First awarded in 1993, the Americas Award is given in recognition of books that authentically and engagingly portray Latino as in Latin America, the Caribbean or the United States. By combining both and linking the Americas, the award reaches beyond geographic borders, as well as multicultural-international boundaries, focusing instead upon cultural heritages within the hemisphere. The Award is unique in that selects Latino a youth literature for classroom use and in that it focuses on the entire Western Hemisphere.Scholars from the fields of literature, education, lbrary science, and theater engage with Latino a Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) in this ecollection of essays about the Americas Award, the Award-winning and honored books, and the contexts in which the books are used. This collection offers essays on the history of the award, close readings of Award-winning and honored books situated in the classroom, and discussions of how best to use the books in the classroom, library and theater.