Erika Andrade Smith

LS 5653 Asian Pacific American Literature: Book 1

Mulan: Before the Sword is a pleasure for Disney fans, as well as for those more versed in the traditional Ballad of Mulan. Like an Immortal, Lin unleashes her writing talents paired with her insights into Chinese culture to create an epic for this century.

LS 5653 Asian Pacific American Literature: Book 2

1994 Caldecott Winner, Grandfather’s Journey is a terse biography of one sentence and one photo per page, that still contains cultural insights and demonstrates artistic mastery.

LS 5653: Asian Pacific American Literature: Book 3

Minh Lê and Caldecott winner Dan Santat create a story that is larger than life, celebrating culture, family, and artistic expression.

LS 5653 Native American Literature: Book 1

Two Roads is an excellent introductory middle grade text into Native American culture and the Indian Boarding School experience.

LS 5653 Native American Literature: Book 2

Noble Maillard’s lyrical narrative paired with Martinez-Neal’s charming illustrations create the perfect balance for this informative record of Native American experience.

LS 5653 Native American Literature: Book 3

The careful research taken to create Crossing Bok Chitto deems it an authentic Native American narrative which holds literary merit and cultural relevance even 15 years after publication.

LS 5653 Latinx Literature: Book 3

Enchanted Air adds the third side to the Cuban Missile Crisis story, or rather, the fleeting paragraph on the subject often dedicated to the island in U.S. History books.

LS 5653 Latinx Literature: Book 2

Tonatiuh sheds light at an individual that contributed to the Chicano struggle before Cesar Chavez was even born, and whose legacy remains with the ongoing civil rights organization LULAC.

LS 5653 Latinx Literature: Book 1

Acevedo’s thoughtful and captive narrative helps readers empathize with teen parents and their full spectrum of struggles.

LS 5653 Genre 2: Book 1

Craft throws humorous insight into sensitive social justice topics without bias, making this graphic novel a record of American cultural experience in the 21st century.