South America Fiction

"La idea de salir a recorrer -y a contar- las grandes ciudades sudacas se me ocurrió cuando pensé que quería tratar de entender qué es hoy América Latina. Hace mucho que no lo intentamos y, en general, solemos conservar esa imagen rural, ecololó de una región que es, ahora mismo, la más urbana del mundo. Cuatro de cada cinco latinoamericanos viven en ciudades, pero no son ciudades como las que uno imagina cuando piensa en Barcelona o en París. Para saber cómo son -cómo es Latinoamérica- decidí volver a hacer eso que siempre me ha gustado hacer: ir, mirar, escuchar, pensar, contarlo." - Martín Caparrós

Oriol nació en Cuba, pero vive en Santa Bárbara, California, donde no logra encontrar su sitio. Sin embargo, pasa muchos buenos momentos cuando ayuda a sus padres en la clínica veterinaria de la familia, donde cuidan animales heridos. La primera ganadora latinoamericana de un Premio Nobel de Literatura, la poeta Gabriela Mistral, se muda entonces a Santa Bárbara, y Oriol se dscrube confesándole que aspira a ser escritora. Cuando la jovencita descubra que alguien está amenazando la vida de un pequeño elefante en la clínica de sus padres, decide tomar acción para protegerlo.

Serafina has a secret dream. She wants to go to school and become a doctor with her best friend, Julie Marie. But in their rural village outside Port-au-Prince, Haiti, many obstacles stand in Serafina's way - little money, never-ending chores, and Manman's worries. More powerful even than all of these are the heavy rains and the shaking earth that test Serafina's resolve in ways she never dreamed. At once heartbreaking and hopeful, this exquisitely crafted story will leave a lasting impression on your heart.

Gregorio y José Ignacio son dos niños que viven en San Miguel de Tucumán, en 1816. En medio del revuelo y la agitación que perciben en los adultos, estos dos niños viven divertidas aventuras y travesuras, al escaparse de su casa para investigar el misterioso enamorado de su prima Lucía y la desaparición de su preciado relicario. Un misterioso extraño, don Manuel, los ayudará a develar el misterio que finalmente se develará en la fiesta de la Independencia.

A Newbery Medal Winner. An Incan boy who tends llamas in a hidden valley in Peru learns the traditions and secrets of his ancestors.

Maia, an orphan, can't wait to reach her distant relatives a thousand miles up the Amazon. She imagines a loving family with whom she will share great adventures. Instead she finds two spiteful cousins who see the jungle as the enemy and refuse to go outdoors.

Ana Rosa is a blossoming young writer growing up in a poor seaside village in the Dominican Republic. At the young age of 12, she finds herself faced with turning points that will make up who she is, watching her brother's search for a future, learning to dance and to love, and finding out what it means to be a part of a community.

Born into the household of a wealthy slave owner in Cuba in 1797, Juan Francisco Manzano spent his early years by the side of a woman who made him call her Mama, even though he had a mama of his own. Denied an education, young Juan still showed an exceptional talent for poetry. His verses reflect the beauty of his world, but they also expose its hideous cruelty.

From Juana Briones and Juan Ponce de León to 18th-century slaves and modern-day sixth graders, the many and varied people depicted here speak to the experiences and contributions of Latinos throughout the history of the United States, from the earliest known stories up to the present day. A portrait of a great, enormously varied, and enduring heritage, this is a compelling treatment of an important topic. Some voices are composite characters, not historical figures.

"Dagli Appennini alle Ande" è il penultimo e il più lungo ed articolato dei racconti mensili del "Cuore" di Edmondo De Amicis. Marco, da Genova, s'imbarca alla volta di Buenos Aires per raggiungere sua madre, emigrata in Argentina per lavoro. La madre, ammalata, rifiuta di farsi curare; nel frattempo Marco compie un viaggio lungo e apparentemente senza speranza, sulle tracce dei vari spostamenti della famiglia presso cui sua madre è a servizio; da Buenos Aires Marco si sposta verso l'interno fino ai piedi delle Ande.

Welcome to Brazil! Nine-year-old Sofia Diaz’s world is coming apart. So is the rickety old boat that carries her far up the Rio Negro river in Brazil. Crocodiles swim in the dark waters. Spiders scurry up the twisted tree trunks. And a crazy toucan screeches a warning. It chases Sofia and Júlia, her new friend, deep into the steamy rainforest. There, they stumble upon a shocking discovery.

Daniel has escaped Nazi Germany with nothing but a desperate dream that he might one day find his parents again. But that golden land called New York has turned away the ship full of refugees, and Daniel finds himself in Cuba. As the tropical island begins to work its magic on him, the young refugee befriends a local girl with some painful secrets of her own. Yet even in Cuba, the Nazi darkness is never far away.

Diesmal bringt das magische Baumhaus Anne und Philipp an den Fuß eines Berges in Peru. In der Nähe lebende Bauern erzählen ihnen von einem gestohlenen Babylama, und die Geschwister versprechen, das Tier zu seinen Besitzern zurückzubringen. Doch der Weg ist tückisch: Die Suche nach dem Kleinen führt die Kinder in die geheimnisvolle Inka-Stadt Machu Picchu. Ob ihnen die Lama-Legende helfen kann, das junge Tier sicher nach Hause zu bringen?

She's 17. She's been abused. She has a child. And she's HIV-positive. She is Ana, and this is her story. It begins the day she is born infected with HIV, transmitted from her young mother. Now she barely remembers her mama, who died when Ana was only three. From then on, Ana's childhood becomes a blur of faint memories and secrets: secrets about her illness and about the abuse she endures.

Death on the River of Doubt takes listeners inside the thrilling journey that unfolded as Theodore Roosevelt and his companions navigated the Amazonian River of Doubt through an unforgiving and unpredictable jungle. With new threats at every turn, from bloodthirsty piranhas and raging rapids to starvation, disease, and a traitor in their own ranks, it seemed that not everyone would make it out alive.

Rosalba is a nine-year-old Mayan girl living in rural Mexico. Like her mother and grandmother, she weaves stories of her people onto blouses, ensuring that the age-old traditions continue. But new influences are entering her life. A ladina girl from the city, visiting with her scientist father, passes on the astonishing news that the Mayan calendar predicts the end of the world in 2012. Rosalba knows nothing about that, but her village is faced with a bulldozer tearing through the forest, dying wildlife, and cornfields in danger.

Set in 1981 Guatemala, a lyrical debut novel tells the powerful tale of a boy who must decide what it means to be a man during a time of war. Carlos knows that when the soldiers arrive with warnings about the Communist rebels, it is time to be a man and defend the village, keep everyone safe. But Mama tells him not yet - he’s still her quiet moonfaced boy. The soldiers laugh at the villagers, and before they move on, a neighbor is found dangling from a tree, a sign on his neck: Communist.

Tavinho vivia viajando de avião com o pai. Mas aquela estava sendo uma grande novidade: era a primeira vez que Tavinho viajava em um avião pequeno, voando baixo sobre a floresta amazônica, pois o doutor Otávio estava interessado na compra de uma grande fazenda para exploração de borracha. Quando os dois sobrevoavam a floresta amazônica, o avião teve de fazer um pouso forçado no meio de uma aldeia de índios.

Rose and Nicolas loved their favourite Caribbean sorrel drink so much that the siblings decided to create a sorrel stand with the assistance of their parents. Their Sweet Sorrel Stand was a success in the neighbourhood.

On most days, teacher and librarian Luis Soriano Bohórquez packs his two burros, Alfa and Beto, with books and makes his way over mountains and through valleys to visit children in far-flung villages in rural Colombia—all for the sake of literacy and culture. Based on the work of a remarkable man and his intrepid burros, this bilingual English and Spanish edition celebrates the impact that a special mobile library—called the “biblioburro”—has had on the lives of real children.