The Texas Library Association is pleased to announce the 2020-2021 Tejas Star Reading List. This carefully curated list of Spanish and bilingual titles is designed to encourage children ages five to twelve to explore multicultural books and to discover the cognitive and economic benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism.

There is an old Spanish saying that states, “Quien sabe dos lenguas, vale por dos,” meaning that a person who knows two languages is worth twice as much. It is the hope of the Tejas Star Reading List committee that these books will play a part in making this a reality for readers.

The list includes fiction and non-fiction picture books, chapter books, and graphic novels with themes of cultural identity, STEM, and environmental action, as well as stories about Latin-American countries and important historical figures. Among the twenty-four books on this year’s list are stories that may make readers laugh, cry, celebrate who they are, and take ownership of their world.

Here is the 2020-2021 Tejas Star Reading List:

Chancho el campeón (Pig the Winner) by Aaron Blabey, translated by Juan Pablo Lombana (Scholastic en español, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc., 2019)

El coleccionista de palabras (The Word Collector) by Peter H. Reynolds, translated by Juan Pablo Lombana (Scholastic en español, an imprint of Scholastic. Inc., 2019)

¿De dónde eres? (Where Are You From?) by Yamile Saied Méndez, illustrated by Jaime Kim (HarperCollins Español, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2019)

¡Di algo! (Say Something!) by Peter H. Reynolds, translated by Juan Pablo Lombana (Scholastic en español, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc., 2019)

Fuego, fueguito / Fire, Little Fire by Jorge Tetl Argueta, illustrated by Felipe Ugalde Alcántara, translated by Jorge Tetl Argueta and Madeleine Maillet (Piñata Books, an imprint of Arte Público Press, 2019)

¡Hola, Cangrejito! (Hello, Crabby!) by Jonathan Fenske, translated by Abel Berriz (Scholastic en español, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc., 2019)

Hombre Perro: El Señor de las Pulgas (Dog Man: Lord of the Fleas) by Dav Pilkey, translated by Nuria Molinero (Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., 2019)

Lola quiere un gato (Lola Gets a Cat) by Anna McQuinn, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw, translated by Carlos E. Calvo (Charlesbridge Publishing Inc., 2019)

A lomo de cuento por Argentina: El Coquena (A Storybook Ride Through Argentina: The Coquena) by Sergio Andricaín and Antonio Orlando Rodríguez, illustrated by Elizabeth Builes (Loqueleo, an imprint of Santillana USA, 2019)

A lomo de cuento por Cuba: El güije de la charca (A Storybook Ride Through Cuba: The Pond Elf) by Sergio Andricaín and Antonio Orlando Rodríguez, illustrated by Roger Ycaza (Loqueleo, an imprint of Santillana USA, 2019)

A lomo de cuento por México: El pájaro verde (A Storybook Ride Through Mexico: The Green Bird) by Sergio Andricaín and Antonio Orlando Rodríguez, illustrated by Israel Barrón (Loqueleo, an imprint of Santillana USA, 2019)

A lomo de cuento por Perú: El abuelo de la quena (A Storybook Ride Through Peru: The Grandfather Who Played the Quena) by Sergio Andricaín and Antonio Orlando Rodríguez, illustrated by Carolina Durán (Loqueleo, an imprint of Santillana USA, 2019)

A lomo de cuento por Puerto Rico: El huerto de los viejitos (A Storybook Ride Through Puerto Rico: The Old People’s Vegetable Garden) by Sergio Andricaín and Antonio Orlando Rodríguez, illustrated by Núria Feijoó (Loqueleo, an imprint of Santillana USA, 2019)

Luca’s Bridge / El puente de Luca by Mariana Llanos, illustrated by Anna López Real (Penny Candy Books, 2019)

Luciana: Misión submarina (Luciana: Braving the Deep) by Erin Teagan, translated by Ana Galán (Scholastic en español, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., 2018)

Mario y el agujero en el cielo: Cómo un químico salvó nuestro planeta (Mario and the Hole in the Sky: How a Chemist Saved Our Planet) by Elizabeth Rusch, illustrated by Teresa Martinez, translated by Carlos E. Calvo (Charlesbridge Publishing, Inc., 2019)

Mi papi tiene una moto (My Papi Has a Motorcycle) by Isabel Quintero, illustrated by Zeke Peña, translated by Andrea Montejo (Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2019)

No dejes que desaparezcan (Don’t Let Them Disappear) by Chelsea Clinton, illustrated by Gianna Marino, translated by Teresa Mlawer (Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2019)

Un nuevo hogar (A New Home) by Tania de Regil (Candlewick Press, 2019)

Pangato: Soy yo. (Catwad: It’s Me.) by Jim Benton, translated by Abel Berriz (Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., 2019)

Papa Francisco: Creador de puentes (Pope Francis: Builder of Bridges) by Emma Otheguy, illustrated by Oliver Dominguez, translated by Belén Agustina Sánchez (Bloomsbury Children’s Books, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc, 2018)

Sembrando historias: Pura Belpré: bibliotecaria y narradora de cuentos (Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré) by Anika Aldamuy Denise, illustrated by Paola Escobar, translated by Omayra Ortiz (HarperCollins Español, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2019)

Señorita Mariposa by Ben Gundersheimer, illustrated by Marcos Almada Rivero (Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2019)

Titanosaurio: El descubrimiento del dinosaurio más grande del mundo (Titanosaur: Discovering the World’s Largest Dinosaur) by Dr. José Luis Carballido and Dr. Diego Pol, illustrated by Florencia Gigena, translated by Abel Berriz (Scholastic en español, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc., 2019)