Let's Play in Spanish with Susy Dorn

I am very excited to introduce everyone to a lady who is a San Jose-area celebrity among parents looking to teach their children Spanish. Susy Dorn is the educator, musician, and puppeteer responsible for Let's Play in Spanish. And play, she does.

For those of you in the Bay Area, I highly recommend that you attend a free trial class to see not only how engaging her program is for children, but also how effective.

For those of you not in the Bay Area, you're in luck - she offers her program through DVDs, CDs, and books that can be can be purchased online in her store.

Sal y Pimienta is one of the six current titles and in her usual style, she teaches Spanish vocabulary and concepts with music and humor. The DVD is broken into small vignettes and uses a mixture of live characters (shhh, don't tell your kids that it's often just Susy in different costumes), puppets, and graphics.

Kids are drawn in to learning because she is unabashed in her (and the puppets') silliness. The use of different instruments and layered rhythms adds texture to the music and they want to sing and move along because the lyrics are fun.

Like most educational programs, there is a lot of repetition to ensure comprehension. What I really appreciate is that the pace of each song is just fast enough to be keep a child's interest but also slow enough to understand clearly each word she's singing. In addition, for parents who aren't fluent, there are subtitles that you can follow to sing along with your kids.

Some of the vocabulary and concepts covered in this DVD are emotions, words that rhyme, sea life, good habits and manners, and sounds that animals make. I plan on doing some craft projects with my son and focus on a handful of songs to create mini-books with cut outs from magazines or stickers that represent each word so he can look at them while we're singing to the accompanying CD in the car.

So go ahead, what are we waiting for? Let's play in Spanish!

Seven Latina Authors You Should Know

The children’s lit market has a treasure trove of talented Latino storytellers. Many are established writers and illustrators, while others are fresh voices with many cuentecitos yet to tell. We’ll be doing a series of posts discussing these Latino authors and illustrators on the LBBC. Some you may recognize, while others you might not. But here is a list of seven Latina authors that every Hispanic family with young children should know about. Clicking on their names will take you to their informative websites.

Alma Flor Ada is a prolific writer of Latino children’s literature. A professor at the University of San Francisco, she spends a lot of time working in schools with teachers, parents and children. She has produced a variety of work - from poetry to biographies, plays, and translations, in Spanish, English and bilingual formats. The LBBC has reviewed only a few of her books, including Mamá Goose: A Latino Nursery Treasury, Gathering the Sun, I love Saturdays y domingos, The Three Golden Oranges, and The Woman Who Outshone the Sun. But I am sure many more reviews are still to come. Stop by her site and read about her childhood and how she became an author. It is a beautiful and fascinating story about the influence our family has on us and gives parents a lot to think about with regards to the raising of their own children. You can purchase your copies of Alma Flor’s works in the Folktales and Cuentecitos sections of our bookshop.

Born in El Paso, Texas, Pat Mora is an author and literacy advocate who, in addition to her many publications, is also known for being the founder of Día de los Niños/Día de los Libroshere in the States. She has written numerous books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction for children and adults. Pat strongly believes in promoting literacy and often gives presentations to the public to help spread bookjoy. Her web site is beautiful and a great resource for parents, librarians and educators. The LBBC has reviewed ¡Marimba! Animales from A to Z, Listen to the Desert/Oye al Desierto. We look forward to introducing you to more of her work. You can purchase your copies of Pat’s works in the Abecedarios, Poesía, and Cuentecitos sections of our bookshop.

Librarian Lucía González was born in Cuba but has also lived in Miami, Spain, Mexico and Venezuela. Her great interest in Hispanic folklore is reflected in her work, which has received awards and accolades. I was fortunate enough to witness her in action at the Latino Children’s Literature Conference earlier this year, when she read her book, The Bossy Gallito to a group of school children. She is a talented and engaging storyteller and the LBBC has reviewed most of her books, including The Storyteller’s Candle, The Bossy Gallito and Señor Cat’s Romance. You can purchase your copies of Lucía’s works in the Cuentecitos and Folktales sections of our bookshop.

With over 25 books to her credit, Pam Muñoz Ryan is possibly best known for her book, Esperanza Rising, a passionate novel about a young woman’s loss and the changes she must embrace. Esperanza received numerous awards, including the Pura Belpré. To write the story, Pam delved deeply into her family’s history - specifically her abuelita’s – using it to develop her characters and storyline. Other titles by Pam include Becoming Naomi León, Paint the Wind, Mice and Beans, and Nacho and Lolita. You can purchase your copies of Pam’s works in the Cuentecitos and Young Adult section of our bookshop.

Monica Brown is an Associate Professor of English at Northern Arizona University, specializing in U.S. Latino Literature and Multicultural Literature. Inspired by her Peruvian-American heritage, Monica is best known for her biographies of Latinos for children. Her books include My Name Is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz/Me llamo Celia: La vida de Celia Cruz, My Name Is Gabriela: The Life of Gabriela Mistral/Me llamo Gabriela: La vida de Gabriela Mistral, My Name Is Gabito: The Life of Gabriel García Márquez/Me llamo Gabito: La vida de Gabriel García Márquez, and Pelé: King of Soccer. She is a talented writer with a knack for presenting the inspirational lives of real people to young children in a way that captures their imagination. You can purchase your copies of Monica’s works in the Biographies section of our bookshop.

Raised in Puerto Rico, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand is an author who experiences more challenge because she writes in English, which is her second language. As a child, Carmen was an avid storyteller, but didn’t realize that her active imagination would lead her to become a writer. She did not begin her writing career until after she had moved to the U.S., married and had children. Initially, she contacted publishers to see if they were interested in stories in Spanish, only to be disappointed. Fortunately for us, she switched tactics and began writing in English, which won Carmen her first writing contest. Her books include Shake It, Morena! and other folklore from Puerto Rico, César: ¡Sí, Se Puede! Yes, We Can!, In The Shade Of The Nispero Tree, and Juan Bobo: Four Folktales From Puerto Rico. You can purchase your copies of Carmen’s works in the Biographies and Folktales sections of our bookshop.

Georgina Lázaro Leon is an author, poet and translator of children’s books. With numerous titles in print, some of her most recent and best-known works are biographies from the Cuando Los Grandes Eran Pequeños series, including Pablo, Jose, and Juana Inés. Her newest titles, which will be released this September, are the biographies of Jorge Luis Borges and Federico García Lorca. Other titles you might recognize: El Flamboyan Amarillo (illustrated by Lulu Delacre) and Don Quijote para siempre.  However, you can purchase your copies of Georgina’s works in the Biographies and Spanish Only sections of our bookshop.

Skills Children Need to Be Readers By Third Grade

Comprehension
By Christianne Meneses Jacobs

Reading without comprehension is not reading. The ability to understand what we read is called comprehension. Teachers spend a lot of time in this area helping kids to read for a purpose. Reading and comprehension take advantage of the reader’s experiences, prior knowledge and viewpoint of the world in order to make sense of the reading.

It is important for a child to understand the main idea, the details and meaning of the reading. Otherwise, your child is just decoding and is not at the sophisticated level of understanding the meaning of words.

Parents can help by stopping to ask questions about the story they are reading to their child. Ask some of these questions: What is the character going to do next? What do you think it is going to happen? What would you do? What happened at the beginning of the story that can help us predict the end? Also, the majority of teachers suggest that this activity can also be done with daily interactions with your child. For example, when asking your child about the game they played or the dinner they helped prepared.

Have fun showing your child the road to literacy.

Macondo Writers’ Workshop

Macondo Writers’ Workshop
Invites You to Join A Free Seminar
for Teachers and Educators

Wednesday, July 29, 2009 4-6pm
Our Lady of the Lake University
Fine Arts Building, Rm 200
San Antonio, Texas.

Join award-winning writers Amada Irma Pérez and René Colato Laínez for this free workshop as they share their ideas, experiences and tips on using children’s books in the community to foster knowledge and understanding. Come and learn how they have transformed their children’s memories into a valuable and educational resource. Get ready to be inspired! For More Information Contact Yvette DeChavez at ydechavez@macondofoundation.org

Amada Irma Pérez is a former teacher and the author of the award-winning bilingual books Nana’s Big Surprise/Nana !Que Sorpresa!, My Very Own Room/Mi Propio Cuartito and My Diary From Here to Here/Mi Diario de Aqui Hasta Allá.

René Colato Laínez has been a bilingual elementary teacher for many years. He is also the award winning author of Waiting for Papá, Playing Lotería and I Am René. His two forthcoming books are René Has Two Last Names (Piñata Books, Fall 2009) and The Tooth Fairy Meets El Ratón Pérez (Tricycle Press, Spring 2010).

Reading, Reading Everywhere!

If you're looking for some fun summer books, take a look at Colorín Colorado's new Beach Stories booklist, which is also available in Spanish! From Lulu Delacre's Rafi and Rosi to Pam Muñoz Ryan's Hello Ocean / Hola Mar, you'll find some wonderful titles that are perfect for a day in the sun and sand.

Also be sure to check out Bebé Goes to the Beach, by Susan Middleton Elya. Elya uses a mix of English and Spanish rhymes throughout the story, making it a great book for kids who are learning either language. And of course, with Bebé, there is a never a dull moment!

Bebé Goes to the Beach follows Bebé Goes Shopping, featuring more adventures for Mama and Bebé. Both of these books are a good reminder that reading and playing with words can happen anywhere, whether it's at the beach, in the grocery store, or in a museum! For some ideas on building literacy skills during daily activities, take a look at these articles from Colorin Colorado:

• Grocery Store Literacy (also available in Spanish)
• The Night Before the Museum (also available in Spanish)
• Summer Learning, Side-by-Side (also available in Spanish)
• Use Summer Fun to Build Background Knowledge (also available in Spanish)
• Take a Break, but Bring a Book! (also available in Spanish)

PBS also offers some excellent resources related to building literacy, including the following:

• Quick Tips for the car, the park, in the bath and more!
• Supermarket Scrambler (The Electric Company)

In addition, the Pierce County Library in Tacoma, WA features engaging ideas in its Literacy Adventures tip sheets.

Finally, if you're looking for some fun bilingual websites to share with kids this summer, don't miss the PBS Kids Island and the Maya and Miguel websites. They are educational, colorful, and sure to be a hit with young fans.

Stay cool and happy reading!

Family Pictures - Cuadros de familia

Many of our fondest memories of growing up have been captured in photographs. Birthday parties, holidays, family gatherings, excursions to new places, and simple, every-day moments can be relived by looking at old photos. These pictures often evoke great emotion; more importantly, these pictures are the stories of our lives.

Family Pictures/Cuadros de familia, by Carmen Lomas Garza, is a memoir-style book of family moments. An extraordinary book, Family Pictures is set up like a photo album of sorts, with an accompanying narrative in English and Spanish on each page. At first glance, the book cover is inviting with its painting of a typical family, gathered in the kitchen to make tamales. The painting alone is beautiful, in its detail and color; on the stove sits a huge black pot covered by a red and white dishcloth, around the table are different family members spreading cornmeal dough on cornhusks, another spreads the meat, and the grandmother rolls up and arranges the ready-to-cook tamales in a pan.

Inside the book are 14 special events and simple moments portrayed in "pictures", painted by the author herself. Each picture is described in both English and Spanish. Its as if the author has invited us to sit and look at a photo album with her - she lovingly flips the pages slowly, pausing to describe in detail the relatives in the picture, the place, the day.

One of my favorites of Garza's "family pictures" is Watermelon/Sandia. The picture is of a summer evening, the family on the porch, enjoying chilled watermelon slices. The grandmother sits barefoot on the porch swing, the father cuts the fruit and hands it to everyone, and the children lean forward, the juicy fruit dripping, spitting seeds into the yard.

I use this book in my classroom as a mentor text for memoir writing. I invite my students to select several favorite snapshots of family and special events which are then used as prompts for writing. This book can also be used to discuss family traditions.

MY PAPA DIEGO AND ME/MI PAPA DIEGO Y YO

My Papa Diego and Me
Recollections by Guadalupe Rivera Marín
Artwork by Diego Rivera

32 page • Ages 6 and up
8 3⁄4” x 10 1⁄4”
Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-89239-228-5
Available Fall 2009
Hardcover
$17.95

When most people think of my father, Diego Rivera, they think of him as a famous painter. And they’re right, he did grow up to be a famous painter… His hard work, dedication, and talent taught me that if you work hard at your passion, you can achieve your dreams. –Guadalupe Rivera Marín

Guadalupe Rivera Marín had a very unusual childhood, growing up in Mexico among world famous artwork. Her papá, Diego Rivera, was a larger-than-life figure who created unforgettable images of working people, of life in Mexico, of industrial machines and flowers. But Diego Rivera also loved to paint children — children just like you — and you’ll find them inside the pages of this book, along with the lessons and wisdom he passed along to his eldest daughter.

Guadalupe Rivera Marín shares some of her childhood memories of the world-renowned artist who also happened to be her papá. Her recollections are tender, humorous, and unexpected. This intimate artistic portrait will delight readers, from the youngest art lovers to Diego Rivera’s biggest fans.

Guadalupe Rivera Marín is the daughter of Diego Rivera and Guadalupe Marín. Her early childhood was spent in rural Mexico, while her father created government-sponsored murals for the Secretaria de Educación Pública. An accomplished author and lecturer, Dr. Rivera Marín lives in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Diego Rivera was one of Mexico’s most famous and influential painters. Born in 1886 in Guanajuato, Mexico, he began studying art as a child and went on to create paintings and murals that can be seen in public spaces and museums around the world. Diego Rivera was also a passionate advocate for working men and women, and he featured them in much of his artwork. He died in 1957.

The Storyteller's Candle

One of our favorites places to go to - especially nowadays - is our local biblioteca or "tubuleca" like my daughter calls it! For starters, it's free! And, the children's section is lots of fun with toddler books easily accessible to her in big, wooden boxes at the right height. The only bad thing is their lack of books in Spanish. What I hadn't realized until recently though, is the option of checking out bilingual books. In other words, books that are written both in English and Spanish.

Aware of my love affair with books, a kind friend send me a link to this year's winners of the Pura Belpré Awards and after looking it over, I was so happy to see it includes a bunch of bilingual books, including a story about Pura Belpré herself, The Storyteller's Candle.

And so began my search for these award-winning books. Although I kind of knew what the answer was going to be, I decided to first look in our local library - the one that doesn't have that many books in Spanish. Lo and behold, I found one of them and was not only surprised, but happy, because it was the one I was most interested in finding, Lucía González' "The Storyteller's Candle" which was the recipient of the the Pura Belpré Author and Illustrator Honor Award. According to the ALA, the award is given every other year to a Latino writer and illustrator "whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience."

"The Storyteller's Candle" is a book about New York City's first Latina librarian, a puertorrican named Pura Belpré, who was a gifted storyteller back in the late 1920s. Belpré's story is told through the eyes of two cousins, Hildamar and Santiago, who recently moved from Puerto Rico to NYC and are wondering how they're going to celebrate El Día de los Reyes or Three Kings' Day now that they live so far away from the island. In comes Belpré, who pays Hildamar's class a visit, and tells the children about the public library and how it belongs to everyone - no matter what language they speak. And, best of all, she let's them know about the library's Three Kings Day celebration!

Here's what I like about the book...First, it's perfectly written in both languages. In other words, there are no awkward or forced translations that don't make any sense. (I'm sure you've seen your share of those. I h-a-t-e them!) Second, I love that it tells the story of a Latina role model, someone to make us proud of our heritage. We need as many of these as possible and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I knew nothing about Pura Belpré. Finally, the author, Lucía González, is donating her royalties from this book to the Pura Belpré Award endowment.

Although, it's not really a book for toddlers-the recommended ages are 4 to 8-which means my daughter, Vanessa, won't really understand it just yet, I can't wait to be able to share it with her in the near future. I hope you can do the same with your kids!

This post originally appeared in a different form and under a different title over at SpanglishBaby.

Three Friends: A Counting Book/Tres amigos: un cuento para contar

One of the first bicultural and bilingual books we ever read, was On the Pampas by María Cristina Brusca. It immediately became our favorite Latino children’s lit read, and in the top three of all the books we own. It was also the inspiration for the LBBC (see my review of it here.)

It is a shame that Brusca only wrote a few more children’s picture books, one of which is Three Friends: A Counting Book/Tres amigos: un cuento para contar. Brusca illustrated and co-wrote this book with Tona Wilson back in 1995, but the story is still as engaging and action-packed today as it was then. A "rollicking" good tale about the adventure of one vaquero, a vaquera and their caballo as they attempt to round up a few vacas. Full of southwestern imagery and subjects, the illustrations are so well done that they could tell the story without words. However, each scene is accentuated with simple text - a sentence in both English and Spanish – that counts upwards from uno a diez, then back down again.

This book has captured my kids’ imagination, and I highly recommend it for familias with young children. And be prepared for more reviews of Brusca’s picture books, as I am now determined to find them all!

It is hard to find these books new, but there are a few used and new ones in our on-line store here.

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Also, I’d like to mention that since we had a request (Tati!) for more bilingual books with simple text and vocabulary for preschool, we’ve been doing some research. I’ve gone ahead and added some new categories in our shop, including one for abecedarios, color and counting books and another Para Bebés. There are some great ones in there, so be sure to check them out. And browse our English Classic Translations for your favorites in Spanish.

¡Marimba! Animales from A to Z

Last month, my mami came to visit. With her came all sorts of goodies including a new bilingual alphabet book for the kids. As I have admitted before, I have a secret passion for abecedarios.

¡Marimba! Animales from A to Z by Pat Mora is especially great for children like mine who are obsessed with animals and zoos. The story is about how once a year, a little monkey sings the zookeepers to sleep then proceeds to wake up all the animals in the zoo with his little marimba for an energetic fiesta. Before you know it, the iguanas are doing the cha-cha and the manatíes are dancing the mambo while quetzales sell lemonade and ocelotes make piñatas.

Mora comments in an "Author’s Note" at the back of the book how she used 26 cognates (words similar in both English and Spanish) to help English learners and Spanish learners both, discover the similarities in the languages. In addition, the book mentions a large number of Latin dances (such as those I mentioned above) and also foods with ties to the Latin culture.

The illustrations by Doug Cushman help convey the rhythm and movement of the story line. Animals dance and leap across the pages with expressive faces. Each opening engages children as it reflects different animals and habitats. But children will enjoy looking for the little monkey playing his marimba (though, personally, I would have preferred him without his stereotypical sombrero) as he appears throughout the book.

Overall, mis niños enjoyed the story, and I did, too. The book is a great way to discuss the similarities in languages. Parents can also easily convince children to get up and dance afterwards. Probably best suited for daytime reads, not so much bedtime.

If you would like to buy your own copy of ¡Marimba! Animales from A to Z, 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.

Giveaway Winner & Bilingual Readers

Congratulations to Alice H for winning the copy of Cheech and the Spooky Ghost Bus! Just drop me an email (admin @ latinbabyusa.com) with your address so we know where to ship it to.

In other news, we'd like to recommend a new web site that we have recently discovered. Bilingual Readers is a brand new publishing company providing bilingual resources for families and communities. It has some fantastic posts on bilingualism including the importance of making storytime and interactive experience, summer activities and freebies for bilingual families. It also has a great resource section with links to articles on bilingual learning, early literacy and more. They even have a little section just for kids. Check them out here.

Illustrator Interview: Orlando Ramirez & July's Giveaway

July's Libro del Mes is Cheech and the Spooky Ghost Bus. It is the latest book in the Cheech Marin series and just became available last week. All the books in this series are fantastic for kids, because of their humor, authentic cultural content and excellent illustrations. We'll get you a review of the book shortly, but first, we are happy to bring you an interview with Orlando Ramirez, illustrator of this entire series.

How did you get into the business of illustrating children’s literature? What was your first book project?

I first landed a job as an illustrator at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City where I did hundreds of humorous greeting cards for the contemporary kid’s line. I thought it was a great way to introduce myself into creating products for children of all ages. I also knew several other artists at Hallmark that were illustrating books for several publishing companies, so they inspired me to try illustrating children’s books.

After teaming up with art agency Tugeau 2, I was lucky enough to land my first book project that had a series of four educational books for publishing company, Learning Resources, Inc. These books are all in Spanish: Quico el cocinero, ¡Cuánto nos divertimos!, Roxana de Visita and Bienteveo. They were all a lot of fun and it was a great way to gain some experience in illustrating fun Latino themes.

Can you tell us about the process you take when creating the illustrations for a children’s book? As an artist, is there a particular medium you prefer to use?

Everything starts with research. After I get a manuscript from the publisher, I read it several times and create a list of visual elements that will help me create the mood of the story. I tend to look for research everywhere: on the web, books, magazines or I take my own digital pictures. I specifically look for intriguing details on kid’s latest haircuts, kid’s clothing, specific scenes and I like to keep a library of fun textures and colors.

Once the research phase is ready, I work on some really rough sketches just to get a quick idea on how my main characters are going to look like and the scenes on each page. I use a scanner to scan my sketches in and clean them up in Photoshop before sending them to the Editor or Art Director. Once the sketches are approved, I create a more refined drawing of each page on tracing paper and take them to Photoshop to clean them up and start the color process. I basically use Photoshop to finish each piece by using custom brushes and patterns to create a more pastel "conventional look." I also have a library of colors that I use to keep a consistent look on all my illustration projects.

I pretty much enjoy using Photoshop and digital photography. I used to work on pastels and acrylics all the time but using the computer is a lot less messy. :)

How do you decide how to depict your characters? Do you use people for inspiration (if so, who?) or do you just let your creative juices develop the character?

I pretty much look for anything or anyone to inspire me. I look for inspiration by watching the kids in the playground, kids at the library, kids playing sports at the YMCA and watching television shows with diverse characters. Some shows at the Disney channel are great for getting ideas on the latest kids' trends. I also use my family the most to depict specific characters... I especially use my dog a lot!

[And as] I watch my daughter grow every day, it’s amazing to see how she develops and how funny she can be at such a young age. She’s always doing something new that I can use for inspiration in my illustrations.

Do you use your own experiences as a child growing up in Puerto Rico to help you depict characters or backgrounds?

Absolutely, I have a lot of great memories of growing up in Puerto Rico and they all translate in one way or another in my illustrations. I show these memories and cultural experiences on the background scenes, colors, textures, and multicultural characters. It’s my job to tell visual stories the way I see them and it’s always great to see kids responding positively to these visual details of my childhood through the illustrations.

Why do you think it is important for Latinos to be represented in children’s literature?

Latinos have been representing our communities in a lot of things and it’s important to have strong Latino role models in our society. Not just for the development of our children but also our culture in general. It’s important to inspire children of all ages to understand the importance of learning about the history, culture and contributions made by Hispanics in the United States and the world.

Do you think you might ever consider writing a children’s book – or do you prefer the illustration side of things?

Yes, I have a few "written ideas" on my sketchbook and I want to develop them in the future... It will be fun, exciting, and a challenging task for me to write a humorous children’s book. I’m just very picky with what I do!

I find that illustrating books is a more natural thing for me to do right now.

You have a new book coming out - can you tell us a little bit about it?

My new book is called Cheech and the Spooky Ghost Bus and it’s the third book of the Cheech Marin series. This new picture book is a lot of fun with a lot of new exciting, funny and spooky characters! This time Cheech (the school bus driver) and the Cheecharrones stop by a graveyard and pick-up a few "ghost kids" by accident. Cheech and the Cheecharrones are afraid of the "ghost kids" and try everything they can to get rid of them... Cheech and the kids learn a great lesson that being different isn't always a bad thing. This book is full of FUN and SURPRISES and I’m sure everyone will enjoy reading it.

Anything else you’d like for the LBBC readers to know?

I’ve been a professional graphic designer and illustrator since 1994, and it has been an exciting and fun career. As an artist, my work has appeared in books, greeting cards, advertisements, magazines, and the Internet. I was born and raised in Carolina, Puerto Rico, and I now reside with my family in Florida. For more information about my work, new books, lectures, school visits and workshops visit: http://www.orlandoramirez.com/

Thanks so much to LBBC for the opportunity to share my story on your platform.

And muchisimas gracias to Orlando for letting us interview him. As a special bonus to our readers, we are offering a copy of Cheech and the Spooky Ghost Bus, signed by Orlando, to one of our lucky readers. Just leave us a comment below letting us know what you think about this interview. The giveaway ends at midnight on Wednesday, July 8th, so post your comments before then!

Good luck!