To help you keep their excitement going before or after you see the movie, here’s a brand new bilingual children’s book, starring the child of a Latina mommy who flies military airplanes, in English and Spanish! On July 5th, Roxana Soto published her review of “Good Night Captain Mama / Buenas Noches Capitán Mamá” [ISBN: 9780983476030] for Spanglish Baby. Here’s a part of what she wrote:

“The bilingual book, which has been impeccably translated to Spanish, tells the story of a little boy named Marco who is curious about seeing his mom in her uniform and decides to ask her a bunch of questions about why she wears it and the meaning of all the different patches she has. His mom goes through each one explaining their significance and even gives him a special one to hold onto as she leaves on a mission. I think this book is perfect not only for kids’ with family members in the military, but also for parents who want to teach their kids about those in uniform and the need to respect them and honor them for all they do.” Read the rest of her review here: http://spanglishbaby.com/2013/07/31-days-of-reading-in-spanish-buenas-noches-capitan-mama/

This is the first bilingual children’s picture book that shows young children (ages 3-8) why women and mommies wear military flight suits and serve. I’m happy to share details of my own military aviation career with our children in both languages, in a story inspired by my son’s curiosity. At the link below, you’ll see we’ve created Teacher Packs of Captain Mama books and embroidered military patches, perfect for classroom teachers to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month AND Veterans Day in November with a cool design project in the back and fresh, new, positive imagery of Latinas in military uniforms (and not maid uniforms.) I couldn’t resist!

Let’s take this opportunity Disney has created to excite our children with planes, with the magic and fun that is aviation and let’s really plant the seeds of curiosity about airplanes with books. After all, those who fly onboard airplanes for a living as I did after college, studied STEM subjects after loving math and science in school. What a great connection to make for them as we get ready to go back to school!

If you want a few more books with female aviator characters for kids, let me recommend “Pilot Mom” (on Amazon) and “Penelope Pilot” written by pilot Lynda Meeks and available through her non-profit organization Girls with Wings here: http://www.girlswithwings.com/Penelopebook.html Then, for a really cool book written by another woman military veteran, retired Navy aviator Linda Maloney, take a look at “Military Fly Moms,” a gorgeous collection of essays from military mommies and veterans, with color photos of their airplanes and their kids. The quotes from kids section at the end is worth the book’s price alone – precious!

See you at the theater this weekend to enjoy “Planes” and again, don’t forget to keep the excitement about airplanes going with books! I hope the four titles suggested here continue to spark your child’s interest in airplanes.

Graciela Tiscareño-Sato
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher Gracefully Global Group LLC
Author of “Good Night Captain Mama / Buenas Noches Capitán Mamá”
http://www.gracefullyglobal.com/commerce