Children's and young adult literature has become an essential medium for identity formation in contemporary Latino/a culture in the United States. This book is an original collection of more than thirty interviews led by Frederick Luis Aldama with Latino/a authors working in the genre. The conversations revolve around the conveyance of young Latino/a experience, and what that means for the authors as they overcome societal obstacles and aesthetic complexity. The authors also speak extensively about their experiences within the publishing industry and with their audiences. As such, Aldama's collection presents an open forum to contemporary Latino/a writers working in a vital literary category and sheds new light on the myriad formats, distinctive nature, and cultural impact it offers. Aldama interviews an eclectic group of contemporary Latinx children's book authors and illustrators (as well as Ashley Hope Pérez, who is white but whose spouse, Arnulfo, is Latinx), who discuss genres, writing for youth, and the role their identities and background played in their decisions to become writers and artists. Subjects stress the need for more Latinx creators, publishers, and editors; the significance of small presses; and the power of children's book awards in making Latinx writers and artists more visible. The interviewees range from self-taught artists to those with formal training, but all are driven to challenge whiteness in publishing and provide a voice for the marginalized. Readers will be inspired to revisit these creators' work. A preface, introduction, and afterword offer context on Latinx literature. VERDICT An important resource for youth, school, and academic ­librarians; educators; and library science ­students.-Sujei Lugo, Boston Public Libraryα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. These insightful, widely ranging interviews showcase the defining children's and YA Latina/Latino writers and illustrators of our time. They speak about tapping the magic of story, taking risks, crafting identity; about crossing or defying or blurring the borders of language and experience. Aldama's scholarship brings vital cultural and artistic realities to the page for the benefit of all those who care about young readers. ― Uma Krishnaswami, author of Book Uncle and Me Alongside an elegant and thoughtful introduction, Aldama has provided us with a superbly illuminating set of interviews with some of this century's most innovative and challenging writers. He sheds new light on the incredibly rich ideas and vision of Latino and Latina artists and writers and guides our reading with compelling questions. ― Mary Pat Brady, Cornell University This is a collection of conversations with more than thirty Latina/o authors of literature for young people. Aldama provides an introduction and serves as the interviewer for each author. The conversations revolve around the idea of Latina/o identity and what that means for authors of books for children and young adults. They also talk extensively about their experiences within the publishing industry and about their audiences. There is not a lot of scholarship in the volume, but it allows Latina/o writers of children's and young adult literature to speak for themselves. Frederick Luis Aldama , aka Professor Latinx, is the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities and founder and director of the Latinx Pop Lab at the University of Texas, as well as adjunct Distinguished University Professor at The Ohio State University. He is an award-winning author of dozens of books as well as editor of nine academic press book series. His fiction includes the children’s books The Adventures of Chupacabra Charlie and Con Papá/With Papá .