La nina seria, the serious child. That’s how Consuelo’s mother has cast her pensive, book-loving daughter, while Consuelo’s younger sister, Mili, is seen as vivacious–a ray of tropical sunshine. Two daughters: one dark, one light; one to offer comfort and consolation, the other to charm and delight. But something is not right in this Puerto Rican family. Coming of age when American influence threatens to dilute the island’s traditional Spanish customs as well as to harm, perhaps irreparably, its fragile ecology, Consuelo watches her family and culture being torn asunder–much like the island itself.

“A bittersweet tale of the price one pays to reinvent the story handed down by one’s antepasados and familia. Consuelo is both herself and every mujer, and her story her own and that of her island, torn between self-discovery and safety.” –Julia Alvarez, author of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
Judith Ortiz Cofer was born in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, and grew up on the island and in Paterson, New Jersey, before her family moved to Georgia. Ortiz Cofer is the author of ten books, including The Line of the Sun, The Latin Deli, and Silent Dancing: A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood, and her work has been published in numerous anthologies. Her book An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio has received several distinctions, including the American Library Association REFORMA Pura Belpré Honor Award, and it was also named a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year.
Educator Guide for The Meaning of Consuelo

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

Judith Ortiz Cofer opens for us a window of understanding into the riches of Puerto Rican culture. Her brave, gritty narrator, Consuelo . . . is the perfect tour guide through this compelling, deeply honest novel about the pain of family secrets.--Pam Houston, author of Cowboys Are My Weakness

"A bittersweet tale of the price one pays to reinvent the story handed down by one's antepasados and familia. Consuelo is both herself and every mujer, and her story her own and that of her island, torn between self-discovery and safety."--Julia Alvarez, author of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

"Funny and affecting, this rite of passage novel celebrates familia y cultura, and artful ways to escape them unscathed. Judith Ortiz Cofer is one of our most gifted authors."--Latina

About

La nina seria, the serious child. That’s how Consuelo’s mother has cast her pensive, book-loving daughter, while Consuelo’s younger sister, Mili, is seen as vivacious–a ray of tropical sunshine. Two daughters: one dark, one light; one to offer comfort and consolation, the other to charm and delight. But something is not right in this Puerto Rican family. Coming of age when American influence threatens to dilute the island’s traditional Spanish customs as well as to harm, perhaps irreparably, its fragile ecology, Consuelo watches her family and culture being torn asunder–much like the island itself.

“A bittersweet tale of the price one pays to reinvent the story handed down by one’s antepasados and familia. Consuelo is both herself and every mujer, and her story her own and that of her island, torn between self-discovery and safety.” –Julia Alvarez, author of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

Author

Judith Ortiz Cofer was born in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, and grew up on the island and in Paterson, New Jersey, before her family moved to Georgia. Ortiz Cofer is the author of ten books, including The Line of the Sun, The Latin Deli, and Silent Dancing: A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood, and her work has been published in numerous anthologies. Her book An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio has received several distinctions, including the American Library Association REFORMA Pura Belpré Honor Award, and it was also named a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year.

Guides

Educator Guide for The Meaning of Consuelo

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

Praise

Judith Ortiz Cofer opens for us a window of understanding into the riches of Puerto Rican culture. Her brave, gritty narrator, Consuelo . . . is the perfect tour guide through this compelling, deeply honest novel about the pain of family secrets.--Pam Houston, author of Cowboys Are My Weakness

"A bittersweet tale of the price one pays to reinvent the story handed down by one's antepasados and familia. Consuelo is both herself and every mujer, and her story her own and that of her island, torn between self-discovery and safety."--Julia Alvarez, author of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

"Funny and affecting, this rite of passage novel celebrates familia y cultura, and artful ways to escape them unscathed. Judith Ortiz Cofer is one of our most gifted authors."--Latina

PRH Education High School Collections

All reading communities should contain protected time for the sake of reading. Independent reading practices emphasize the process of making meaning through reading, not an end product. The school culture (teachers, administration, etc.) should affirm this daily practice time as inherently important instructional time for all readers. (NCTE, 2019)   The Penguin Random House High

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PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

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PRH Education Classroom Libraries

“Books are a students’ passport to entering and actively participating in a global society with the empathy, compassion, and knowledge it takes to become the problem solvers the world needs.” –Laura Robb   Research shows that reading and literacy directly impacts students’ academic success and personal growth. To help promote the importance of daily independent

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