Common Sense Media Review
By Sandie Angulo Chen
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Picture book offers inspiring bios of Latino Americans.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
A collaboration between author Juan Felipe Herrera and illustrator Raúl Colón, PORTRAITS OF HISPANIC AMERICAN HEROES is a collection of 19 biographical essays accompanied by portraits of each historically significant Hispanic pioneer. The featured individuals range from farm worker and labor leader César Chavez and entertainers Desi Arnaz, Joan Baez, and Rita Moreno to baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. There also are profiles of lesser-known but equally as compelling luminaries, such as high school math teacher Jaime Escalante, poet Julia de Burgos, physicist Luis Alvarez, and astronaut Ellen Ochoa, among others.
Is It Any Good?
Mainstream America may not have known these pioneers' names, but now young kids can celebrate them in this lovely picture book that's full of 19 mini-biographies and portraits of Hispanic heroes. There was a time before Dora the Explorer and Ugly Betty and the rise of multicultural casts on television when Hispanic American kids didn't see many Latinos on the stage or screen, but as Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes proves, there have always been prominent Hispanic Americans in the arts, sciences, letters, politics, and sports.
Some of the entries are obvious (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony winner Moreno, Pittsburgh Pirate legend Clemente, and labor union pioneer Chavez), but others are unexpected. Did you know a Hispanic American won the Nobel Prize for Physics (Alvarez) or that a Latina astronaut rose through the NASA ranks to be the director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston? It's refreshing and inspiring to read about such accomplished Latinos, who had to overcome considerable discrimination to reach their goals.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the various individuals included in the book. Why are they important? Which Hispanic Americans would you like to learn more about? What did you learn from the book?
Why does the author say that Hispanic contributions to U.S. culture, academics, and politics have been overshadowed by the idea or assumption that Latinos are "aliens" and "illegals"?
How do the illustrations help tell the individuals' stories? What's your favorite illustration, and why?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Raúl Colón
- Genre : Biography
- Topics : Arts , History , STEM
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Dial Books
- Publication date : August 7, 2014
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 96
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Awards : ALA Best and Notable Books , Pura Belpré Awards and Honors
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate