Sandra Cisneros

"Sandra Cisneros has a fondness for animals and this little gem of a story makes that abundantly clear. 'La casa azul,' the cobalt blue residence of Mister and Missus Rivera, overflows with hairless dogs, monkeys, a fawn, a 'passionate' Guacamaya macaw, tarantulas, an iguana, and rescues that resemble 'ancient Olmec pottery.' Missus loves the rescues most 'because their eyes were filled with grief.' She takes lavish care of her husband too, a famous...

Lala Reyes' grandmother is descended from a family of renowned rebozo, or shawl-makers. The striped (caramelo) is the most beautiful of all, and the one that makes its way, like the family history it has come to represent, into Lala's possession. The novel opens with the Reyes' annual car trip—a caravan overflowing with children, laughter, and quarrels—from Chicago to "the other side," Mexico City. It is there, each year, that Lala hears her family's...

A girl describes how each person in the family has hair that looks and acts different, Papa's like a broom, Kiki's like fur, and Mama's with the sweet smell of bread before it's baked.

"From the beloved author of The House on Mango Street: a richly illustrated compilation of true stories and nonfiction pieces that, taken together, form a jigsaw autobiography: an intimate album of a literary legend's life and career. From the Chicago neighborhoods where she grew up and set her groundbreaking The House on Mango Street to her abode in Mexico, in a region where "my ancestors lived for centuries," the places Sandra Cisneros has lived...

"In the book Mestizaje, internationally acclaimed artist Kathy Sosa presents a cross-sectional view of Mexican American culture as it is practiced in the centuries-old blended culture of the Texas-Mexico borderlands. The richness of mestizaje foretells and celebrates what much of the United States is becoming. The imagery and symbolism in Sosa's work are inspired by strong female figures and celebrate what the women of these borderlands revere culturally,...