If you’re looking for new books for your classroom for Hispanic Heritage Month or want some more pioneers of color to talk about at home or in class, check out Bold, Brilliant, and Latine by Alyssa Reynoso-Morris and illustrated by Sol Cotti.
This book features the stories of 52 Hispanic and Latine history makers past and present, complete with cute and colorful illustrations and a brief story about what makes them noteworthy.
It’s in chronological order so it starts with people your students (and you!) may not have heard of, like Victoria Montou, born Abdaraya Toya, who was abducted and enslaved in Haiti and helped train and fight along with other enslaved people in the Haitian Revolution. Or José Francisco Morazán Quesada, a military commander who helped liberate Honduras and was later president of the Federal Republic of Central America.
There are also more familiar names like Frida Kahlo, Celia Cruz, Gabríel Garcia Márquez, Cesar Chavez, Oscar de la Renta and Sonia Sotomayor. You’ll learn about the first Latina in space (Ellen Ochoa), a fighter for indigenous rights in Guatemala (Rigoberta Menchú), a three-time world surfing champion from Peru (Sofía Mulánovich) and a transgender woman who fought for justice for LGBTQ+ folks in New York (Sylvia Rivera).
The book includes musicians like Selena and Gloria Estefan, athletes like Lionel Messi and Roberto Clemente, entertainers like Guillermo del Toro and Lin Manuel Miranda, and actors like Salma Hayek and Jenna Ortega. You’ll also find scientists, politicians, activists and others who have made a mark in their field and on history.
Most of the people are presented in a single page with a drawing and a few paragraphs of biography. It’s enough to get people interested in learning more without going on for too long (this is a book for grades 2-5, after all). It might serve as inspiration to get kids to learn more about some of these figures and will definitely give you some people to talk about in history and other fields who are Latine and Hispanic.
About the book: 64 pages, hardcover. Published 2025 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail price $24.99.
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