About Nuestras Voces Series

Witness Latino history through first-person diary tales. Created in collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino and Capstone, each story in the Nuestras Voces series features a young Latino character’s experience during key moments in American history. Set against rich and informative historical backdrops, Nuestras Voces presents exciting and accessible historical fiction that depicts a variety of time periods and experiences—including joys and challenges, trials and triumphs, and an inspiring spirit of resilience. 
 
The first two books in the series take place in Puerto Rico during the Spanish American War and World War II in El Paso, Texas following the stories of Paloma and Valentina respectively. The books feature a reading guide and accompanying Smithsonian Learning Labs to connect Smithsonian objects to these stories. 
 

Paloma’s Song for Puerto Rico: A Diary from 1898

It is 1898, and twelve-year-old Paloma lives in Puerto Rico with her family. They are coffee farmers, and Paloma loves the chickens and fruit trees that she helps to care for. She also loves music―the song of the coquí frogs who sing her to sleep, and the melodies from Papi’s tiple guitar. But Paloma’s world begins to change when war arrives on Puerto Rico’s shores. What will happen to their culture, the island? As Paloma and her family navigate changes they can’t control, they hold tightly to each other and hope for a better future. 

Visit the Smithsonian Learning Lab for the companion educational resources for Nuestras Voces Series.

On the Home Front with Valentina: A Diary from 1940 to 1943

In 1940, eleven-year-old Valentina lives in El Paso, Texas, with her Mami, Papi, and two older brothers, Hugo and Kiki. Valentina loves reading and learning, and she hopes to go to college and become a teacher and writer someday. Her brother Hugo was in college, but with World War II looming—and Kiki eager to join the military—Hugo decides to join the National Guard with Kiki. Trying to help her family navigate wartime changes, Valentina takes on a lot more at home. She writes to her brothers, keeps her parents updated on news about the war, and helps with the war effort on the home front—all for a country she’s not so sure accepts Mexican American families like her own.                                                                                                     Visit the Smithsonian Learning Lab for the companion educational resources for Nuestras Voces Series.