Picture Books

That’s Not Fair! Emma Tenayuca’s Struggle for Justice/¡No Es Justo!: La lucha de Emma Tenayuca por la justicia

Picture book. By Carmen Tafolla, Sharyll Tenayuca, and Celina Marroquin. 2008. 40 pages.
Bilingual (Spanish and English) biography of labor activist Emma Tenayuca for upper elementary.

Time Periods: 20th Century, 1920
Themes: Labor, Latinx, Organizing, Women's History

Children can be introduced to the story of labor organizer Emma Tenayuca with the bilingual children’s book That’s Not Fair!/¡No Es Justo!

The picture book begins with her childhood in San Antonio, Texas and describes her role in the 1938 strike by 12,000 workers.

This is the first book published about this significant Latina civil rights leader. Written for readers age 6 and up, That’s Not Fair!/¡No Es Justo! was the April 2008 national Las Comadres Book Selection and was listed in Críticas Magazine’s Best Children’s Books of 2008.

“Striking illustrations . . . an important book celebrating the struggle for justice and civil rights. —School Library Journal

“Tells of Ms. Tenayuca’s life, not as an organizer, orator, or leader but as a girl whose sharp mind and compassion for others sows the seeds of activism.” —National Catholic Reporter

By Carmen Tafolla, Sharyll Tenayuca, Celina Marroquin. Illustrated by Terry Ybañez.

ISBN: 9780916727338 | Wings Press