As author of “An Honest Boy, Un hombre sincero” — the only children’s book on the life of Cuban legend José Martí — Magdalena Zenaida evokes a sense of cultural pride by embracing biculturalism. We sat down with her to chat about bilingualism, raising proud, bicultural identities and what José Martí means to her.

How do we interest our children in bilingual literature and why should we?  

I think a great way to interest children in bilingual literature is to look at it from the same perspective we do literature in a single language. What I mean is that I prefer introducing language as a function of the story rather than the other way around. Children are drawn to stories more than dictionary-style translations. I think learning a story they love brings a language to life the way memorizing a song does.

For me, I thought it was important to write “an honest boy, un hombre sincero” with the Spanish poetry interspersed throughout the story with translations of the poetry to follow. This was partly to showcase Martí’s poetry and how it fit into the lyrics of Guantanamera, but also to reflect the way I think a lot of bilingual children interact with language at home.

How do we make language learning and history fun?  

I think language and history learning are always at their best when there is a cultural context around the subject and how it relates to the child. One of the great things about Martí was that he recognized how important it was for Latin American, and all children, to have the base of knowledge about ancient Western civilization that was popular at the time, but he saw it as only a starting point. He thought that the internal pride and development that could come from knowing the legends and roots of one’s own land would create greater ways of thinking and connecting with each other. That’s why in this really simple way, I like the idea of talking about Martí, who was a complex political thinker, and connecting him to children who might know about Pitbull’s Guantanamera, or parents who listen to Celia Cruz’s, or grandparents who experienced Martí’s same feelings of exile. It’s a way of connecting.

How does the history of Latin America influence our children’s future across the United States?

This is a complex question with so many answers. I would say that most parents tell me they are interested in teaching their children Spanish because “x” percentage of the country will speak Spanish one day. But I think that really separates language as a skill the way someone would learn a math formula, rather than seeing it as a living language, a part of a growing culture. Latin America is still a place of amazing natural resources and the United States is still, despite its difficulties, a place of professional opportunities. I think Martí was very forward thinking in seeing that these two things were interdependent instead of a one-way relationship, that it wasn’t a producer-consumer relationship even in the early 20th century that would benefit all people. I think the more children are exposed to culture and history of those surrounding them, it breeds a caring about their environment and those further afield and how those things can be integrated.

{Image courtesy of Vanessa Bell}

Before I share about the creative people and organizations that put these wonderful little bilingual books together I must say that my two-and-a-half bilingual baby girl approves! They are perfect for my vibrant explorer who is busy putting all the words she knows in Spanish (with some English) together because the illustrations are not only unique, but strategically placed to provoke conversation. For instance, in the Colores Everywhere! book the colors white and black are on side-by-side pages. On the left page there is a big white, three tiered cake and on the left there is a black dog. The text next to the cake reads, Te gusta comer pastel?/Do you like to eat cake? and on the right it reads, Claro que si/ Oh, yes, I sure do! My nena looks for those two pages and replies to the dog, “No perro es mi pastel!/No, dog, that is my cake!”

Now, the reasons why I, a bilingual mother raising a bilingual baby, love the books. First and foremost, I love the way the code-switched titles reflect our local central Texas linguistically diverse community. Here, in central Texas, we speak in English and Spanish (sometimes within a single utterance) just like the titles of the books! Secondly, I appreciate the effort the San Antonio Museum of Art and the San Antonio Public Library Foundation have put in creating books that promote art and bilingual literacy through reading! As an avid art lover I also think the illustrator, Madeleine Budnick, did a wonderful job displaying the museums art pieces in three little books designed with children (like toddlers) in mind. As a mommy who is always on the look out for bilingual books for my nena, I like to think I have developed a keen eye in identifying quality bilingual books and I whole-heartedly think these books fall under that category.

These books have inspired me to head on south (an hour from my home) and visit the San Antonio Museum of Art with my little girl with our library tote bag carrying our bilingual books. The plan is to try and locate the artwork in the book while visiting the museum. Though she is only two-and-a-half I think she will enjoy identifying the artifacts at the museum as she already does this with icons she has seen from other books, like with certain animals, colors, and shapes.

I hope you enjoy learning about shapes, numbers, and/or colors in Spanish and English with your sprouting little ones. Suerte!

The Giveaway

One Lucky winner will receive ONE 3-book series (pictured above). Just visit the Arte Kids website and leave us a comment telling us which of the three books you think your child would like best, then enter the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Photo by Myrrien

Week of Mamás Blogueras has turned out to be much more enriching and inspiring than we ever imagined.  We count ourselves lucky to have grouped such an amazing and talented group of blogueras.

Today’s post by Mónica is no exception.  She´s done a great job introducing herself, so I’ll let you read it from her own words.  I do want to add that the Latin Baby Book Club was one of the first blogs we found while doing our research on sites targeting bilingual children.  It´s still on the top of our list for a great read and special finds.

First, I’d like to thank Roxana and Ana for inviting me to write this week. SpanglishBaby has been a great resource for me and I appreciate the opportunity to contribute.

For those of you who do not know me, my name is Monica Olivera Hazelton and I am the owner of Latin Baby, an on-line boutique for Spanish-speaking American families. I also created and manage two blogs, Mi Cielito Lindo and the Latin Baby Book Club, both of which are a result of running the boutique.

My background:

On my mother’s side, I am a third generation Mexican American. On my father’s side, I am a first generation Spanish American. I grew up attending private, English-only schools, but managed to hang on to my cultural identity through the efforts of my family. We lived with my great-grandmother who spoke only Spanish and with whom I was very close. In addition, my grandmother was extremely active in the community, helping to organize cultural events such as fiestas for Cinco de Mayo, posadas, and more. My mami worked hard to instill pride for my culture and the language. And though my parents divorced when I was very small, I spent several summers in Spain visiting my father and his very large family.

However, my entire education and subsequent career were predominantly English-only environments. I married a non-Latino who doesn’t speak a lick of Spanish and had my first child four years later. Shortly after her birth I began looking for baby apparel that reflected our Latino heritage, and in 2005 I started Latin Baby when I couldn’t find any.

While I am constantly looking for ways to pass on my Latino heritage to my children, teaching them Spanish is a tremendous struggle for me. Though I understand it perfectly, I rarely have the opportunity to speak it and often forget verb tenses which makes me terribly self-conscious. It is hard for me to remember to use Spanish with the kids but am trying my best and hope that my occasionally incorrect verbs don’t mess things up for them!

We’ll be homeschooling our daughter next year, so I finally decided the best way for me to teach them Spanish will be with a formal Spanish course because I can integrate it into our curriculum. I’m investigating Spanish programs now, and welcome any suggestions.

However, one method I am happily using to pass on our culture and the language has been to incorporate bilingual and bicultural children’s literature into our routine. I prefer books with embedded Spanish text, but am careful to include those with full text in Spanish, because I feel that even if the kids don’t understand it all, hearing the rhythm and inflection is important for their future comprehension.

I started the Latin Baby Book Club as a resource for parents trying to raise bilingual children. The goal has been to review/recommend books and music that help children to learn the language or to develop an appreciation for Latino cultural traditions. Both my kids absorb these books like a sponge. I do think my daughter finds it easier to relate to stories about little girls who look like her (ie., Adelita, and Trencitas of Jerry Tello’s Abuelo y Los Tres Osos) than to those centered around the blonde princesses of traditional Anglo folktales (though she likes most of these, too.) But I want her to grow up with a healthy self-image and proud to be a Latina.

Many of the books describe cultural traditions that I was able to experience as a child (ie., Una, Dos, Tres, Posada!, and The Best Mariachi in the World) but that my kids can’t – at least not at the moment, and probably never to the same extent that I did. I use these stories to talk more in depth with my kids about the traditions and ask them questions about how they would celebrate certain holidays or how they would end the story. Oftentimes, I use the books as an opportunity to describe my own childhood experiences to them, which they love to hear about and I can just see their imaginations taking flight. One of my favorites, Mamá Goose, is great for teaching them some of the nursery rhymes I learned as a child, which in turn leads to stories of my own childhood and my relationship with my abuelita and nanita.

I am also especially fond of biographies, such as Diego and Me llamo Gabriela. These books are a way for me to introduce Latino historical figures that they probably wouldn’t learn about through regular education channels. When it’s possible, I try to add art/craft projects that are related in some way to these figures for reinforcement. I’m a little limited still by my kids’ ages, but I think it will be easier to do as they get older.

Abecedarios also play an important role as teaching tools. I have successfully used books like F is for Fiesta to teach the alphabet and Just A Minute! or Marcos Counts to teach numbers to both of my kids. There are a ton of books out there with fantastic stories centered around el alfabeto or números, you just have to choose the ones your children will like best!

I can’t stress enough how incorporating bilingual and bicultural children’s literature in your child’s life can positively enhance their learning experience. Not only does it help them learn the language, but the storylines also help them to develop tolerance, appreciation and even affection for cultural mores and traditions that may reflect their own heritage and that of others. The inner strength and confidence that children develop as a result are some of the most precious gifts their parents can impart.

We have a talented and diverse group of contributing bloggers at the LBBC and we hope you will join us.

Tomorrow’s final Mamás Blogueras post is by Carrie Weir from Bilingual in the Boonies. She lets us in her daily joy of filling her Tennessee-born daughter’s head and heart with español.