René Colato Laínez

His books reflect the Hispanic immigrant experience from a child’s point of view, covering topics such as cultural identity issues, the difficulties of learning a second language, and missing a loved one.

[1][2] As a child, Colato Laínez was inspired to write by his maternal granduncle, Jorge Buenaventura Lainez, a famous writer in El Salvador.

Waiting for Papá/Esperando a papá, which follows a child whose father cannot come to the United States because of immigration issues, honors similar situations that many of his students had experienced, and he says that when he does public readings of the book, "there is always more than one person crying.

[9] Family, tradition, and language are central to Playing Lotería, which describes the relationship of a boy and his grandmother, who teach each other English and Spanish.

[10] Family is also foregrounded in From North to South/Del norte al sur, as a boy travels with his father to visit his deported mother.