“Borders, pachangas and Chicano children's picture books.”

Chicano/a children’s books, like their adult counterparts, address the problems of cross-cultural identities in individuals of mixed ethnic origins, the transversal inhabitants of multiple communities. Rather than accepting representation of Chicanos/as as aliens or alienated entities, Chicano/a children’s literature looks for affirmative models of integration and participation set against monolithic visions of what constitutes national, cultural, and ethnic identities. The Chicano/a identity is the ultimate hybrid, since it is not connected to a nation of origin. The following pages will deal with Chicano/a cultural (re)organization and negotiation of space in a number of children’s books significant for their focus on transversal identities and bilingualism.