Marisa’s sixth birthday was drawing near, and today her mother took her to buy a piñata. At the store, Marisa saw a beautiful butterfly piñata and knew she had to have it. “It’s perfect for my party!” she exclaimed. When they brought the piñata home, her mother wanted to put it in the closet, but Marisa begged to keep it on her dresser. That week Marisa took her butterfly everywhere, and it watched over her at night while she slept. The morning of the party, Mama filled the piñata with candy and toys. Soon the guests arrived. It was time to hit the piñata! Marisa was the first in line. But the butterfly looked down at her with its happy eyes, and Marisa started to cry. “I can’t do it!” she said as she ran into the house.
Primary (ages 6-9)
Material appropriate for primary age groups
The Stranger And The Red Rooster/ El Forastero Y El Gallo Rojo
One day in a small California barrio, a scary-looking stranger with an ugly scar on his face arrives. Silence falls on the streets. Normally raucous children stop playing, and their fearful mothers quickly beckon them inside. Everyone peeks out of windows and doors to watch the stranger walk down Main Street. Later in the week, the stranger again appears in town. And a few days later, on a pleasant Sunday morning, the man shows his frightening face yet again. But this time, he’s not alone. Cradled in the stranger’s arms is a big, red rooster with a yellow ribbon tied around its neck. When the rooster sets off after a bug with the stranger hanging on to the ribbon “like a cowboy who had lassoed a wild bull,” the townspeople are finally able to look past the long, ugly scar on the stranger’s face. Echoing the oral tradition common to so many Latinos, acclaimed author Victor Villaseñor shares with young readers one of his father’s favorite stories. With vibrant illustrations by José Jara, this will soon become the favorite of many children aged 3 to 7.
Skippyjon Jones in the Dog-House
Skippyjon Jones is a Siamese cat who wants to be a Chihuahua dog, despite his mother’s efforts to make him think “Siamese.”
Snapshots from the Wedding
Maya attends a family wedding and captures it all on film, from her cousin getting rice in his eye to the cake that tasted as delicious as it looked, in a beautifully illustrated tale of a special family day.
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.
The Moon is La Luna: Silly Rhymes in English And Spanish
This book is full of monos, ratons, and osos. What’s that, you say? You don’t know what a mono is? What about a rio, some pelo, or even an árbol? No? Still no idea? You should read this libro, then. By the time you finish, you’ll be able to recognize and understand more than fifty simple Spanish words. You’ll be saying, “Mas, por favor!” You may even ask your papá to buy you a gato or pato. (But not your papa. Potatoes can’t buy pets.)
Barrio: Jose’s Neighborhood
Welcome to José’s neighborhood. In his barrio, people speak an easy mix of Spanish and English and sometimes even Chinese. The masked revelry of Halloween leads into the festive remembrances of the Day of the Dead. And murals on the walls and buildings sing out the stories of the people who live here. As familiar as any neighborhood yet as strange as a foreign country, Jose’s barrio isn’t in Mexico or Argentina–it’s in San Francisco. Award-winning author and photographer George Ancona follows José through a season in the barrio, and in the process gives readers a glimpse of a community as rich and varied as America itself.
Carlos Y El Zorillo/ Carlos And The Skunk (Carlos Series)
When Carlos tries to show off for his friend Gloria by catching a skunk, he gets more than he bargained for.
From The Bellybutton Of The Moon And Other Summer Poems/Del Ombligo De La Luna Y Otros Poemas De Verano
From the Bellybutton of the Moon is renowned poet Francisco X. Alarcon’s fresh collection of 22 bilingual poems inspired by his touching recollections of childhood summers in Mexico. With a poet’s magical vision, Alarcon takes us back to his childhood when he traveled with his family to Mexico to visit his grandma and other relatives. We travel with him in the family station wagon, across the misty mountain range to the little town of Atoyac. There, in the beloved town of his ancestors, we hear his grandma’s stories, sample Auntie Reginalda’s tasty breakfasts, learn about the keys to the universe, and take playful dips in the warm sea. The lighthearted illustrations of Maya Christina Gonzalez perfectly capture the spirit of a summer in Alarcon’s Mexico where “colors are more colorful, tastes are tastier, and even time seems to slow down.”
Gorrion Del Metro (Spanish Edition)
Although the passengers of the D train speak different languages, they work together to rescue a frightened bird.