HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH
Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
By JILL BOWEN , Esq . Berlin Patten Ebling , PLLC
Over the past year , as I sat at home through quarantine , I spent a lot of time thinking about ways that I could introduce diverse thinkers and ideas into my life . I wanted to celebrate the diversity around me and support those individuals who were putting themselves out there creatively . One way I found to do this was by buying and reading books from minority authors . There are plenty of non-fiction books out there that can describe the experiences of Hispanic people or give someone tools to adjust his / her biases , and they are a great place to start ! But , I think it is also important to bring diversity into the parts of my life that are just for fun , which for me , means fiction ! I am a lifelong reader ( and if I wasn ’ t an attorney I have no doubt I would return to my previous job of Bookstore Clerk ) so this was a clear way that I could both widen my world view and help support minority authors .
So , this month , in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month I am highlighting some of my favorite Hispanic authors and maybe it will encourage you to diversify your bookshelf as well !
You cannot talk about Hispanic authors without mentioning Sandra Cisneros ,
Jill Bowen , Esq . Berlin Patten Ebling , PLLC so we will start at The House on Mango Street . This novel tells the story of a young Mexican-American girl growing up in Chicago and is based in part on the author ’ s own life . While The House on Mango Street has solidified its place in American literature , Sandra Cisneros has plenty of other works that are worth checking out . In particular , her book of poems , My Wicked Ways : Poems , is a beautiful collection that will keep even non-poets interested .
Luis Alberto Urrea is another excellent Mexican author who will pull you into his stories of Hispanic culture and family and all it has to offer . His most recent novel , House of Broken Angels , tells the story of a Chicano ( someone who is a native of , or descends from Mexico and lives in the United States ) family living in California , while honoring all the complexity , emotions , and passion that comes with it .
Moving to the Dominican Republic , we can find author Julia Alvarez , who has multiple novels that fall around the genre of historical fiction . Her stories tell of 1960s Dominican Republic which was being ruled by brutal dictator , Rafael Trujillo . Her first novel , How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents , tells the story of four sisters that grew up in the United States after fleeing the Dominican Republic . Many
of you or your kids may have read some of these novels in high school in college . If you enjoyed them , this is a perfect opportunity to return to the authors and explore some of their other books .
I know many of the readers of the Docket , don ’ t have time to pick up a book unless it is in the company of their little ones , grandchildren , nieces and nephews , etc . If you fall into this category , I have also gathered a few titles that are perfect for little ones . I have six nieces and last year I sent them a care package with some of these titles included and it was a big hit !
For a middle schooler , Turning Pages by Sonia Sotomayor is an autobiography and picture book that tells the story of the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice . I thought this was a great gift to share an understanding of what a judge or lawyer is with my younger nieces !
Sofia Valdez , Future Prez by Andrea Beaty is a fun picture book for your younger ones , and it has a great message about empowerment ! Another great book for elementary age kids is Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos by Monica Brown , which introduces young readers to the groundbreaking Mexican artist , Frida Kahlo and focuses on her relationship with her pets . These
See HERITAGE , Page 9
THE DOCKET · SEPTEMBER 2021 3