A young boy with two homelands and a delightful sense of wonder comes to life in Jorge Argueta’s first collection of poems for children. Young Jorgito lives in San Francisco’s Mission District, but he hasn’t forgotten his native El Salvador. He recalls the volcanoes, the tasty cornmeal pupusas, and his grandmother’s stories. As he changes from timid newcomer to seasoned city dweller, Jorgito’s memories and new adventures form a patchwork of dreams — the movie in his pillow — that is perfectly suited to his new bicultural identity.
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Tales Our Abuelitas Told: A Hispanic Folktale Collection
Once upon a time, in a land far away…These stories have journeyed far — over mountains, deserts, and oceans — carried by wind, passed on to us by our ancestors. Now they have found their way to you.A sly fox, a bird of a thousand colors, a magical set of bagpipes, and an audacious young girl…A mixture of popular tales and literary lore, this anthology celebrates Hispanic culture and its many roots — Indigenous, African, Arab, Hebrew, and Spanish.F. Isabel Campoy and Alma Flor Ada have retold twelve beloved stories that embody the lively spirit and the rich heritage of Latino people.The work of four leasing Latino artists and illustrators highlights this unforgettable collection.
The Eggbees
The EGGerson family lives on a planet called NEGGarus in a galaxy far, far away. On NEGGarus, everything is either round or oval shaped. The people who live there Supersapien EGGbeings, or EGGbees come in different sizes and colors, but they re all shaped like, well, EGGs. The EGGerson family, like all EGGbee familes, has twelve members because they’re better by the dozen. In addition to Daddy, Mommy, Grandpa, and Grandma, there are GrEGG, JEGGsica, EGGward, EGGelbert, MEGGie, PEGGie, EGGmond, and EGGbeth. One day, Mommy EGGerson tells her children that their cousins from MEGGxico are coming for a visit. The kids are thrilled to meet the MEGGanas: LEGGticia, EGGuardo, PEGGlicia, DiEGGo, EGGnacio, MEGGuelito, MEGGarita, and EGGlida. But the EGGerson kids are surprised and confused by the MEGGanas’ appearance: their shells are a beautiful brown color, not white like the EGGersons’. As the cousins spend the next few days together, they come to realize that in spite of the difference in their shell color they have lots of things in common. Sure to generate giggles in children ages 4-8, this bilingual picture book focuses on family and daily activities to share an important concept with children about acceptance.
Making Magic Windows: Creating Papel Picado/Cut-Paper Art with Carmen Lomas Garza
This book introduces the traditional Mexican craft of papel picado. It provides instructions for making paper banners and more intricate cut-outs and includes diagrams for creating specific images.
Over Here It’s Different: Carolina’s Story
Relates, in text and photographs, the experiences of an eleven-year-old girl who emigrated from the Dominican Republic at age seven, and describes the two worlds she lives in as an American trying to preserve her heritage.
No Dogs Allowed!
Sometimes the unexpected is even more fun than the best-laid plans. Iris, her family, the neighbors, and dog take a road trip to the lake. But first, the cars break down. Then they get lost. And when they finally arrive at the lake, they see a NO DOGS ALLOWED sign. What to do? Iris’s family’s make-do attitude saves the day, for as they go about their beach activities while trying to figure out what to do with the dog, each takes a turn taking care of the dog. Soon the day is over, and the dog has had the best time of all — the beach had been brought to him. Sesame Street’s Sonia Manzano’s first picturebook provides an ocean of humor, a warm, close-knit Puerto Rican community, and a take-charge family who refuses to let things get in their way!
Sweet Dreams/Dulces Suenos (My Family: Mi Familia)
Shh, shh, close your eyes.
Shh . . . shh . . . Cierra los ojitos.
Outside, the rabbits are sleeping,
Afuera, los conejitos están durmiendo
and the birds, and the squirrels.
junto con los pajaritos, y las ardillas.
Inside, Grandma tucks
us snugly into bed.
Adentro, Abuelita nos da
las buenas noches.
The stars and moon
are shining bright.
Las estrellas y la
luna brillan.
Sweet dreams!
¡Dulces sueños!
As warm and comforting as a grandmother’s voice, this endearing book in the My Family/Mi familia series makes bedtime a soothing family tradition.
Este encantador libro de la serie My Family/Mi familia, tan cálido y reconfortante como la voz de una abuela, ayuda a convertir la hora de dormir en una armoniosa tradición familiar.
Fiesta Fiasco
There is another desert party in the works in this spicy companion book to Mañana, Iguana. This time it is Snake’s birthday, and Iguana, Tortoise, and Rabbit are shopping for birthday gifts to bring to his fiesta. But what presents should they buy for Snake? In a sneaky twist, Rabbit convinces them to buy gifts that aren’t for Snake at all—but for him! With a clever text, a spattering of Spanish vocabulary. and lively illustrations, this author-illustrator team presents quite the fiesta fiasco. Glossary included.
My Little Car
Teresa loves to show off her shiny, new, pedal-powered lowrider car from Grandpa, but the toy soon looks old when she neglects it. When it helps her escape from a neighborhood dog, she is reminded of how much she loves it. And her grandpa is just the person to help her fix it up. After all, he’s old, too, but he’s still fun to play with. This shows kids that it’s important to take care of the things (and people) you love.
Sunflowers / Girasoles
After helping her grandfather plant squash, onions, carrots, cabbage, and other vegetables that her mother uses in soups and salsas, seven-year-old Marisol plants sunflower seeds in her neighbors’ yards, and weeks later, everyone gets to enjoy the fruits of Marisol’s labor.
”My name is Marisol. I’m seven years old. This spring, I helped my grandfather make a garden.” First, Marisol and her grandfather had to prepare the ground. They pulled out the old plants and weeds. They mixed up all the dirt ”to make it soft.” Then it was time to plant the seeds. They planted seeds to grow the vegetables Mama uses in soup squash, onions, carrots, and cabbage. They planted seeds to grow the things she needs to make salsa garlic, tomatoes, cilantro, and chili peppers. They planted mint for Abuela’s tea. They planted watermelon seeds for Marisol and her brother. And for Grandad, they planted sunflower seeds because their ”big black eyes with long yellow eyelashes” make him happy. And he likes to eat the seeds! One day, Marisol’s grandfather gives her a small bag of sunflower seeds, but instead of eating them she plants them here and there one in the corner of Mrs. Sosa’s yard, another in Mr. Binh’s yard. In fact, as she walks to school, she plants seeds in the corners of all the yards she passes. And she plants the last three seeds in the playground at school. As the days pass, sometimes it’s rainy and sometimes it’s sunny. Finally, one bright day, Marisol’s sunflower surprise shines a bit of happiness all around. The tender relationship between grandparent and grandchild is illuminated in this children’s book by author Gwendolyn Zepeda with warm illustrations by Alisha Gambino. Children ages 3-7 will sow and reap ideas of their own about ways to share a little joy, just as Marisol does with sunflowers.