Growing Up in Santa Cruz

This is the amazing true story of four undocumented teens in West Phoenix who, in 2004, beat all the odds and won the NASA-sponsored Marine Advanced Technology Education Robotics Competition. Using spare car parts, they created a functional underwater robot, and beat out MIT students to win first prize. This is an uplifting story about four very impressive teens that will inspire any high school kid struggling to believe they can do whatever they want.  —Flannery

This book is a classic. A collection of short stories by the poet Gary Soto, it shows how small daily events in our lives can have a much larger meaning. Based on his own experiences as a child in the Central Valley, this is a quiet, insightful book that tells the stories of eleven Latino children growing up in Fresno. It’s a lovely book that any child can relate to.  —Flannery

If you want to teach your children about Hispanic heroes beyond Cesar Chavez, this is the book for your family. Highlighting women and men who have helped shape our nation—from Sonia Sotomayor to Roberto Clemente—and filled with quotes and facts, this great book shows a wide range of people in a wide variety of fields who have helped make change happen.  —Flannery

We all know about Jim Crow segregation in the South, but in California segregation existed as well, separating Mexicans and other Latinos from whites. Sylvia Mendez was a young girl who didn’t understand why she couldn’t attend the white school. Her family couldn’t get a satisfactory answer as to why they were being separated, so they sued, and won, ending segregation in California seven years before Brown v. Board of Education would desegregate the South. Duncan Tonatiuh’s book, written after he interviewed Sylvia, tells their story and includes Tonatiuh’s unique illustrations.  —Flannery

Yuyi Morales is the wonderful artist who painted the vibrant illustrations in Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez, by Kathleen Krull—a great book that also garnered Morales a Pura Belpré Award. I wanted to highlight Viva Frida because Kahlo was such an amazing painter, and this book honors her so well. The illustrations are unique—incorporating various types of mixed media from dolls to paintings to felted animals—and the bilingual story is simple and perfect for early readers.  —Flannery

My second and third grade teacher used to sing us song from this book, so it retains a very special place in my heart. Filled with folks songs perfect for singing with children, this book has both the Spanish and English translations of the songs, and even has the sheet music! I love this book, and it’s perfect for anyone who loves to sing (even if they’re as bad at it as I am).  —Flannery

Given our proximity to Silicon Valley, most Santa Cruz dads are constantly searching for ways to bring innovation to parenting. Ken Denmead, who couldn’t bear to play Candyland one more time with his five children, had similar aspirations when he launched a Wired blog soliciting ideas to bridge the divide between kids games and all things geeky. Presto! Millions of tips later, Denmead compiled Geek Dad and The Geek Dad’s Guide to Weekend Fun, both filled with the best geeky activities to do with your children. Super- cool projects include electronic origami, making your own cartoons, pirate cartography and wind-up toy finger painting. Two books that both fathers and kids will enjoy.  -Casey

For analytical dads who want to parent based on facts and the latest research, Nurture Shock will both inform and entertain. Focusing on the latest neurobiological facts about child development, Bronson and Merryman dispel the usefulness of many modern parenting strategies while they untangle issues related to sibling relationships, lying, teen rebellion and childhood intelligence. Slate.com calls it “a highly readable Malcolm Gladwell-esque look at the social science of child rearing” while the Huffington Post says “it will knock your socks off.”  -Casey

Michael Lewis, famed sports and business author (The Blind Side, Liars Poker, The Big Short), tackles his toughest subject yet: Fatherhood. Chronicling the first few months after the birth of each of his three children, Lewis’ infectious wit and candidness provide one of the most accurate (and funny) portrayals of fatherhood I’ve ever read. Favorite moment: Lewis recalling his exhausting and excruciating father-daughter camp-out at Berkeley’s Fairy Land only to later decide that it was one of the best nights of his life.  -Casey