September's BOM: A Kid's Guide to Latino History

A Kid’s Guide to Latino History: More than 50 Activities

by Valerie Petrillo

The LBBC’s recommendation for September’s Libro del Mes, is Valerie Petrillo's A Kid’s Guide to Latino History.

In a few weeks, this country will begin celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. How that will go over this year in such a volatile political climate is anybody’s guess, but here at the LBBC we will certainly be celebrating it – as we do every month of the year!

But in honor of the national recognition, I am excited to share a fun and educational book for older children ages 7 and up. A Kid’s Guide is a detailed account of Latino History in the New World, from their “discovery” of the Americas in 1492 to the “Day Without Immigrants” national boycott in 2006. Petrillo’s thoughtful introduction gives young minds a summary of the book’s educational and activity-based contents.

The work itself is broken down into 10 categories, beginning with Columbus’ discovery of the New World and working its way through the contributions and history of the various Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America. Each chapter offers not only the history of a country or people, but also gives directions for creating a craft or recipe from that country. For example, in chapter eight, Petrillo highlights Dominican Americans and offers instructions for crafting a Dominican carnival mask and a charamico (you are wondering what this is, I bet!) as well as a recipe for arroz con leche.

I think parents and teachers of older children will love, love, LOVE this book not only for it’s educational content, but also for the engaging manner in which it is delivered. This is no ordinary textbook, but rather a learning manual full of creative projects to capture your child’s interest and pride in their own heritage.

The back of the book is also full of resources for parents and teachers. Included is a bibliography for children AND adults, a list of Latino museums, a section on Latino movies and videos, websites for kids, and finally, an awesome teacher’s guide, which breaks down the activities by grade level, ways to modify the activities, and suggests extended learning opportunities.

This book is an awesome supplement to ANY child’s education, and includes a lot of information that your child more than likely would not learn in any school history class. It is a great addition to any bilingual family’s library, and certainly one that will be used often. If you would like to buy your own copy of A Kid’s Guide to Latino History, 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.