¡Salud, familia!

¡Salud, familia! is Arte Público Press's publishing and outreach program that encompasses health and nutrition education. Our mission is to expand access to important health and nutrition information through lively and engaging bilingual children’s books. These books will be distributed to low-income Hispanic families with school-aged children residing in urban and rural areas by our partnering organizations. The program is funded by the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Marguerite Casey Foundation, The California Endowment, The Simmons Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

I Kick the Ball is a book about a boy who uses his imagination and healthy lifestyle sensibilities to be a skillful soccer player. The book’s message encourages children to exercise and eat the right foods.

Click below to download Arte Público Press’s coloring book of it's first book of the ¡Salud, familia! series entitled, I Kick the Ball/ Pateo el balón.

 I Kick the Ball Health BW[1].pdf 

The Park Our Town Built, El parque que

The Park Our Town Built
El parque que nuestro pueblo construyó

written by Diane Gonzales Bertrand

illustrated by Tanja Bauerle

The Park Our Town Built is a bilingual picture book. In the story, people are working together to build a park for their community. Written in the same style as the well-known tale, The House That Jack Built, Bertrand uses the format to introduce Spanish words to the reader. Vocabulary is first presented in English, then in Spanish, and distinguished by a difference in color. This story is best suited for children learning Spanish, though bilingual speakers will enjoy the story line, too.

Bauerle does an incredible job filling the pages with active scenes full of detail and diversity. Her illustrations really help to reinforce the vocabulary and the story.

This book is best suited for children ages four and up. The vocabulary is not simple, so parents and teachers with students who are more advanced will appreciate this book.

July's Book of the Month: Under the Mambo Moon

Under the Mambo Moon

by Julia Durango

illustrated by Fabricio VandenBroeck

The LBBC’s recommendation for July’s Libro del Mes, is Julia Durango’s Under the Mambo Moon.

My familia loves music - especially anything with a Latin rhythm. So I was overjoyed to find the new book, Under the Mambo Moon. Inside the pages of this unique story, readers can explore various types of Latin American music - from Colombia’s cumbia to the Dominican merengue to the candombé of Uruguay.

The story line itself is a little unusual. The first thought that came to my mind was that this book would be perfect for a play. Young Marisol is the narrator. She helps out her Papi at his music store where people come in to buy their favorite songs. Papi says, “You can read people’s souls by the music they listen to.” (Looking at my CD and record collection, I wonder what my soul is saying? I’ve got everything from Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 to SpyroGyra to Yiddish-American Klezmer music. Oy.)

Interspersed throughout the book, are brief poems told by each customer who enters the store to buy the music of their homeland. João is a fan of bossa nova, while Professor Soto prefers Andean tunes that he has heard played on a zampoña player. Mr. and Mrs. Mayer are tango dancers, but young Gabriel loves the vallenatos of Colombia.

VandenBroeck cleverly uses color to help the reader distinguish between the main story line and the individual poems for each character. I appreciate the careful attention that he gave to depict each dance accurately with special attention to costumes and musical intruments.

The only thing that would make this book better would be an actual CD to accompany it and provide examples of each musical style. However, Putumayo has some great albums that would complement this book nicely.

I also like how at the back of the book, the author includes a brief history of the amazingly diverse Latin American music and dance. Durango talks about the influence of indigenous, European, and African cultures on the rhythms and even the musical instruments used to create the various styles of music. She also includes a short description of each music style mentioned in the story.

Under the Mambo Moon is written in English with some embedded Spanish text. This book is best suited for children ages 4 and up.

Parents and teachers: This book is an awesome resource if you are studying music, Latin America, culture, traditions, multiculturalism, the colonization of the Americas, etc.

If you would like to buy your own copy of Under the Mambo Moon, 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.

You may also purchase a copy directly from the Charlesbridge website: http://www.charlesbridge.com/.

Happy reading!