This collection is amazing!

The books are written in an interesting way with information that is both educational and entertaining.  Each book has vocabulary that is age-appropriate and contains pictures that support the text, providing images that bring the words to life. There are also interesting text boxes with information on the time period, other characters, social movements or moments in history. Each book has the character’s timeline in the back, providing important dates during the life of the person who is depicted in the book. There is also a chronology of the world, with important dates in history so readers can see what was happening during that time around the world.  Both young readers and parents will learn a lot!

Find the ¿Quién fue …? books on Amazon.

The Giveaway!

We’re giving away one set of the seven books pictured above to one lucky winner. All you have to do is leave us a comment letting us know which of the seven books you and your niños are most excited to read. Then, enter the Rafflecopter below.

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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.

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The author of one of my family’s favorite bilingual books, Gladys Elizabeth Barbieri, has released a second fantastic book. Pink Fire Trucks/Los camiones de bomberos de color rosado follows the same lovable young girl as the first book (Los zapatos de goma/Rubber Shoes). This story describes Career Day at school, when Gladys Elizabeth and her classmates are asked to draw a picture of what they’d like to be when they grow up. Gladys Elizabeth draws a pink fire truck.

Her choice sparks a full-blown war between the girls and boys in the class about whether or not girls can do “boy jobs.” Finally, on a field trip to the fire station, Gladys Elizabeth and her friends find out the truth when they are greeted by a female firefighter. Gladys Elizabeth is beyond excited, but her nemesis, Rudy, is still skeptical until Gladys Elizabeth shows him that she already has a firefighter’s skills.

Get a closer look at the story through this book trailer:

To find out more about Gladys Elizabeth Barbieri and for parent and teacher resources, check out her website.

The Giveaway!

We are giving away one copy of Pink Fire Trucks to ONE lucky winner! All you have to do is leave us a comment telling us what your kids want to be when they grow up. Then enter the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

With few exceptions, I’ve never been a huge poetry fan — mostly because I wasn’t really exposed to poems growing up, other than the obligatory ones for school. But I love the beauty, repetition and rhythm in children’s poetry and how great they can be to explain certain concepts in simple terms.

To celebrate Children’s Poetry Day on March 21, I wanted to share some of our favorite bilingual children’s poetry books:

Poems to Dream Together/Poemas para Soñar Juntos by Francisco X. Alarcón — This was the first book of poetry I read to my daughter. I had the pleasure of interviewing award-winning Chicano poet Alarcón who told me that he writes poetry for children because “I believe poetry is a direct way to empower children, so that they can see themselves not just as ‘readers’ of poetry but as ‘creators’ of poetry”. Alcarcón has written several books of poetry for children; this particular one is perfect to explore dreams both literally and figuratively.

Yum! ¡Mmmm! ¡Qué rico! by Pat Mora — This series of haikus is perfect to teach little kids the colors and names of all kinds of yummy foods native to the Americas. It’s one of Santiago’s favorites! Although not fully bilingual, Spanish words are embedded in the English version and there’s a Spanish version of the book too.

Guacamole: un poema para cocinar/A cooking poem by Jorge Argueta — This is the third in a series of cooking poems written by Argueta and jus like it’s title says, it’s a poem to learn how to make delicious guacamole, one of my daughter’s favorite Mexican dishes.

Sol a Sol by Lori Marie Carlson — A collection of bilingual poems written and selected by Carlson. We found this in our local library and my kids were delighted by the poems, which basically tell the story of a family from when the sun rises to when the sun sets.

¡Muu, Moo! Rimas de animales/Animal Nursery Rhymes by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy — Another one of Santiago’s favorite, these traditional nursery rhymes from Latin America, Spain and the United States will probably bring back some memories of your own childhood. The collection also includes original poems by Ada an Campoy. A great baby shower gift!

An article published earlier this week in The New York Times titled “For Young Latino Readers, an Image Is Missing” has created a flurry of commentary about the dire need for more children’s books with which our Latino kids can identify. In other words, more children’s books with characters that look like them and with storylines that speak to them.

While I would love nothing more than to see all Latino authors been given the opportunity to be published, I’m having a hard time accepting that to boost reading skills among Latino children the characters in the books available to them need to look like them, as implied by the article.

First of all, what does a Latino child look like? I thought that the recent brouhaha with Disney’s Princess Sofia reminded us that Latinos come in all shades and colors. At least that’s what we were trying to prove when we asked you to share a photo of your princesa with us. If you visit our #LatinaPrincess Pinterest board, you’ll see that, in effect, our children come from all races, backgrounds and heritages. So, to say that there are not enough books out there for our Latino children to identify with is a lie because there are plenty of books with light-skinned, light-eyed, light-haired protagonists that look just like many Latino children I know — including Camila, Ana’s daughter.

Same thing goes for the Latino experience. What exactly is that? Well, it depends on whom you ask. My Puerto Rican husband’s Latino experience as an American citizen who grew up in La Isla del Encanto is nothing like my Latino experience as a Peruvian citizen who was raised in four countries in three continents before moving to the United States as a teenager. Nor is it anything like that of our own two children who were born and are being raised in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado. With that I’m trying to say that if my 6-year-old daughter reads a story about a Mexican-American child making tortillas with her abuelita, she won’t be able to relate to that at all because she’s not Mexican-American and her abuelita doesn’t even know how to boil water! That, however, doesn’t mean she won’t enjoy the book.

Secondly, whoever thinks children’s love of reading comes solely from whether or not they see themselves reflected in the books they’re reading is completely delusional. As a bookworm who grew up to be a journalist in part because of my love of reading, I can tell you first hand that one thing has very little to do with the other. Let me explain why. I fell in love with books at a very young age because I felt transported to other worlds without having to leave my room. Later on, my love of books continued growing when I saw myself in the characters I read about, not because they looked like me, but rather because I identified with their stories, their hardships, their triumphs. In the end, it’s not about the color of the characters’ skins or their ethnicities, but about the authenticity of their experiences.

Truth be told, though, most of what I’ve always enjoyed reading is stuff I don’t identify with at all. Stories that enrich me and open up my mind to possibilities I didn’t even know existed. Books that teach me about the world around me and expose me to experiences I would not be privy to otherwise.

Now, a lot of people would say I’m lucky — and even unusual — because I grew up in a household full of book lovers, and they’re probably right. I honestly don’t know one single person who loved to read more than my own father who had a book or some other reading material in his hands at all times. I know for a fact that my own love of reading and literary curiosity comes directly from him, which brings me to my next and final point.

While there should definitely be more children’s books written by Latino authors, we should be more worried about whether we’re leading by example when it comes to instilling a love of reading in our children and whether we’re exposing them to all kinds of literature — not just the kind with characters that look like them.

The reason why SpanglishBaby exists today is because more than four years ago, as we were looking for bilingual and Spanish children’s books for our daughters, we realized there weren’t a lot of options. Or those that existed weren’t readily available. We weren’t necessarily looking only for books with characters our children could relate to, but rather for quality bilingual and Spanish-language ones we could enjoy with our girls to help them in their bilingual journey.

While there are not a tons of those out there, we have made it our mission to go in search for them so we can share them with all of you. Hopefully, you can help us spread the word and children’s books by publishing houses like Cinco Puntos Press, Arte Público and Children’s Book Press (now an imprint of Lew & Low) can make kids’ bookshelves more diverse — regardless of their own background and ethnicity.

{Photo by cesarastudillo}

 This is my new favorite bilingual children’s book! Rubber Shoes…A lesson in gratitude is an adorable story by Gladys Elizabeth Barbieri about a young girl (by the same name) who goes shopping for new shoes with her mother. When she can’t get the sparkly ballet slippers she wants, and instead receives a pair of zapatos de goma, little Gladys is disappointed and embarrassed. She tries her hardest to destroy or lose the shoes, but fails to rid herself of the ugly things. To teach her daughter a lesson, Gladys’s mother takes her to give the shoes to a less fortunate little girl, who is thrilled by the same shoes that Gladys hated so much. Suddenly, Gladys doesn’t care about fancy shoes anymore.

Los zapatos de goma is a precious story with beautiful illustrations by Lina Safar. Every page includes English and Spanish translations at the perfect level for children transitioning from simplistic board books to more intricate cuentos. The story is written in the voice of Gladys, which makes the lección de gratitud all the more apparent.

I have enjoyed reading this book to my son every day for the past week, and I’m sure it will long remain one of his bedtime favorites.

THE GIVEAWAY

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to the winner: Blanca !

We’re giving away a copy of Rubber Shoes…A lesson in Gratitude. To enter this giveaway, please share with us how you teach your niños to be grateful for what they have.

This giveaway ends at midnight EST on Monday, Oct. 2, 2011. Entries/Comments that do not follow the submission guidelines will be invalid and automatically deleted. Sorry, just need to keep it fair. Good luck to all!

Check out the Giveaway Rules.