book seems level 2/3; novice high/intermediate low.

Leonardo is a Venezuelan engineer who lives and works for a U.S. petroleum company in Florida. He is used to solving problems in his work life. In fact, he is really good at it. He is so good that the company is going to honor him at a special event. But Leonardo's problem-solving skills are put to the test when he is forced to deal with family issues, both with his son in Florida, and back home in Venezuela where his daughter still lives with her family.In Venezuela Gustavo was a doctor and a prominent member of the community. He and his wife were living a good life with their two boys - at least until the accident. Unable to deal with the loss of his wife and younger son, Gustavo is forced to leave Venezuela behind and start anew with his older son at his parents' home in Florida. Sad and angry with his new reality in the United States he tries to numb his pain and in doing so, alienates his parents and his son, Samuel. Samuel had just started high school a couple of years ago when his mom and brother died in an accident in Venezuela. Like his father he is still sad and angry, but Samuel always has his music. Rock music. He loves his guitar and how playing it makes him feel: free. As if losing half of his family wasn't enough of a burden, Samuel also has to contend with the typical teen issues - especially when it comes to relationships. And these relationships, while accepted by both of his grandparents, are the cause of some huge problems between Samuel and his father.How will the men of the Medina family navigate it all?Teachers: This book is intended for novice readers with simple and accessible vocabulary and grammatical structures (mainly present tense). You, however, know your students best