You’ve heard of a “grocery desert,” neighborhoods where fresh food is scarce. But how about a book desert? It turns out all but the wealthiest parts of Dallas still lack food for the mind as well as the body.
The red on this map represents areas where 0-10% of homes have more than 100 books, according to Unite for Literacy.
As a champion for literacy, on a mission to eradicate the book desert in Dallas’ southern sector, my social-impact startup bookstore, Whose Books, is in the works. Look for our pop-ups around Oak Cliff starting this month.
Look for us here, too, as this column, “Book Talk,” could be appearing regularly to recommend books for all ages and reading levels.
This list celebrates Latinx stories and can also be found at bookshop.org.
Oak Cliff book desert map
Bright Star by Yuyi Morales
Juvenile fiction
Bright Star is a stunning book. Yuyi Morales weaves together the intricacies of the borderlands with language, texture and color, transporting readers into a landscape that goes unseen by many.
Morales researched the Sanora desert landscape, learned about the “No Border Wall Campaign” and visited with migrant families in developing the story. The illustrations, colors and textures of her travels and research come to life as we journey through the borderland with White Star. Fear, hope, courage and community are evident as readers journey through the pages of Bright Star.
The book is bold and beautiful and can be enjoyed and shared across age groups and grade levels in a variety of ways. Interactive resources online show the making of Bright Star, and Morales reads it aloud at KidLit.tv.
Infinite Country by Patricia Engel
Fiction
This New York Times Best Seller is the kind of book that’s hard to put down. It’s just shy of 200 pages, but rich in style and story. Talia, the main character, is being held at a correctional facility for adolescent girls in Colombia and desperately works to escape, so that she can reunite with her mother and siblings in the United States. Her family’s decisions and indecisions come together to paint the very real story that is diaspora.
Engel presents a universal, yet extremely intimate story, of a family separated across continents and mixed status. The voices within this novel explore home, allegiance, opportunity, parenthood and love.
Infinite Country is a great book club read and definitely one to share with loved ones.
We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez
Young adult fiction
This novel won the Pura Belpré 2021 young adult author award.
We Are Not From Here takes readers on a journey of hopeful fear. Join Chico, Pulga and Pequeña on the treacherous journey on La Bestia, as they leave Guatemala for the U.S. Told from two different points of view, it compels readers to look at and acknowledge the plight of migrants. It’s written with poetic prose, and its dreamlike sequences are captivating.
Sanchez does not shy away from the jarring realities that people face on the journey for a new possibility and life. She handles each part of the passage, and the people met along the way, with care and dignity. It’s timely, relevant and honest.
The story explores the perils of immigration and the love and hope that resides within family and friendships. If you are looking for a book that will spark conversation, provide insight and understanding, and explore humanness, this is it. A great read to share with your teenager or young adult, and a must have to any high school classroom library.
Claudia Vega is an Oak Cliff resident, educator and published children’s author. 
