América Is Her Name

Set in the Pilsen barrio of Chicago, this children's picture book gives a heartwarming message of hope. The heroine, América, is a primary school student who is unhappy in school until a poet visits the class and inspires the students to express themselves creatively-in Spanish or English. América Is Her Name emphasizes the power of individual creativity in overcoming a difficult environment and establishing self-worth and identity through the young girl América's desire and determination to be a writer. This story deals realistically with the problems in urban neighborhoods and has an upbeat theme: you can succeed in spite of the odds against you. Carlos Vázquez's inspired four-color illustrations give a vivid sense of the barrio, as well as the beauty and strength of the young girl América.

Author: Luis J. Rodríguez
Publisher: Curbstone Press
Published: 04/01/1998
Pages: 32
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.82lbs
Size: 10.26h x 8.30w x 0.35d
ISBN: 9781880684405
Audience: Ages 4-8

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 3.5
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 30136 / America Is Her Name


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 04/13/1998 pg. 75
School Library Journal 09/01/1998 pg. 180
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/1998 pg. 337 - Recommended, Satisfactory
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/1998 - Recommended, Satisfactory

About the Author
Luis J. Rodríguez grew up in Watts and East L.A. His bestselling memoir about gang life, Always Running (now available in paperback in both English and Spanish from Touchstone Books), won the Carl Sandburg Award. His Poems Across the Pavement (Tía Chucha Press) won the Poetry Center Book Award from San Francisco State University, and his poetry collection, The Concrete River was awarded the 1991 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award for Poetry. Mr. Rodríguez has worked extensively with gang members to guide them in positive directions, and he is frequently featured as a keynote speaker or guest poet at national conferences and cultural centers. Rodríguez explores the Chicano experience with an unrelenting, socially conscious eye that moved Larry Weintraub of the Chicago Sun-Times to call him a poet we need to hear.