Alejandria Fights Back!: ¡La Lucha de Alejandria! (Bilingual English/Spanish)

by Leticia Hernández-Linares (Author) Robert Liu-Trujillo (Illustrator)

Alejandria Fights Back!: ¡La Lucha de Alejandria! (Bilingual English/Spanish)
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
For nine-year-old Alejandria, home isn't just the apartment she shares with Mami and her abuela, Tita, but rather the whole neighborhood. Home is the bakery where Ms. Beatrice makes yummy picos; the sidewalk where Ms. Alicia sells flowers with her little dog, Duende; and the corner store with friendly Mr. Amir. But lately the city has been changing, and rent prices are going up. Many people in el barrio are leaving because they can no longer afford their homes, and For Sale signs are popping up everywhere. Then the worst thing happens: Mami receives a letter saying they'll have to move out too. Alejandria knows it isn't fair, but she's not about to give up and leave. Join Alejandria as she brings her community together to fight and save their neighborhood! Para Alejandria de nueve años, el hogar no es sólo el apartamento que comparte con Mami y su abuela, Tita, sino más bien todo el barrio. El hogar es la panadería donde la Sra. Beatrice hace unos ricos picos; la vereda donde la Sra. Alicia vende flores con su perrito, Duende; y la pulpería con el amistoso Sr. Amir. Pero últimamente la ciudad ha estado cambiando, y los precios de alquiler están subiendo. Muchas personas en el barrio se están yendo porque ya no pueden costear sus hogares, y letreros anunciando "Se Vende" están apareciendo por todos lados. Entonces ocurre lo peor: Mami recibe una carta diciendo que ellas también tendrán que mudarse. Alejandria sabe que no es justo, pero no está dispuesta a darse por vencida e irse. ¡Únete a Alejandria mientras ella reúne a su comunidad para luchar y salvar su barrio!
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School Library Journal

Gr 1-5--The rent is going up again. "For sale" signs are everywhere in Alejandria's barrio. Friends are having to move--what's going to happen to her neighborhood? What about her friends and family? Her mom and abuela, Tita, are from Nicaragua, but nine-year-old Alejandria was born in the United States. She remembers Tita's stories about community activism back in her old country. The young girl and her abuela head for the library and then to the office of a community organization for tenant rights. They rally their neighbors and together they head for city hall to make their case. Despite feeling "hormiguitas" or little ants crawling around in her belly, Alejandria steps in front of the microphone and asks for a new law that would protect people and their homes regardless of income. Alejandria is a hero for change! Hernández-Linares's bilingual story in Spanish and English addresses the power of focused intent in the face of insurmountable odds and includes a glossary and website. Liu-Trujillo's watercolor illustrations highlight a diverse community and its journey toward empowerment. VERDICT This accessible introduction to social justice through knowledge and unification shows how people are neither too young nor too old to fight for what's right. A strong choice for bilingual shelves.--Mary Margaret Mercado, Pima County P.L., Tucson, AZ

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"Simply inspiring." —Kirkus Reviews

"This accessible introduction to social justice through knowledge and unification shows how people are neither too young nor too old to fight for what's right." —School Library Journal

Leticia Hernández-Linares

The Rise-Home Stories Project is an innovative collaboration between multimedia storytellers and social justice advocates from several grassroots organizations who work at the nexus of housing, land, and racial justice in the US. It came together in 2018 to reimagine the past, present, and future of our communities by transforming the stories we tell about land and home. To that end, the Rise-Home Stories Project is creating a body of multimedia projects aimed at diverse audiences that expose the generational impacts of racist land and housing policy while planting a long-term vision for our collective future. Alejandria Fights Back! is one of those projects.

Leticia Hernández-Linares is an educator, interdisciplinary artist, and author of the poetry collection Mucha Muchacha, Too Much Girl. She is also the coeditor of The Wandering Song: Central American Writing in the United States. Her work appears in collections and journals such as Latinas: Struggles & Protests in 21st Century USA, Street Art San Francisco, Huizache, and Pilgrimage. A 2017 San Francisco Library Laureate, she is the recipient of four San Francisco Arts Commission Individual Artist grants, and has received support from the Creative Work Fund and the Zellerbach Family Foundation. A longtime community worker and Mission resident, she teaches in the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University.

Robert Liu-Trujillo is a lifelong Bay Area resident. Born in Oakland, California, he is the child of student activists who watched lots of science fiction and took him to many demonstrations. Always drawing, Rob grew up to be an artist, falling in love with graffiti, fine art, illustration, murals, and children's books. Through storytelling, he's been able to scratch the surface of so many untold stories. He is the author and illustrator of Furqan's First Flat Top.

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781558617049
Lexile Measure
650
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Feminist Press
Publication date
August 10, 2021
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039120 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Prejudice & Racism
JUV061000 - Juvenile Fiction | Politics & Government
JUV011030 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - Hispanic & Latino
JUV074000 - Juvenile Fiction | Diversity & Multicultural
Library of Congress categories
Immigrants
Spanish language materials
Bilingual
Community life
Neighborhoods
Landlord and tenant
Nicaraguan Americans

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