Rhode Island Latino Books Month • Our History

Rhode Island Latino Reads • 2013: As a community organization long recognized for developing projects of cultural and educational importance to the local Latin American community, RILA launched a Rhode Island Latinos Read community reading program in 2013, and selected Bless Me, Última by Pulizer Prize winner Rudolfo Anaya.

Bless Me, Última is Anaya's best known work and was awarded the prestigious Premio Quinto Sol in 1976. In 2008, it was one of 12 classic American novels selected for The Big Read, a community-reading program sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, and in 2009, it was in the list of the United States Academic Decathlon.

The book also became the focus of our Summer Reading Challenge, where the Providence Community Libraries and the Club de Lectura, coordinated by Carolina Briones, participated.

Jennifer McGrath, Rhode Island Latino Books Award Coordinator

In 2014, Maria Cotto, who at the time was the only Latina librarian in Rhode Island, joined RILA to help lead this initiative. We changed the name of our program to May is Latino Books Month and continued our outreach efforts to encourage young readers to read by highlighting books written for and by Latino young audiences.

Now led by Jennifer McGrath, the Rhode Island Latino Books Award is now made up of a dedicated committee of librarians and educators who meet monthly to read and select books, reach out to authors and illustrators and invite them to connect with Rhode Island's young readers and educators.

If you would like to join the committee, read the guidelines.

2015 Winners: Participating Public
Libraries:

Catherine Gould, Head of Children's Services
Newport Public Library

Chris Wallace Goldstein , Children's Librarian
Woonsocket Harris Public Library

Carol Decosier
East Smithfield Public Library

Ellen E. O'Brien, Coordinator of Children's Services
Warwick Public Library

Emily Mehrer, Youth Services Librarian
Mount Pleasant Community Library

Jennifer Romans
Smith Hill Community Library

Allison Riendeau, Youth Services Librarian
Knight Memorial Community Library

Judanne Hamidzada
Rochambeau Community Library

Sarah Gluck, MSLIS, Library Manager
Olneyville Community Library

Tien Tran, Library Manager
South Providence Community Library

Stefanie Blankenship
Cranston Public Library
Oaklawn Branch

Diana Ferguson
Central Falls Public Library
Adams Memorial Library

Participating School/Agency Libraries:

Sandra Blackman
Federal Hill House

Deanna Brooks, MLIS, Teacher Librarian
Kent Heights Elementary School

Theresa Quigley, School Librarian
Sophia Academy

Julia Johnston, School Librarian
French-American School of Rhode Island

The International Charter School

Grades K-2
The Bossy Gallito by Lucía M. González

Grades 3-5 (Tie)
My Diary From Here to There by Amada Irma Pérez

Grades 3-5 (Tie)
Love Amalia
by Alma Flor Ada

Grades 6-9
Confetti Girl by Diana López

Teens
I Will Save You by Matt de la Peña

2016 Winners: Participating Public
Libraries:
◆ Newport Public Library
◆ Woonsocket Harris Public Library
◆ East Smithfield Public Library
◆ Warwick Public Library
◆ Mount Pleasant Library (Providence Community Library)
◆ Smith Hill Library (Providence Community Library)
◆ Knight Memorial Library (Providence Community Library)
◆ Rochambeau Library (Providence Community Library)
◆ Cranston Public Library (Central Library)
◆ Pawtucket Public Library

Organizations:
◆ Federal Hill House

Participating School Libraries & Organizations:
◆ West Kingston Elementary School (South Kingston)
◆ Curvin McCabe Elementary School (Pawtucket)
◆ Agnes Little Elementary School (Pawtucket)
◆ Peacedale Elementary School (Peacedale)
◆ Wakefield Elementary School (Wakefield)
◆ Sophia Academy Middle School (Providence)
◆ French-American School of Rhode Island (Providence)
◆ International Charter School (Pawtucket)
◆ Kent Heights Elementary School (East Providence)

THANK YOU to the Rhode Island Teen Book Award (RITBA) Committee for donating $40 for the cake and drinks for the closing reception. And to the Episcopal Charities Foundation, Coastway Community Bank and Navigant Credit Union for providing funds so we can give free books to local school children.

Grades K-2
Dalia’s Wondrous Hair by Lara Lacámara

Grades 3-5
Growing Up Pedro by Matt Tavares

Grades 6-8
I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosin

Teens
Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

2016 Book List: Grades K-2

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña

Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle

Dalia’s Wonderous Hair by Laura Lacamara

Mango, Abuela & Me by Meg Medina

The Old Man & His Door by Gary Soto

Grades 3-5

Separate is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatiuh

Luz Makes a Splash by Claudia Davila

Growing Up Pedro by Matt Tavares

Grades 6-8

Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan

I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosin

The Smell of Old Lady Perfume by Claudia Guadalupe Martínez

Teens (High School)

Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older

Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

The Hunted by Matt de la Peña

2017 Winners: Grades K-2
The Princess and The Warrior by Duncan Tonatiuh

Grades 6-8
How Tía Lola Came to Stay by Julia Alvarez

Grades 3-5
The Only Road by Alexandra Díaz

Teens: Tie
Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova

Teens: Tie
The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork

Participating Public Libraries:
◆ Knight Memorial Library (Providence Community Library)
◆ Pawtucket Public Library

Participating School Libraries
◆ West Kingston Elementary School (South Kingston, RI)

2017 Book List: Grades K-2

Maybe Something Beautiful by Isabel F. Campoy

How Do You Say? / ¿Cómo se Dice?
by Angela Domínguez

Juana and Lucas
by Juana Medina

Rudas: Niños Horrendous Hermanitas
by Yuyi Morales

The Princess and The Warrior by Duncan Tonatiuh

Grades 3-5

Lola Levine Is Not Mean by Monica Brown

The Only Road by Alexandra Díaz

Stef Soto, Taco Queen by Jennifer Torres

Grades 6-8

How Tía Lola Came to Stay by Julia Alvarez

Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes by Juan F. Herrera

Under The Mesquite by Guadalupe G. McCall

Teens (High School)

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova

Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin A. Sáenz

The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork

2018 Winners: Grades K-2
The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet! | ¡El gallo que no se callaba! by Carmen Agra Deedy

Grades 3-5
Bravo!: Poems About Amazing Hispanics
by Margarita Engle

Grades 6-8
Lucky Broken Girl
by Ruth Behar

Teens/High School
llegal
by Bettina Restrepo

2024 Winners

2024 Book List: Grades K-2

Lola Out Loud by Jennifer Torres (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Mariana and Her Familia by Mónica Mancillas (Balzer + Bray)
Growing An Artist: The Story of a Landscaper and His Son by John Parra (Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books)
On This Airplane by Lourdes Heuer (Tundra Books)
I Want to Be a Vase by Julio Torres (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
Abuelita and I Make Flan by Adriana Hernández Bergstram (Charlesbridge)
Me Gusta by Angela Domínguez (Henry Holt and Co. (BYR))

Grades 3-5

Carlos Gómez Freestyles…Heavy on the Style by Chuck Gonzáles (Reycraft Books)
The Notebook Keeper: A Story of Kindness from the Border by Stephen Briseño (Random House Studio)
Bad Luck Lola by Keka Novales (‎Picture Window Books; Bilingual edition)
Omega Morales and the Legend of La Lechuza by Laekan Zea Kemp (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Treasure Tracks by S.A. Rodríguez (Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Grades 6-8

Tumble by Celia C. Pérez (Kokila)
Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega (First Second)
Seed in the Sun by Aida Salazar (Dial Books)
Invisible: A Graphic Novel by Christina Diaz Gonzalez (Graphix; Bilingual edition)
The Keeper by Guadalupe García McCall (HarperCollins)

Teens (High School)

Boys of the Beast by Monica Zepeda (Tu Books)
Inheritance: A Visual Poem by Elizabeth Acevedo (Quill Tree Books)
Our Shadows Have Claws by Yamile Saied Méndez and Amparo Ortíz (Algonquin Young Readers)
The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes (Balzer + Bray)
The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas (Feiwel & Friends)

Rhode Island Latino Books Award |

Our History