The topic of reading in Spanish to our kids is always a loved one. Today’s Ask an Expert is an excellent resource for parents with elementary-age children that need advice finding suitable books for them. The question was sent by Lizette.
“My son is in a Spanish dual immersion school. He is in 4th grade and we need more of a variety of Spanish books starting at that grade level. Any suggestions?”
Hi Lizette,
How fantastic that your son is in a dual-language immersion school. We need more of those in the U.S.! There are many wonderful books and resources in Spanish that are available online and through specialty catalogues.
- America Reads Spanish- On this site you can download a free pdf version of the excellent guide entitled: The Essential Guide to Spanish Reading for Children and Young Adults. This book contains annotated bibliographies for books recommended by teachers and librariarians. Unfortunately, the titles are organized alphabetically, but you can search the pdf by age/grade level. You can also download The Essential Guide to Spanish Reading which has a listing of librarian’s 500 Top Picks for a core Spanish collection (this volume might be helpful to share with your son’s school librarian).
- Santillana USA- This publisher is another excellent resource for books – especially for dual language programs. Some of the recommendations for upper elementary school include:
- Brocha y Pincel: Libraries offer a compilation of award-winning author Alma Flor Ada’s best-selling books in English & Spanish. Libraries include audio CDs with author readings and authentic music.
- Colección Animales de las Amércias: Books in this dual-language series offer students a nonfiction article and an entertaining fictional story about an endangered animal of the Western Hemisphere.
- Stories to Celebrate Dual-language Kit: Fiction/Nonfiction dual language kit for young readers. This collection develops respect and an appreciation for differences, traditions, and culture. Fiction and nonfiction selections help familiarize students with narrative and expository texts.
- Children’s Book Press-This is one of my all-time favorite publishers of multicultural and bilingual literature for children (and they’re nonprofit, too!) They have fantastic books in Spanish and English.
My favorite bilingual titles include:
• Friends from the Other Side/Amigos del otro lado (Written by Gloria Anzaldúa, Illustrated by Consuelo Méndez): Prietita befriends a boy who has crossed the border with his mother to find a new life. But what will she do when the border patrol cruises by?
• A Movie in My Pillow/Una película en mi almohada (Written by Jorge Argueta, Illustrated by Elizabeth Gómez): This groundbreaking book addresses immigration during the Salvadoran civil war from a child’s perspective. A poet recalls childhood memories of life in his homeland and in his new home, San Francisco.
• My Diary From Here to There/Mi diario de aquí hasta allá (Written by Amada Irma Pérez, Illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez): Amada’s family moves from Mexico to California, where greater opportunity awaits. As she and her family travel north, Amada keeps a diary of her hopes, fears, and dreams.
• My Very Own Room/Mi propio cuartito (Written by Amada Irma Pérez, Illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez): Five little brothers, two parents, and a house full of visiting relatives make Amada feel crowded. She loves her family, but how can she get a little space of her own?
• Super Cilantro Girl/La Superniña del Cilantro (Written by Juan Felipe Herrera, Illustrations by Honorio Robledo Tapia): What happens when a small girl suddenly starts turning green, as green as a cilantro leaf, and grows to be fifty feet tall? She becomes Super Cilantro Girl, and can overcome all obstacles, thats what!
• The Woman Who Outshone the Sun/La mujer que brillaba aún más que el sol (Written by Rosalma Zubizarreta, Harriet Rohmer, David Schecter, From a poem by Alejandro Cruz Martinez, Illustrated by Fernando Olivera): There’s something different about Lucia, so the villagers treat her cruelly and force her to leave town. When the river follows her, the villagers realize their mistake.
I hope this helps, Lizette. There are so many excellent books out there… Kudos to you for supporting your son in his language learning! Happy reading!
What are some of your kids’ favorite bilingual books?
Lori Langer de Ramirez.- -Bilingual educator who began her career as a teacher of Spanish, French and ESL. She holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics and a Doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is currently the Chairperson of the ESL and World Language Department for Herricks Public Schools, New York. Lori is the author of 
I’m frustrated by Santillana USA – there are books I would like to order, including language arts books to use with my kids (we homeschool), but they will only sell to schools and require purchase order info, etc. I would love for you to use your connections with them to get them to open up to individual orders – I’m not the only homeschooling bilingual parent who wants to buy from them!
You make a GREAT point Elizabeth! And now, you gave us a mission
We´ll definitely mention that and see what options there are.
Thanks!
.-= Ana Lilian´s last blog ..Ask an Expert: Can you suggest Spanish language books for elementary-age kids? =-.
Wonderful – I will stay tuned for any progress and will be wishing you luck!
One of my favorite things to do when the children were very young was to buy a book in English such as “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” or “Goodnight Moon”, which are classics and sure to be a hit. Once the story has been read a million times and pretty much committed to memory, I buy the Spanish version. Now when I read them the Spanish versions there aren’t pleas of, “Can you read it in English? … Can you translate it? … What does that mean?” — There is no frustration because they already know the story by heart and so the new vocabulary comes almost seamlessly.
.-= Sra. López´s last blog ..Foto of the Day – A comprar… ¿con quién? =-.
As a 3rd ward resident,I second and applaud the comments of my neighbors in thematter of the roving ,marauding bands of drunken youth in our city. It’is one of the reasons I’m moving out of the city. I can expect groups of 10 or more to congrigate on the cornor out side my bedroom window thursday-sunday nights. The volume and choice of vocabulary from 10 PM-3:30AM is troublesome and annoying.If an “F” bomb is not the first word in the sentence it sure is in there somewhere.As to the busses..Could they not have a scheduled route? West6th,7th and 8th streets are not wide enough for bus traffic. Could the party busses follow the centro bus routes? I agree that reducing drunk driving is a big positive.To the students, Party on dudes and dudettes, But don’t forget to be excelent to the residents when you invade their neighborhoods.