Petrillo - A kids guide to Latino history: more than 50 activities

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Petrillo, Valerie.

A kids guide to Latino history : more than 50 activities / Valerie Petrillo.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN-13: 978-1-55652-771-5

ISBN-10: 1-55652-771-3

1. Hispanic AmericansHistoryJuvenile literature. 2. Hispanic AmericansHistoryStudy and teachingActivity programsJuvenile literature. I. Title.

E184.S75P48 2009

973.0468dc22

2008040433

Interior design: Scott Rattray
Cover and interior illustrations: Gail Rattray

2009 by Valerie Petrillo

All rights reserved

Published by Chicago Review Press, Incorporated

814 North Franklin Street

Chicago, Illinois 60610

ISBN: 978-1-55652-771-5

Printed in the United States of America

5 4 3 2 1

To Noelle:
A bright, shiny penny
Sparkling with promise, full of life
You forever delight and surprise

S pecial thanks to my editors, Michelle Schoob and Linda Gray, for the tremendous amount of time and attention they devoted to helping me mold this book; Scott Rattray, who put together a great overall design, and Gail Rattray for her engaging drawings; and Cynthia Sherry for sharing my interest in bringing this subject into book form.

I also want to thank my dear family: Hank, Mike, Nick, and Noelle, and the many members of our extended families for all the love, interest, and support they have given me in my writing projects over the years.

D id you know that the first immigrants to live in what is now the United States were not the English settlers who lived in Jamestown in 1607 or the Pilgrims who settled in Plymouth in 1620, but the Spanish? The descendents of these first Spanish settlers, as well as immigrants from Mexico and the Spanish-speaking countries of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, are collectively known as Latinos.

Latinos are a diverse, multiracial group of people whose ancestors include not only the Spanish but also the Native Americans, Africans, Europeans, and Asians who have inhabited these lands throughout the centuries. Latinos have played an important role in the development of the United States, and their accomplishments, ideals, customs, foods, language, music, art, literature, and fashions continue to transform and enrich American life. Today Latinos make up almost 15 percent of the U.S. populationand, as their own population increases, Latinos contributions, achievements, and influences are sure to have an even greater and more exciting impact in the United Statesand in the world at large.

In A Kids Guide to Latino History well explore the rich culture and remarkable history of Latinos in the United States through more than 50 hands-on activities. In chapter we will discover how Christopher Columbus and the Spanish conquistadors forever changed the course of history in the Americas by enslaving the native people and plundering their land for gold and riches. We will learn how the Columbian Exchange brought food, animals, goodsand diseasesfrom the Old World to the New World and back; enjoy a steaming cup of champurrado (an ancient Aztec drink sweetened with sugar brought by the Spanish); and create a Columbian buffet of Old World and New World foods.

In chapter we will walk in the shoes of the Spanish conquistadors, see the creation of the first Spanish settlements, witness the revolt of the Pueblo Indians in 1680, observe the establishment of the Catholic missions, and see how the Spanish helped the English colonists win a revolutionary war. Well also experience this era by creating a Native American ring and pin game, stringing chili peppers like a Spanish colonist, and making a medicine mans rattle that resembles the one the natives gave the explorer Cabeza de Vaca, who was lost in the wilderness of the Southwest for eight years!

Chapter discusses frontier life in the Mexican Southwest after Mexicos independence from Spain. We will travel the route of the Santa Fe Trail, observe the world of the Californio rancho, discover the legacies of the Mexican vaqueros, witness the battle of the Alamo in Texas, and learn how the Mexican-American War resulted in the Southwest becoming part of the United States. Try your hand at being a vaquero by throwing a lariat and designing your own cattle brand.