Mexican+Culture+&+History+Resources



Celebrating Cinco de Mayo:


 * This website has a gorgeous collection of paintings depicting [|Magical Mexico.]

*Teacher’s Guide for Cobblestone magazine on Mexican Americans: [|Mexican Americans]

Print Resources:
Cobblestone magazine (2004). //Mexican Americans//. New Hampshire: Carus Publishing. A terrific cultural resource with very readable articles on history and culture including six pages on Cesar Chavez, an A-Z on Mexican food, articles on celebrations, and famous Mexican Americans. This item is not available through the library catalog; however, you can find it at the Connolly Library in Jamaica Plain in the children's collection filed under E184.M5.

Delacre, Lulu. (1996). //Golden Tales: Myths, Legends, and Folktales from Latin America//. New York: Scholastic Press. Includes the Mexican legend of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Students from other Latin American countries may also enjoy reading tales from their countries.

Morris, Ann. (2002). //Grandma Francisca Remembers: A Hispanic-American Family Story//. Connecticut: Millbrook Press. One in a series in which grandchildren learn from grandmothers about cultural traditions and experiences. Abuelas are particularly important in my Latino families.

Petrillo, Valerie. (2009). //A Kid’s Guide to Latino History//. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. An excellent resource chock full of factual information and numerous activities that appear feasible for a school setting. Contains separate sections on different Latino cultures, but many of the activities are relevant to all. Many Latino children will recognize the dice game on page 122, for example. corridos p. 47-52.

Pinkney, Sandra L. (2007). //I am LATINO: The Beauty in Me.// New York: Little, Brown and Company. Terrific for supporting cultural pride, this book is really a poem told with text and real-life photos.

//Festivals//:

Garcia, James. (2003). //Cinco de Mayo: A Mexican Holiday about Unity and Pride.// Minnesota: The Child’s World. This book provides historical context for the celebration as well as description of the traditional elements of the festivities.

Gnojewski, Carol. (2002). //Cinco de Mayo: Celebrating Hispanic Pride//. New Jersey: Enslow Publishers. A very simple text for basic information.

Harris, Z. and Williams, S. (1998). //Piñatas and Smiling Skeletons: Celebrating Mexican Festivals.// Berkley, California: Pacific View Press. The Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico for three days starting on October 31 (the same day as Halloween in the United States).

Krull, Kathleen. (1994). //Maria Molina and the Days of the Dead.// New York: Macmillan. This is an excellent book that encourages respect for the holiday and carefully deals with the death of a child in the family. Maria’s parents go north for better jobs and eventually send for the rest of the family. There is a good juxtaposition of the two cultures and holidays.