Are you looking for Hispanic Heritage Month Books to share with your upper elementary students? Below, are a list of biographical picture books you can read aloud to your students that highlight the lives and accomplishments of some influential Hispanics.
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You can click on any of the images below to find the book mentioned on Amazon.
Book 1: Queen of Tejano Music: Selena
This book written by Silvia Lopez, an elementary school media specialist turned author, tells the story of Selena Quintanilla who became a trailblazer of Tejano music.
Book 2: Turning Pages: My Life Story
In this book, Sonia Sotomayor tells the story of her life and her journey to becoming the first Latina Supreme Court Justice.
Book 3: Celia Cruz: Queen of Salsa
This book gives readers a glimpse into Celia Cruz’ childhood and her rise to worldwide fame. Celia became known as the “Queen of Salsa.”
Book 4: Tito Puente, Mambo King/Tito Puente, Rey del Mambo
This bilingual picture book tells the story of musician Tito Puente who grew up to be known as the “Mambo King.”
Book 5: Diego
Diego Rivera was one of the most famous painters of the twentieth century. He painted murals creating a visual history of the Mexican people.
Book 6: My Name is Gabriela/Me Llamo Gabriela
This book is about Chilean born Gabriela Mistral who grew up to be the first Nobel Prize-winning Latina woman in the world. She was both a teacher and a poet.
Book 7: Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez
Kathleen Krull tells the story of the events that led Cesar Chavez to motivate farm workers to stand up for their rights.
Book 8: Pele, King of Soccer/ Pele, El Rey del Fubol
This book written by Monica Brown tells the story of Pele, a poor boy from Brazil who loved soccer more than anything else in the world and later became one of the best known soccer players in the world.
Book 9: The Astronaut with a Song for the Stars: The Story of Dr. Ellen Ochoa
This book tells the story of Ellen Ochoa who dreamed of being a flutist when she was a young girl. When she discovered engineering in college, that changed. She later became the first Hispanic woman to go to space.
Book 10: Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates
This book tells about the life of Roberto Clemente who grew up as a young poor boy in Puerto Rico. He later grew up to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates and became the first Latino to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Monica Brown tells the story of a poor boy from Brazil who loved soccer more than anything else and becomes the biggest soccer player the world has ever seen.
Book 12: Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreno Played the Piano for President Lincoln
Margarita Engle tells the story of Teresa Carreno, a prodigy piano player. After leaving Venezuela due to a war, she ends up in the United States where she is invited to play for President Lincoln.
This book by Jonah Winter tells the story of Frida’s life, one of the most well-known female artists in the world.
Book 14: The Boy Who Touched the Stars
Jose M. Hernandez tells his story of how was inspired to become an astronaut and how he became a NASA astronaut after applying for the position several times.
Book 15: Mario and the Hole in the Sky (How a Chemist Saved Our Planet)
This true story written by Elizabeth Busch tells the story of how a scientist saved the planet from an environmental disaster.
Book 16: Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People
Hopefully this post provides you with a good selection of biographical picture books that you can share with your students. Do you have any other suggestions of Hispanic Heritage Month Books for elementary students? Feel free to leave them below in the comments.
