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.