On November 1st, McDonald’s celebrated the joy of reading by including four different original books in their Happy Meals. The books focused on nutrition, imagination and play and were available  in English and Spanish. They’re a great addition to the “on the go” library and a fun reminder for kids to eat right. Below is a short description of the four books pictured above.

• “La Hormiguita Campeona”  is a book about Ant, a bodybuilder, who encourages physical fitness through exercise and eating right.
• “Doddi La Dodo y su Viaje Fantástico” – Tells the story of Doddi, a bird who travels the world. Doddi eats right to have energy to take flight again and travel even farther each time.
• “Dina la Soñadora” – Dina is the world’s smallest dinosaur, but she has big dreams. She learned that by eating right she could accomplish her dreams of growing strong and tall.
• “Billy el Cabrito Comelón”– Billy has a big appetite and eats anything and everything in his path. Until one day he get’s sick. His family teaches him how to eat right and Billy becomes a happy and playful kid.

 
The best part is that all of these books are available for free download at McDonalds.com and MeEncanta.com . Just click on the See What Goes Into Your Happy Meals icon at the bottom of the page, then click on the image of the book and you’ll see an option to download the book in English or Spanish.

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

We all know and love Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, right?  So I don’t have anything to say about the story itself, but I asked my sons to pick a couple of their favorite books for me to review, and this was one of them. I will say, however, that the translation was done by the wonderful Teresa Mlawer. Her Spanish rendition of the story flows beautifully, and remains true to the spirit of the original. In fact, it is quite possibly my favorite book to read out loud to my boys. ¡Que comiencen los festejos!

   BOOK DETAILS

   Title: Donde viven los monstruos

   Author and Illustrator: Maurice Sendak

   Ages: 4 and up

   Publisher/Year: HarperTrophy 1963/Translation 1996

   ISBN: 0-06-443422-2

   Price: $15.27 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! This is the last week, so you have until July 31 to enter.

BOOK DESCRIPTION/REVIEW

I’ve found some children’s books in Spanish that are so beautiful they take my breath away. I spend a small fortune on them…then many of them sit on the bookshelf, unread, until I eventually concede defeat and get rid of them in a fit of de-cluttering.

Froggy y su papá is not one of those books, but it fits neatly in my new philosophy when it comes to children’s books: I don’t care what my kids are reading, as long as they’re reading. And one of my sons has latched onto the Froggy series. I found this one at a yard sale, and it’s been such a hit I’ve picked up a few more of the books. If you’re familiar with the original, the text is repetitive (with lots of yelling, “Frooooggggyy!”), there are fun sounds — ¡toink!–¡ta-chán! — that we love to yell out loud together. It’s Father’s Day, and Froggy drops his father’s breakfast, bonks his father on the head while playing mini-golf, and makes a hole-in-one. It’s not one of those books I would covet if I saw it at the bookstore. But my son adores it — and what’s more, his Spanish reading skills have improved remarkably since we started reading this series. And that makes Froggy okay in my book.

   BOOK DETAILS

   Title: Froggy y su papá

   Author: Jonathan London

   Illustrator: Frank Remkiewicz

   Ages: 3-7 years

   Publisher/Year: Scholastic/2004

   ISBN: 0-439-76557-9

   Price: Varies (Used copies on Amazon; $3.71 in Scholastic’s Club Leo)

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

If you are looking for a non-traditional book in Spanish, though it comes in English as well, then Tener un patito es util/Tener un nene es util is it! It is essentially a two-for-one book (though the stories are connected) because as the pages are flipped, the book unfolds to one long panel. You can start reading about the duck’s perspective (yellow side) about bath time and then flip the book over to read about the little child’s perspective (blue side). In fact, one of the reasons why I love this book is because it offers a way to teach children about seeing the world (or in this case, the point of view of a rubber duck versus a little kid during bath time) from two different points of view.

The illustrations and the storyline were both created by the author, Marisol Misenta, an Argentine native who is known by the mononym ISOL. Like many of her other children’s books, such as Nocturno: Recetario de sueños, there is an interactive component where the child reading the book is asked to, either literally or implicitly, to think or write about what is happening in the book.

   BOOK DETAILS 

   Title: Tener un patito es útil/Tener un nene es útil

   Author and Illustrator: ISOL

   Ages: 2-5 years

   Publisher/Year:  ISBN: 978-1480001244

   Price: $18.49 on Amazon.com

   Website:  http://www.isol-isol.com.ar/

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

Here’s why my kids like this book: it has a rooster, a talking goat, and a fire. (I have three boys ages 5 and under. They are easily entertained.)

However, I don’t want to discount the beauty of this simple story. It’s a Cuban folktale retold, about a bossy rooster going to his uncle’s wedding. Along the way, the rooster dirties his beak, then tries to persuade a series of characters, from fellow animals to a blade of grass and a stick, to help him clean it. No one will pitch in until the sun, who owes the rooster a favor, obliges.

If there’s a moral here  — it is a story about a bully after all — I overlook it to have fun with the repetitive phrases sprinkled throughout the text. (There’s a lot of room to imitate characters’ voices too, if you like.)

I also love the illustrations. Anyone who has lived in or visited Miami can recognize the streets of Little Havana in the background.

Like many Cuban children, the author of this book  remembers hearing her grandmother tell her this story at night in the “impenetrably” dark and quiet countryside. Her retelling evokes that same feeling, one I’m always happy to share with my city slicking kids.

    BOOK DETAILS

    Title: El Gallo de Bodas

    Author: Lucia M. Gonzalez

    Illustrator: Lulu Delacre

    Age group: 3-5 years

    Publisher/Year: Scholastic/1994

    ISBN: 978-0439067577

    Price: $4.89 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

I love the books by Alma Flor Ada, but Amigos is by far my favorite! The story teaches children about shapes, colors, and the concept of size, but there is also a deeper message.

The story details the lives of triangles, squares, rectangles and circles that all live in the same town, but keep separate from each other because of their differences. One day two circles venture out of their neighborhood and come to play with a rectangle. Soon all of the shapes realize that their differences lead to new and more interesting experiences. Through the story, children learn to appreciate diversity and acquire an increased multicultural understanding.

I also purchased a recording of the author reading the story. My kids love to listen to the recorded book while in the car! Alma Flor Ada also rewrote the story in verse that was set to music by the talented folk musician Suni Paz.  Another bonus is the mini-lesson on the Del Sol Books website that uses the creative dialogue process for exploring the story and its message on diversity.

The books of Alma Flor Ada are a treasure to own and read with your children! Amigos is special because it explores individual differences and diversity in society in a way that children can understand.

   BOOK DETAILS

   Title: Amigos

   Author:  Alma Flor Ada

   Illustrator: Barry Koch

   Ages:  2-10 years

Publisher/Year:  Santillana/1999

   ISBN:  978-1581052008

   Price:  $7.95 on Del Sol Books

Website: www.delsolbooks.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

Our family is in full summer swing – weekends at the beach, bedtimes stretched until the sun goes down. But nothing makes me long for Christmas like a book my in-laws gave me a few years ago, Los Reyes Magos de Oriente.

The book tells the familiar story of the three wise men, and how they discovered a shining star that beckoned for them to follow it “across the world,” as Lluis Farre writes. What’s unique about this book is its beautiful rhyme, in addition to the illustrations. The elaborate pop-up pictures feature Moorish architecture interspersed with scenes from the desert.

Go ahead and put it on your Amazon Wish List. Get it for Christmas, read it through Three King’s Day, and hope the kids don’t pull too hard on the pop-ups so that you can read it for years to come.

    BOOK DETAILS

    Title: Los Reyes Magos de Oriente

    Author: Lluis Farre

    Illustrator: Merce Canals

    Age group: 3-5 years

    Publisher/Year: Combel Editorial/ 2008

    ISBN: 978-8498253696

    Price: $15.55 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

Good Night Moon is an all-American classic. It was the first book I received as a present for my son, in English. It was the first book I read to him. Since it was in English, I would translate the words into Spanish as I went along… until I found this translation, which is a pretty great translation. I am so happy that this book is available in Spanish.

Buenas Noches Luna continues to be one of his favorite books. There is something about the rhythm of the words that makes it quite enjoyable, even lulling. Now that my son is older, I like asking him “Donde está la Luna?” or “Donde está la vaca?”  so he can point out the pictures. At the end of the book when it’s time to say “Buenas noches” to everything, I always add, “Buenas noches, Enzo” y “Buenas noches mama.”  This American classic should be a part of every SpanglishBaby’s library, en español, por supuesto.

     BOOK DETAILS

    Title:  Buenas Noches Luna

    Author: Margaret Wise Brown

    Illustrator: Clement Hurd

    Publisher:  Harper Collins Publishers     

    ISBN: 9780694016518

    Price:  $6.29 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

Both with my own children and in our Bilingual Fun classes, I always enjoy reading classic stories and tales in Spanish. This is an excellent way for children to make connections, as they are familiar with the story and characters.

There are many different versions of Los 3 Osos available, but one of my favorites is by Ana Lomba. The illustrations are vivid and include a mini pictionary to help children comprehend the meaning of the vocabulary. The frequent dialogs in the story model everyday communication and shows relevance to the children’s lives, which is an important aspect of language learning.

This book is great for all ages!  I have read it my own children since they were toddlers, but we also use it in our elementary school curriculum.  The kids love the format of the book, as it engages their interest both with the content and visuals.  A bonus is that it comes with an audio CD.  Children have the opportunity to listen to it in various manners enhancing pronunciation and fluency development.  Ricitos de Oro y Los Tres Osos by Ana Lomba is an excellent book for engaging your child’s Spanish learning!

    BOOK DETAILS

    Title: Ricitos de Oro y Los Tres Osos

    Author: Ana Lomba

Illustrator: Santiago Cornejo

    Publisher/Year: McGraw Hill, 2005

    Ages: 2- 7 years

    ISBN : 10: 0071461701

    Price:  $15.30 on Amazon.com

   Website:  www.analomba.com

Jennifer Manriquez is the founder of The Bilingual Fun Co. and mom of 2 bilingual children. As an educator with a Master’s Degree in Bilingual Education and successful mompreneur, she is passionate about teaching Spanish to children and raising an awareness of early language education. Bilingual Fun is a nationally recognized, award winning program that offers classes tips, advice, and resources for learning Spanish.

 
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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

When it comes to story time, my 4-year-old son is the one in charge of the evening’s literary adventure of choice. But when I surprised him with Jorge Argueta’s Guacamole, his eyes lit up with delight when he saw the vivid and beautiful illustrations by Margarita Sada.

I was just as excited to read this book to my son as he was. Centered on two of my passions that I strive to instill in my son, cooking and poetry, this book was such a joy to experience with him.

The poem follows three playful siblings on their quest to prepare guacamole. Following the recipe’s instructions, each cooking step is brought to life with added song, dance and rhythmic repetition. The happy children are tiny enough to dance under the kitchen faucet as they rinse cilantro sprigs and ride a lime peel as they navigate the river of its own juice.

The story explains and describes the texture and taste of guacamole and its ingredients one by one with an added flair and vivid description. This is the perfect cooking poem for the entire family to enjoy.

     BOOK DETAILS

      Title: Guacamole

      Author: Jorge Argueta

Illustrator: Margarita Sada

      Publisher/Year:  Groundwood Books/2012

      Ages: 4-7 years

      ISBN: 978-155-498-133-5

      Price: $14.75 on Amazon.com

      Website: jorgeargueta.com