BOOK DESCRIPTION/REVIEW

How does cereal with orange juice or a pretzel covered cake sound?

Marisol McDonald and the Clash Bash (Marisol McDonald y la fiesta sin igual in Spanish) is the story about a unique little girl named Marisol McDonald, her unusual birthday, and her doting love for Abuelita. When Marisol’s birthday approaches, she wants nothing more than to have abuelita by her side. Unfortunately, Marisol’s grandma is all the way in Peru and bringing her to the United States can prove to be challenging. Yet nothing can stop Marisol, her occurrences, and her determination for making her 8^th birthday party the best one yet. Will Marisol decide the theme of her birthday on time? Will Abuelita make it? I cannot give that away, but you will for sure fall in love with the girl and her ‘Chullo’ (Peruvian hat).

Did I mention that this book is filled with amazing vocabulary in BOTH English and Spanish? And finally, in times when teaching children that being unique is O.K., this book could not have exemplified the subject better than it did. Being one-off a kind is really awesome!

BOOK DETAILS

Title: Marisol McDonald and the Clash Bash (Marisol McDonald y la fiesta sin igual)

Author: Monica Brown

Spanish Translation: Adriana Domínguez

Illustrator: Sara Palacios

Language: English and Spanish

Publisher/Year: Children’s Book Press, an imprint of Lee & Low Books Inc. (New York,      2013)

Ages: 4+

ISBN: 978-0892392735

Hardcover: 32 pages

Price: $15.19

Where to Buy: amazon.com 

The Giveaway!

We’re giving away one copy of Marisol McDonald and the Clash Bash to one lucky winner. All you have to do is leave a comment telling us yours our your niños favorite birthday memory. Then, enter the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Every time I come across and/or find great bilingual or Spanish literature; I feel is my duty to share it with all of you. Some of the titles I am informing you on this post you may already be familiar with, but it is never a bad idea to refresh our memory and re-read them. Some are classics, while others are just too amazing to pass.

What I love about many of the books I am sharing with you in this post is that they are written in BOTH languages (Spanish and English). When I share these books with my class, and depending on time, I may read them in both languages. Children truly enjoy hearing these stories! Also, the language in some of these books is pretty ‘reader’ friendly. Therefore, whether you are a fluent bilingual or just starting, there is something for everyone. Did I mention that any of these books could make an amazing gift this holiday season?

One more thing, I am not actually offering a detailed review of each one of the books I am listing. I rather compiled a short, yet super list for you to access and refer when looking for books that take the holiday season a step closer to our hearts. But, let me assure you that the titles I am mentioning here will not disappoint.

1- My favorite (and here I am bias because I love dogs): The Dog Who Loved Tortillas (La Perrita que le encantaban las tortillas)

2- Who does not love The Gingerbread Man also known as El hombrecito de mazapán

3-The classic ¡Qué montón de tamales!

4- Arroz con Frijoles. Need I say more?

5- La piñata/The Piñata

Do you have any bilingual and/or Spanish holiday/celebration books that are your favorite? I would love to know. Don’t forget to leave the titles in the comments section.

Happy reading!

Kelly

Photo thanks to Mish Mish

I had the opportunity to review the five bilingual board books that form part of the Arte Kids Books collection: Black & Blanco!, Colors Everywhere, 1,2,3 Sí. Animal Amigos! Hello Círculos!  are colorful and full of learning opportunities! The sturdy board books provide colorful images, text in English and Spanish and at the end of each book, an explanation of the artwork that is included on each page. The artwork in the books are quite diverse, coming from all over the world.

One of the things I loved about this series is that it provides learning opportunities for younger and older children. For a younger child that is not very verbal yet, the books are great because of the great colorful pictures, and simplicity of the text. With older children, a parent can talk about the artwork, where the artists are from in the world, etc. The books also provide questions that create an interactive experience. For example, “Can you walk like an elephant?/Puedes caminar como un elefante?”

These books will open a world of color, art and fun to your little one. Make sure you check them out!

The Giveaway!

We’re giving away one set of the entire Arte Kids collection (5 books) to FIVE lucky winners! All you have to do is visit the Arte Kids site and come back here to leave us a comment letting us know which of the five books you’re the most excited about reading to your child. Then, enter the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There is nothing like a good bedtime story and a cup of milk before bed. Bedtime routines are a great way to help our kids wind down and practice español in a relaxed environment. It’s not just the ritual that helps our niños, or us, sleep better. Steve James, Executive Director of the California Milk Processor Board (CMPB) says that “the amino-acid trypotophan naturally found in milk helps people relax and improve the quality of sleep which gives parents yet another reason to make sure it’s part of kids’ bedtime routine.”

Did you know that, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), children’s sleeping patterns are linked to their overall academic success? When our kids sleep better it results in improved attention span in the classroom and reduced absences and tardiness during the school year. Makes sense right? That’s why the CMPB, the creator of GOT MILK? and TOMA LECHE, has teamed up with International Latino Book Award winner and acclaimed children’s author, Jorge Argueta, to launch the 2013 Bedtime Ritual campaign. “This partnership with TOMA LECHE is an opportunity to pass along our language and rich Latino traditions to young boys and girls everywhere. There’s no better way to prepare for the day ahead than with a glass of milk and a bedtime story!” says Argueta.

TOMA LECHE is airing 30-second TV spots that encourage families to have a nightly routine with their kids and Salvadoran writer and poet Argueta will share some of his award-winning work and introduce seven bilingual milk-themed bedtime children’s stories that were especially created for this campaign. The best part is that they are available for free as downloadable stories at Otros Cuentos! If you’re more of a mobile user the stories are also available through Google Play.

For more information, news, tips and bedtime stories, visit Toma Leche, Otros Cuentos.

Two little words leave much to the imagination in this great book! My two year old excitedly watched as the little girl and her dad go faster and faster, transforming into different animals and traveling through different habitats. For Enzo and I, it was an interactive experience. We talked about the pictures  we saw: “¡Qué animal es?”  “Va más rápido!” “¡Qué color es?”  etc. It is a great way to practice vocabulary and to introduce new vocabulary!

It also provides an opportunity to let the children learn about what animals go fast, go slow, fly in the air and swim in the sea. Kids and parents get to use their imaginations and describe the scenery, the animals, movements and sounds. It was so much fun watching Enzo’s face light up as we turned the pages. I was pleasantly surprised! Whoever knew two words could bring so much fun and unleash the imagination?

Book Details

Faster! Faster! ¡Más rápido! ¡Más rápido!

By Leslie Patricelli

Ages: 2-5

Candlewick Press US: $6.99

The Giveaway!

We are giving away one copy of Faster! Faster! ¡Más rápido! ¡Más rápido! to TWO lucky winners. All you have to do is leave us a comment letting us know why you think your child will enjoy this book and enter the rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Editor’s note: We continue with our 31 Days of Reading in Spanish. Check out the book review below and don’t forget to enter our weekly GIVEAWAY of $100 worth of books in Spanish! This is the last week, so you have until July 31 to enter.

BOOK DESCRIPTION/REVIEW

Gloria Anzaldua, Chicana author and academic, wrote several books dealing with sensitive issues that arise from living on the Mexico/U.S. border. Friends from the Other Side/Amigos del otro lado is a book that lends itself to discussing a sensitive issue like undocumented immigration with children as young as 6 years old.

What I especially love about this book is that children are given the opportunity to talk about a delicate topic from the perspective of someone who may be going through what the main character is experiencing — the risks of being an undocumented immigrant.

Like other children’s books written by Anzaldua, Prietita Has a Friend (1991) Prietita y La Llorona (1996) & La fea (1958), this one is also a great way to expose children to the colorful ways bilinguals use multiple languages to communicate.

   BOOK DETAILS

   Title: Friends from the Other Side/Amigos  del otro lado.

   Author: Gloria Anzaldua

   Illustrator: Consuelo Mendez

   Ages: 6-10+

   Publisher/Year: Children’s Book Press/1995

   ISBN: 0-64234-130-0

   Price: $7.60 on Amazon.com

Editor’s note: We continue with our 31 Days of Reading in Spanish. Check out the book review below and don’t forget to enter our weekly GIVEAWAY of $100 worth of books in Spanish!

BOOK DESCRIPTION/REVIEW

How many times have your kids wished to be older and have more privileges? How often are they envious of an older sibling that is capable and allowed to do more things?

In Gwendolyn Zepeda’s award-winning bilingual picture book Los Tamales de Ana/Growing Up with Tamales, Ana is the younger sister who is always wishing she were just like her older sister Lidia. Every Christmas the girls are assigned jobs to help make the tamales: mixing the masa, spreading it on the corn husks, filling and rolling the tamales — and every year Ana envies what her sister is able to do.

We see Ana getting older as the years pass, turning 10, 12, 14, and 16, and Ana sees Lidia always two years older, and always able to do the more difficult tasks.

Sweet Ana does not get discouraged and knows that when she grows up, she will make the tamales by herself and get to deliver them to all of her family and friends.

Los Tamales de Ana is a delightful story and combines the holiday tradition of making tamales as a family with the wishes of a little girl who can’t wait to grow up. I can’t wait to take this book out this December when we are making our own tamales!

    BOOK DETAILS

    Title: Growing Up with Tamales/ Los Tamales de Ana

    Author: Gwendolyn Zepeda

    Illustrator: April Ward

    Ages: 3-7 years

    Publisher/Year: Arte Publico Press/2008

    ISBN: 9781558854932

    Price: $20.22 on Amazon.com

Editor’s note: We continue with our 31 Days of Reading in Spanish. Check out the book review below and don’t forget to enter our weekly GIVEAWAY of $100 worth of books in Spanish!

BOOK DESCRIPTION/REVIEW:

This book touches on a topic that is very common in our Latino world: two last names.

I married a North American and in his world you usually don’t carry both last names. When we started having kids, we decided that they would have both our last names. Since we moved to South America, my boys have noticed that all their friends have very long names, so we shared with them that they also have two last names.

René does a great job of sharing why he decided to not be embarrassed of having two very long last names as a kid in a school in the U.S.  Not only that, but he also shares his family pride as he talks about his decision.

After reading this book, my boys wanted to make a family tree as René did in the story. It was a wonderful activity to end with and we learned so much about family and cultural pride but also the reasons behind our choices. I especially enjoyed that each page is written in Spanish and English.

It’s a must-read for teachers who teach Latino children and for parents who like to share culture through books with their kids.

   BOOK DETAILS:

   Title: René Tiene Dos Apellidos/René  Has Two Last Names

   Author: René Colato Lainez

   Ilustrator: Fabiola Graullera Ramírez

   Ages: 5 and up

   Publisher/Year: Arte Publico Pr; Bilingual edition/2009

   ISBN: 978-1558855304

   Price: $14.86 on Amazon.com

   Website: www.renecolatolainez.com

Editor’s note: We continue with our 31 Days of Reading in Spanish. Check out the book review below and don’t forget to enter our weekly GIVEAWAY of $100 worth of books in Spanish!

BOOK DESCRIPTION/REVIEW

Cuadros de Familia / Family Pictures, written and illustrated by Carmen Lomas Garza, is a favorite at our house. The book is bilingual, which comes in handy for me as a non-native speaker when I’m unsure of a word in Spanish, and no matter how many times you read the book you always spot something new in the detailed paintings. Carmen Lomas Garza is one of my very favorite artists — she manages to capture the specialness of such simple moments in the life of a Latino family in the United States, perhaps because the paintings and stories that accompany them are from her own memories growing up in Texas near the Mexico border.

I asked my 11-year-old son what he thinks of the book, since he’s the one who most often reads it with me.

“I like the picture where the family is making tamales,” he said. “All of the pictures in the book are fun to look at because there’s so much going on, but this one is my favorite because it reminds me of you making tamales and wearing your delantal in the kitchen.”

      BOOK DETAILS

      Title: Cuadros de familia

      Author and Illustrator: Carmen Lomas Garza

      Publisher/Year: Lee & Low Books, Inc./2005

      Ages: 6-12

      ISBN: 9-78089239-207-0

      Price: $8.05 on Amazon.com

      Website: www.carmenlomasgarza.com

Editor’s note: We continue with our 31 Days of Reading in Spanish. Check out the book review below and don’t forget to enter our weekly GIVEAWAY of $100 worth of books in Spanish!

BOOK DESCRIPTION/REVIEW

My stepson just came back home after spending a year training with the Marine Corps. My kids are in awe every time they see him wearing one of his uniforms and bombard him with all types of questions. Graciela Tiscareño-Sato’s son was the same way and so that’s how this Latina military officer and former aviator came up with the idea for Buenas Noches Capitán Mamá. 

The bilingual book, which has been impeccably translated to Spanish, tells the story of a little boy named Marcos 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.

BOOK DETAILS

Title:  Buenas Noches Capitán Mamá

Author:  Graciela Tiscareño-Sato

Illustrator: Linda Lens

Publisher/Year: Gracefully Global Group, LLC/2013

Ages: 4-7 years

ISBN :  978-0983476030

Price:  $15.29 on Amazon.com

Website: www.captainmama.com