I Love Saturdays y domingos

Everyone has a reason to look forward to the weekend, and in "I Love Saturdays y domingos" the little girl can't wait for the weekend to arrive because Saturdays, she shares with her father's parents, and domingos, she shares with her mother's parents.

The book recounts the adventures and experiences she shares with each set of grandparents and the cultural differences that exist between European-Americans and Mexican-Americans.

The book includes bright and colorful illustrations that offer a lot of visual content to discuss with your child. In fact, the first time I read it to my son, I thought he didn't like it because while he normally points things out in the books that he recognizes he merely sat quietly and listened until the book was over.

The next day, however, when I asked which book he wanted to read he looked around the room and said, "Saturdays and mingos." We read it several times that day and I realized that there were so many new things for him to take in, he was merely memorizing the pages to discuss them with us later.

Regardless of whether or not yours is a family that is blending cultures, this book is great to share with children to teach them how differences should be reveled in and celebrated. There is also a natural ease in which the little girl switches between languages which will not only reinforce your child's bilingualism but also normalizes it as an everyday occurrence that we just do depending on with whom we're speaking.

This books also offers an opportunity for you to ask your child about which are his or her favorite things to do with each set of grandparents and to reinforce how special these things are.

"I Love Saturdays y domingos" is also offered in Spanish.

Super Cilantro Girl – La Superniña del cilantro

I’m a 4th grade teacher in a bilingual program in Central New Jersey. I’ve taught students from just about every Spanish-speaking country. While the topics of diversity, culture, and immigration are part of the district curriculum, they are even more integral to my classroom instruction due to the needs of my students. Often, my children are homesick for their countries and the loved ones they’ve left behind. Many of my students experience culture shock, some have a difficult time adjusting to their new surroundings, and many continue to feel some insecurity in their new American home.

An activity I do every year is that of inviting my students to imagine themselves as a superhero. They are encouraged to create themselves as a “new” superhero, complete with costume, logo, and superpowers. Then, they write stories about themselves and their adventures. In their stories, they must use their powers to help and do good.

I was excited when, a couple of years ago, I came across Super Cilantro Girl/La Superniña del cilantro. This book, by Juan Felipe Herrera, tells the story of a little girl called Esmeralda Sinfronteras (Emerald Without Borders) whose family lives near the Tijuana border. Esmeralda’s mother, who has gone to Mexico for a visit, is stopped at the border, told she must have a green card. Esmeralda is assured though, that everything will be alright, as her mother is an American citizen.

Esmeralda goes to bed worried nevertheless, clutching a small bouquet of cilantro leaves, on which she makes a wish for her mother to return home safely. Her concern turns into a dream where her hands, her teeth, and her hair turn green as the cilantro she holds. She grows and grows “EsmerALTA” and flies… in search of her mother. The rest of the story reads like a superhero rescue. It also gives the reader an idea of how it must feel for families to be kept apart by borders.

Super Cilantro Girl is a bilingual book. The illustrations by Honorio Robledo Tapia are filled with honest, rich and colorful landscapes, city scenes, and vibrant greens.

Add Some Bilingual Fun to Your Summer!

Guest column by Jennifer Manriquez, founder of The Bilingual Fun Company...

As a mom of bilingual children and an educator to many, I am passionate about inspiring children to live a multicultural life. Through my Bilingual Fun language classes and with my own young children, I teach Spanish as a second language through music, movement, and fun activities. This summer I plan on taking many opportunities with my own children to stimulate their language development. Of course making activities fun and naturally weaved into their playtime is the best way!

Here are some easy ideas:

Twister: My 7 year old daughter loves this game and the commands are so easy (Pon la mano derecha en azul, etc). After I give commands for awhile, I then have my son and daughter tell me what to do. This is an easy way to promote language production.

Play Yo Veo: riding in the car seems to be the time that we most frequently play this game. You can play the traditional I Spy with colors, but we like to be creative and use other vocabulary (el carro, la tienda, la luz verde, el perro, etc).

Outdoor Play:
Play What time is it Mr. Fox? ¿Qué hora es Sr. Zorro? This is a great activity for time reinforcement and counting. If you say ‘medianoche’, Sr. Zorro has to chase everyone.

Jump Rope: this is a great way to practice active learning. For older kids and ones that are proficient with numbers, have them count backwards while jumping, or do math problems while jumping. Younger children practice counting uno a veinte.

Tag: there are lots of variations of tag. You could play number or color tag. Before the child is tagged, they must shout a color or number in Spanish. Do this with any vocabulary you need to reinforce (animal tag, ropa tag, comida tag, etc). Very fun and gets the children talking!

By encouraging children to be actively involved in games and play, makes the learning more relevant and easier to absorb.

Have a great summer!

Jennifer Manriquez
Founder, The Bilingual Fun Company
http://www.bilingualfun.com/

Skills Children Need to Be Readers By Third Grade

Phonics
By Christianne Meneses Jacobs

Reading is a code of sounds. The transition that children make from spoken words to written words occurs when they can see the words on the page and can identify the sounds. Children start learning that letters represent sounds when they are four years old. At that age, they begin to pay attention to letters and words when a teacher is reading a favorite story or when mom and dad are reading a bedtime story.

Sometime children come across words that they don’t know but they can use their knowledge of letters and sounds to figure out an unknown word. Teachers spend a lot of time in first and second grade teaching children the rules of letter/sound correspondence. Children will learn all the sounds that the 26 letters of the English alphabet make along with their rules, variations and exceptions.

But parents can help their children before they enter school by pointing out that words are everywhere. Parents can help children look for words in signs, billboards, cereal boxes, maps, cards and restaurants. Point out those words to your child and sound them out loud to show your child that combinations of letters make sounds. These exercises will make it easier for your children when they enter school.

May's Libro del Mes: Señor Cat's Romance

Señor Cat’s Romance
And Other Favorite Stories from Latin America
Retold by Lucía M. González
Illustrated by Lulu Delacre

The LBBC’s recommendation for February’s Libro del Mes, is Lucía González’s Señor Cat’s Romance.

Señor Cat’s Romance is not new to the market, however, it was an instant classic when it came out in 1997. One of the first of its kind, the book presents six different stories that have been found in various versions throughout Latin America. In the forward, Lucía mentions that she first heard these stories as a child in Cuba, and was later thrilled to discover during conversations with friends from all over Latin America that they knew the same tales, though perhaps with slightly different twists.

Latino parents may recognize the familiar themes found in the Little Half-Chick (Medio-Pollito), where a spoiled and bossy little chick goes around ignoring the pleas of his neighbors, the water, fire, and wind, only to regret his actions when the time comes that he needs their help!

And so many of you have heard, I am sure, the stories of Juan Bobo, a popular character whose foolishness is only outweighed by his luck! There are so many different stories centered around Bobo, that many children’s books have been written about him. So many, in fact, that the LBBC has added a new category to our on-line shop full of books just about him!

I must also mention the story of Martina, la cucarachita, who sets out to find a husband. It is the tale of Cucarachita Martina's hunt for a husband and the disaster that strikes after she finds him (don't worry, it has a happy ending.) Again, this is another story with multiple versions, but it doesn’t matter which one you grew up with, her story continues to be a romantic tragedy that captivates us all.

Señor Cat’s Romance is written in English with Spanish words embedded in the text. In addition, Lucía adds a little note at the end of each story describing its origin and some personal thoughts (which I think is a lovely touch,) as well as a glossary.

But, I think that perhaps my favorite story is the one after which the book is named. Señor Cat’s Romance is so well written and a hoot to read. Here’s a little snippet:

"The very next day, in a church by the bay,
Sir Cat and his true love were wed.
They served nougats and sweets,
Spanish wines, and fine meats,
Oh, their guests were most sumptuously fed!

"Let me sing of my love to the stars up above!"
sang Sir Cat from the roof where he’d climbed.
Oh, the joy that he felt made his happy heart melt –
But perhaps he took leave of his mind…."

Lulu Delacre’s illustrations are absolutely beautiful, of course, and precise. Seriously, anyone who can make a cockroach look beautiful, MUST be talented! And if you pay attention at the end of the story of Juan Bobo, you’ll even be treated to a most yummy recipe for Arroz con Pollo that Lulu carefully added to her illustrations.

Overall, a most delightful book that will be enjoyed by children and parents alike. It would be a great addition to any Latino family library.

If you would like to buy your own copy of Señor Cat’s Romance, please click here. Or you can follow the link in our sidebar to the LBBC’s on-line store. We have both new and gently used copies available.

René Has Two Last Names

My dear character René from I Am René, the Boy/ Soy René, el niño is back with a new adventure in René Has Two Last Names/ René tiene dos apellidos. Illustrated by Fabiola Graullera Ramirez.

In this new title, René will work to have his two last names, just like in El Salvador. At school, they called him René Colato. But what happened to his Mamás beautiful last name? René is not a complete boy by being only René Colato.


* Reading level: Ages 4-8
* Hardcover: 32 pages
* Publisher: Pinata Books (October 31, 2009)
* Language: Bilingual English/Spanish
* ISBN-10: 1558855300
* ISBN-13: 978-1558855304

From the Publisher:

An engaging bilingual picture book about a boy’s clever efforts to help his classmates understand a Hispanic cultural tradition

"On the first day at my new school, my teacher, Miss Soria, gave me a sticker that said René Colato. The sticker was missing my second last name. Maybe Miss Soria's pen ran out of ink. I took my pencil and added it. Now it looked right: René Colato Laínez."

Young René is from El Salvador, and he doesn't understand why his name has to be different in the United States. When he writes Colato, he sees his paternal grandparents, René and Amelia. When he writes Laínez, he sees his maternal grandparents, Angela and Julio. Without his second last name, René feels incomplete, "like a hamburger without the meat or a pizza without cheese or a hot dog without a wiener."

His new classmates giggle when René tells them his name. "That's a long dinosaur name," one says. "Your name is longer than an anaconda," another laughs. But René doesn't want to lose the part of him that comes from his mother's family. So when the students are given a project to create a family tree, René is determined to explain the importance of using both of his last names. On the day of his presentation, René explains that he is as hard working as Abuelo René, who is a farmer, and as creative as his Abuela Amelia, who is a potter. He can tell stories like his Abuelo Julio and enjoys music like his Abuela Angela.

This charming bilingual picture book for children ages 4 - 8 combines the winning team of author René Colato Laínez and illustrator Fabiola Graullera Ramírez, and follows their award-winning collaboration, I Am René, the Boy / Soy René, el niño. With whimsical illustrations and entertaining text, this sequel is sure to please fans and gain many new ones while explaining an important Hispanic cultural tradition.

RENÉ COLATO LAÍNEZ came to the United States from El Salvador as a teen, and he writes about his experiences in children’s books such as Waiting for Papá / Esperando a Papá (Piñata Books, 2004) and I Am René, the Boy / Soy René, el niño (Piñata Books, 2005), which received Special Recognition in the 2006 Paterson Prize for Books for Young People. His book, Playing Lotería / El juego de la lotería (Luna Rising, 2005), was a finalist in the 2007-2008 Tejas Star Book Award, was named to Críticas magazine’s “Best Children’s Books” of 2005 and received the 2008 New Mexico Book Award for Best Children’s Book. René is a graduate of the Vermont College MFA program in Writing for Children & Young Adults and a bilingual elementary teacher at Fernangeles Elementary School in the Los Angeles Unified School District.


FABIOLA GRAULLERA RAMIREZ, a native of Mexico City, graduated from UNAM’s National School of Fine Arts with a degree in Graphic Communication. Her work has been part of collective exhibits in Mexico and Spain. She has illustrated many picture books, including I Am René, the Boy / Soy René, el niño (Piñata Books, 2005).

The LBBC's 2009 Summer Reading List

El verano is right around the corner and eager (or desperate?) parents are looking for activities to preoccupy their niños. We are very busy little bees here at the LBBC and are working on a number of projects to help our readers.


However, we'd like your help, too. While you and your children are having fun this summer, we'd love it if you would submit a short description of any educational activities promoting literacy in English or Spanish that your family does. Include a few pictures and we'll give you your own guest post! Simply email your suggestions or a description of your activity to us at admin at latinbabyusa dot com and you'll be entered to win a free T-shirt from Latin Baby - you pick the design and the size.


Now to start the summer off on the right foot, here is the official LBBC 2009 Summer Reading List. If you'd prefer to download your own copy, click here. All the titles listed below are available in our on-line bookshop. Or stop by your local library and request them!

Summer Reading List

Newborn to 2 years
Quinito, Day and Night/Quinito, día y noche by Ina Cumpiano. Children’s Book Press, 2008
I am Latino: The Beauty in Me by Sandra Pinkney. Little, Brown Young Readers, 2007.
Te Amo, Sol Te Amo, Luna by Karen Pandell. Putnam Juvenile, 2003.
My Family and I/Mi familia y yo by Gladys Rosa-Mendoza. Me+Mi Publishing, 2007.

2 to 6 yrs
My Very Own Room/Mi propio cuartito by Amada Irma Perez. Children’s Book Press, 2008
Gathering the Sun: an Alphabet in Spanish and English by Alma Flor Ada. Rayo, 2001.
Pelé:King of Soccer/Pelé: El rey del fútbol by Monica Brown. Rayo, 2008.
Calling the Doves/El canto de las palomas by Juan Felipe Herrera. Children’s Book Press, 2001
Playing Loteria/El juego de la loteria by René Colato Lainez. Luna Rising, 2009.
Señor Cat’s Romance by Lucía M. González. Scholastic, 2001.
My Name is Maria Isabel by Alma Flor Ada. Aladdin, 1995.
A Library for Juana: The World of Sor Juana Ines by Pat Mora. Kopf Books For Young Readers, 2002.
Dream Carver by Diana Cohn. Chronicle Books, 2002.
The Santero's Miracle: A Bilingual Story by Rudolfo Anaya. University of New Mexico Press, 2004.

Young Adults
Pinta el viento by Pam Muñoz Ryan. Scholastic en Español, 2008.
La casa en Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Vintage, 1994.
The Holy Tortilla and a Pot of Beans by Carmen Tafolla. Wings Press, 2008.
Animal Poems of the Iguazu/Animalario del Iguazu by Francisco X. Alarcón. Children’s Book Press, 2008
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya. Grand Central Publishing, 1999.
The Smell of Old Lady Perfume by Claudia Guadalupe Martinez. Cinco Puntos Press, 2008.


~Monica

Call Me Okaasan: A Book for Mamas Raising Bicultural Children

In honor of Día de las Madres, today’s book review should be of particular interest to the mothers of multicultural families. We have a number of readers who are either married to men of a different cultural tradition, or are trying to raise children in a culture that is different from the one in which they were raised.

Call Me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural Mothering is a compilation of essays by over 20 writers and mothers from around the world. I am especially happy to review this book as one of the LBBC’s bloggers, Violeta Garcia-Mendoza, is one of the writers who contributed to the book. Her essay, Two Names for Every Beautiful Thing, reveals the commitment that Violeta and her husband have made to giving their adopted children the beautiful gift of cultural identity. She recognizes that the power of our history runs through our blood and soul, and that to deny its existence is a tremendous loss. The essay emphasizes how language is a part of culture, not just a result of it. Indeed, language is culture. It also describes how difficult maintaining a language and culture can be: How anger, disbelief and prejudice in the culture that she lives in, can burden a mother who is trying her best to develop a child’s bilingual and bicultural identity. Overall, Two Names for Every Beautiful Thing is touching and written almost poetically through its use of imagery and language.

As a whole, Call Me Okaasan is a deeply moving and powerful book. I can tell you right up front that it is not a light read. The essays really focus on the challenges these 20 mothers have experienced in their roles as mothers. Some leave the reader feeling empowered and determined, while others make one wonder if it is worth the trouble. Compiled by Suzanne Kamata, Okaasan presents the stories of mothers from a variety of countries around the world. You can read about the experiences of mothers in Japan, Spain, South Africa, France, Turkey, even Kyrgyzstan, to name a few. But despite the diversity, it is incredibly clear that for all these women, it is their love for their children that pushes them to raise them as best they can despite opposition.

I would highly recommend Call me Okaasan to all of our readers. It is an affirmation and a tribute to the choice that you are making to raise bilingual and bicultural children. You can purchase your copy in our on-line store here.

Adios, Josefina

When my mother moved us from Spain to the US, one of the most important things she brought for me were suitcases full of books. Before we left, she went to her favorite libreria and bought everything they had from the publishers Barco de Vapor and Anaya, among other classic titles, so that I would have the best Spanish children's and young adult literature to read here. I'm still grateful that she did. It's not just the language that differs between the books I grew up with in Spain and the books I read as a young adult here, there's just a difference sense of imaginacion, and costumbres, and sabiduria in the Spanish titles. I found they reflected and inspired me better, which is exactly what I needed as a young adult reader.

Now, I now things have changed and there are increasing choices for quality Hispanic/Latino-interest children's lit, but I'm at the point right now where I haven't yet read much of it with my still-very-young kids and, in the meantime, I'm tempted to tip into the point of view that "en mis tiempos" the children's lit was better. Ay, paciencia! I can make my nostalgia worth your while.

I've recently discovered that my absolute favorite children's book in Spanish in the whole world- Adios, Josefina, by Jose Maria Sanchez-Silva- is available via Amazon and, in light of this, I would be completely remiss if I did not urge you to go buy it now.

Adios, Josefina is the coming-of-age story of a young boy with an (imaginary) whale. The whale, Josefina, can only be seen or heard by the boy, and so she accompanies him through many adventures unbeknowst to the boy's father, his mother, or his sister. Only his grandmother (who, the boy believes can sometimes hear his thoughts) knows about Josefina; she remembers being able to see her own whale when she was a girl.

The story follows vacations and excursiones of the family, the boy's time in school, the grandmother's passing, and the boy's evolving relationship with his father, while speaking to the power of imagination as magic, as education, and as coping mechanism. The book inevitably ends when the boy becomes a man and says goodbye to Josefina; te hara saltar las lagrimas, but it will make your heart soar.

Here are a few lines from the first chapter:

La Ballena no parecia tan corriente como los otros miembros de la familia. Era un asunto un poco misterioso. Como ballena, era igual que todas las ballenas, salvo un detalle: se podia hacer grande o pequeña, a capricho del Niño...La Ballena era propriedad exclusiva del Niño. No podia recordar desde cuando la tenia: siempre habia estado con el...Al principio, jugaba con su Ballena preferentemente debajo de la mesa del cuarto de costura. Pero la tenia siempre consigo. Por las noches, la dejaba en el vaso de agua de la mesilla. Era muy sencillo y un poco magico; cuando el Niño se iba a acostar, abria su mano sobre el vaso y decia: "Dejo mi ballena." Cuando se levantaba, cerraba su mano sobre el vaso y decia: "Cojo mi ballena." Algunas noches, el sueño no le daba tiempo a dejar a la Ballena en agua, y se dormia con ella dentro del puño cerrado. En esas ocasiones, podia soñar mejor.

Now the book is completely in Spanish, so I'd either recommend it for proficient Spanish readers ages 9 and up...or for slightly less proficient readers the same age, so long as they're up for using their mamis and/or their dictionaries for an occassional reference. This book would also make the perfect challenge for a family read-aloud in Spanish. And, I am not above recommending it to you mamis yourselves- now, whatever age your kids are! I love it that much. Just recently, me perdi por una tarde entera disfrutando de Adios, Josefina and it filled me with sweet respect for the territory of childhood. I can't wait to share it with my kids. In the meantime, I'm glad to have shared it with you!

Final Winner y unas noticias

The winner of yesterday's book is: Ana! Just send me a little email with your address and I will mail off your copy of Before You Were Here, Mi Amor.

Muchisimas gracias to ALL of you who participated in our giveaways this week. We'll be shipping books out this coming week, so please be sure to send us your address if you haven't already.

Also, we are trying to get to know our readers a little better, so if you would please take just a second to vote on the poll in our sidebar, we'd be very grateful.

We have many more book and music reviews coming up this month plus a few new resources. We are working to improve and serve you as best we can, so if you have any suggestions don't hesitate to contact us.

Hasta pronto...

~Monica

Our Final Giveaway

The week has flown by for me and today is the last giveaway in honor of Día. Despite the high number of hits we received all week (86 on Thursday, to be exact) only a few of you entered to win our copy of The Bossy Gallito. I hope that today you will all take a moment and leave us a comment for an opportunity to win a copy of our Book of the Month/Libro del Mes: Before You Were Here, Mi Amor. Signed by the author, this is a most precious and wonderful book. You can read our review here.

Gracias for all of your interest and continued support. If you haven't already, we encourage you to become a fan of our growing Facebook page or to subscribe to the blog and have posts delivered directly to your email address.

Have a wonderful weekend!

UPDATE:

The winner of yesterday's book is: Tina!
Congratulations! Please email me at [admin at latinbabyusa dot com] and I will mail off your copy of The Bossy Gallito.