Nilda

I recently finished a novel titled Nilda by Nicholasa Mohr. The book tells the story of a young Puerto Rican American girl named Nilda, and her family through the years before and during WWII. She was born in New York and the Barrio where she lives is the setting for the novel. Even though this book is a work of historical fiction I think that it is a great diverse book because it helps teach about the roots of Nuyorican culture in New York that thrives still today. This book would be teachable at a middle school level and up. The content is mostly appropriate in middle school but it is long and there would need to be a discussion of slang and foul language that is occasionally used throughout the story by the characters. For this reason it might be easier depending on the students to approach in a high school classroom.

This novel sparks many questions about the experiences of immigrants and how they were treated in those times. It also weaves so many cultural practices into the story students will have a great opportunity to discuss similarities and differences between that culture and their own. I'd defiantly recommend this book to others interested in diversity and cultural histories.