Recently the author was working with a group of elementary bilingual teachers along a remote section of the Texas/Mexico border. She had been asked to facilitate the development of their social studies curriculum for their new dual-language program. She realized that although these teachers had experience working with culturally and linguistically diverse children, they had little experience using books that related to their children's cultural backgrounds. In order to successfully prepare young students for active citizenry in a democratic society, effective teachers recognize, honor, and incorporate children's voices in all areas of curricula. Given the growing percentage of Latino/a youth in American schools, the author offers three strategies for facilitating the development of Mexican American children's cultural and linguistic identities as they acquire language and literacy: (1) listening to oral storytelling; (2) creating individual historical narratives; and (3) using biographies to develop a broader historical understanding of the Mexican American experience in the United States. In addition, she offers considerations for choosing culturally relevant texts as well as a list of suggested literature for Mexican American children. (Contains 19 notes.)