#dacadreamers

The fight is far from over but in celebration of the Supreme Court's decision this week, here's a list of books by authors whose identities and works reflect those of DACA recipients! Here's to the Dreamers. 💖 

We've featured these titles on our blog, curated them with the help of educators and librarians for the OurStory app, or honored the authors with Walter Awards/Grants: 

PICTURE BOOKS 

ALREADY A BUTTERFLY by Julia Alvarez, Illustrated by Raúl Colón 

ANTONIO’S CARD/LA TARJETA DE ANTONIO by Rigoberto González, Illustrated by Cecilia Concepción Álvarez

CARMELA FULL OF WISHES by Matt de la Peña, Illustrated by Christian Robinson

A GIFT FROM ABUELA by Cecilia Ruiz

A MOVIE IN MY PILLOW/UNA PELICULA EN MI ALMOHADA by Jorge Argueta, Illustrated by Elizabeth Gomez

MY DIARY FROM HERE TO THERE/MI DIARIO DE AQUÍ HASTA ALLÁ by Amada Irma Pérez, Illustrated by Maya González 

MIDDLE GRADE 

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US: YOUNG READERS EDITION by Reyna Grande

GHOST SQUAD by Claribel Ortega

I LIVED ON BUTTERFLY HILL by Marjorie Agosín

MAÑANALAND by Pam Muñoz Ryan

THEY CALL ME GÜERO by David Bowles (Walter Honoree)

THE WAY TO RIO LUNA by Zoraida Córdova 

YOUNG ADULT

AMERICAN STREET by Ibi Zoboi

BLANCA & ROJA by Anna Marie-McLemore

CLAP WHEN YOU LAND by Elizabeth Acevedo

COME ON IN edited by Adi Alsaid

DISAPPEARED by Francisco X. Stork (Walter Honoree)

DON'T ASK ME WHERE I'M FROM by Jennifer de Leon (Walter Grant Winner)

FURIA by Yamile Saied Méndez (Walter Grant Winner)

I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER by Erika L. Sánchez

THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR by Nicole Yoon (Walter Honoree)

WOVEN IN MOONLIGHT BY Isabel Ibañez Davis

WE ARE NOT FROM HERE by Jenny Torres Sanchez

I am an activist for Latinx rights.

I am an activist for Indigenous rights.

I am an activist for LGBTQ rights.

I am an activist for Women’s rights.

I am an activist. Why? Because these people are my family, my friends, and my community.

He really said “I’m moving to Texas”

Please sir!

Recently I’ve become interested in politics and younger me would have given me a blank stare if I tried to explain to her why. I’ve always been a writer but I enjoy writing fiction where I’m allowed to let my mind run wild and create whatever I want. Up until the last few years I had no interest in anything political. I saw politics as pointless and stressful and didn’t want anything to do with it. And then I realized the importance of getting involved in situations like the recent decision by the president to end the program DACA. 

I am a firm believer in treating others how we would want to be treated and relating anything I can back to basic human decency. Above all else, we are to care for our fellow man and try to make the world better in all that we do. Trump’s election, first months of presidency, and recent decision go against everything I believe in. I am an American Citizen. I am of Mixed Descent (Irish, German, West African). I am a Woman. Each of these things that make me who I am have been attacked as of late. From the beginning of Trump’s campaign I have been strongly against the deportation of immigrants. I cannot fathom how people can hold so much hate against those who only seek a better life. I cannot fathom how someone can be a white supremacist or want to “build the wall”. It blows my mind that our country has gotten to this point.

DACA Dreamers are now terrified and emotionally distressed and they do not deserve this. They do not deserve to feel attacked. They do not deserve to feel as if they are not wanted in this country. They certainly do not deserve to be punished for merely living and contributing to society. Roughly 800,000 young people’s lives have been thrown into chaos and why? Because their parents loved them and wanted a better life for them? I’m tired of hearing the argument “they should have done it legally”. It’s easy to make a statement like that when you’re so blinded by your privilege you cannot understand that those in other countries are suffering. The process of becoming a legal citizen is lengthy and expensive and chances are that if you’re running from another country, you do not have the time or finances to become a citizen legally. 

There is also the fact that there are still millions of undocumented illegal immigrants who could have applied for DACA and have not. I’m sure now they’re thanking the Heavens for making that decision. DACA Dreamers put the fate of their lives in the government’s hands and chose to be honest and register with this program, trusting that the system would protect them. They were deceived and the country should be ashamed. Donald Trump should be ashamed. Trump supporters who continue to defend his every move should be ashamed. If you are a living breathing human being and you support this horrid act, you should be ashamed. 

On a more positive note, I am so proud of my state, the wonderful New York. Governor Andrew Cuomo made a statement that filled my heart with pride. He let the Dreamers of New York know that we will support them and fight for them and will not allow them to be singled out or made to feel less than. I pray that other states follow such notions and that these young people are protected. And I pray for the direction our country is headed in. It is certainly a battle of good and evil right now and I am rooting for the good.