Today is the last day of September, and with it, the end of this #WorldKidLit Month. It has been an honor to present to the global reading public children’s and Young Adult books, written by Puerto Ricans, with Puerto Rican themes, from both the island and the diaspora.

I hope that from wherever in the world you read the GLLI blog this month, that you learned perhaps new things about Puerto Rico, its people, and its culture and history. If you work in a public or school library with a large population of Puerto Ricans (especially in the greater United States), I hope that you add some of the books we have discussed this month to your collection. If that is not the case for your library, these books are nevertheless ideal additions to a diverse collection.

Do not let the books featured during this month be the end of your reading in Puerto Rican Kid Lit. This is only the beginning. Seek out other books written and illustrated by our authors, such as Eric Velasquez, Lulu Delacre, Sonia Manzano, NoNieqa Ramos, and others. I for one plan to read The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary before the year is out. What books are on your reading and collection development lists?

Finally, I would like to thank the guest contributors who helped shoulder the load this month. Ruth Terry and Luis Maldonado (who I’ve been friends with since college), thank you! I enjoyed reading your perspectives and getting the inside scoop on some books I have yet to read.

Under the heading #WorldKidLit Month 2020, here are all our posts:

• September 1: Spotlight Puerto Rico
• September 2: Across the Bay
• September 3: A New Kind of Wild
• September 4: Luci Soars
• September 7: Translation Recommendation: Por ahí viene el huracán
• September 8: A Surprise for Teresita/Una sorpresa para Teresita
• September 9: Eric Velasquez and his Grandma
• September 10: Clemente!
• September 11: On this Beautiful Island
• September 12: Forthcoming Title Alert: Coquí in the City
• September 14: Parrots Over Puerto Rico
• September 15: The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano
• September 16: If I Could Fly
• September 17: The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary
• September 18: The Education of Margot Sanchez
• September 19: Call Me Maria
• September 21: Mis abuelos y yo/My Grandparents and I
• September 22: The Coquí and the Iguana
• September 23: Shadowshaper (Shadowshaper Cypher Series, Book 1)
• September 24: Trailblazing Puerto Rican Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré
• September 25: Afro Puerto Rican Bibliophile Arturo Alfonso Schomburg
• September 26: When Julia Danced Bomba/Cuando Julia bailaba bomba
• September 27: Ellas: Historias de mujeres puertorriqueñas
• September 28: Kiki Koki: The Enchanted Legend of the Coquí Frog
• September 29: Incubating Children’s Literature in Puerto Rico

Klem-Marí Cajigas has been with Nashville Public Library since 2012, after more than a decade of academic training in Religious Studies and Ministry. As the Family Literacy Coordinator for Bringing Books to Life!, Nashville Public Library’s award-winning early literacy outreach program, she delivers family literacy workshops to a diverse range of local communities. Born in Puerto Rico, Klem-Marí is bilingual, bicultural, and proudly Boricua.