Vibrantly illustrated, this bilingual tale shows English and Spanish on each page. Weaving together pride in the author’s Mexican heritage with a sweetly delivered message about growing up, the story shows that each person, like the revolutionary Juan Sebastian, has a destiny to follow. Full color.
Primary (ages 6-9)
Material appropriate for primary age groups
The Piñata Maker / El Piñatero
Told in both English and Spanish by award-winning author-photographer George Ancona, The Pinata Maker/El pinatero documents this traditional Latin American artform and includes a note on how to make pinatas at home. Set in Mexico.
The Rowdy, Rowdy Ranch / Alla En El Rancho Grande
On El Rancho Grande, the grandchildren are not so interested in how Grandpa bought the ranch, but in what can be done on the ranch. The children play hide and seek in cornfields, under “the canopy of green leaves, golden threads and giant ears of corn.” They feed the family horses, ride the rambunctious pigs, and take frolicking dips in the duck pond. But through all of the outdoor escapades, their family stories are circling in the air, like the “sunflower wind” blooming around them. While drinking ice-cold lemonade in the sunshine, they hear about how Grandpa’s song of sorrow won him El Rancho. They hear about chickens that have abandoned their coops to live in Abuela’s chicken tree, and they even discover a story about a boy who cried chocolate tears. In those days of running and jumping, the narrator, Tito, did not realize that he was hearing the stories that would wrap him up “like an enchanted sarape to keep me warm for the rest of [his] life.”
Super Cilantro Girl/La Superniña Del Cilantro
What happens when a small girl suddenly starts turning green, as green as a cilantro leaf, and grows to be fifty feet tall? She becomes Super Cilantro Girl, and can overcome all obstacles, that’s what! Esmeralda Sinfronteras is the winning super-hero in this effervescent tale about a child who flies huge distances and scales tall walls in order to rescue her mom. Award-winning writer Juan Felipe Herrera taps into the wellsprings of his imagination to address and transform the concerns many first-generation children have about national borders and immigrant status. Honorio Robledo Tapia has created brilliant images and landscapes that will delight all children.
Pablo Remembers
From October 31 to November 2, people in Mexico celebrate the festival of el Dia de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. This photodocumentary follows Pablo and his family as they prepare to honor the memory of Pablo’s grandmother. Ancona’s photographs catch the affirmation of life that fills the Mexican festival arising from both Aztec and Christian customs honoring the dead.
Goodnight, Papito Dios / Buenas noches, Papito Dios
“Papá, I don’t want to go to sleep. I’m scared.” Everyone knows that the trick to putting children to bed is creating a bedtime routine, and in this new children’s story from Victor Villaseñor, he recreates his own family’s bedtime tradition. Papá tells his son that every night when he was a boy, his mother would sing him to sleep with the turtledove song. “Coo-coo-roo-coo-coooo,” he sings, and tells the little boy about his very own Guardian Angel who will take him through the night sky to be reunited with God, or Papito Dios. “Then in the morning, you’ll come back refreshed, rested, and powerful as the wind.” As Papá sings the turtledove song to his son, he reminds the child that Mamá loves him, the dog and the cat love him, and his brothers and sisters love him too. Even the trees and grass and the flowers that dance in the wind love him. Gradually, the boy drifts off to sleep, feeling safe and warm in God\’s love and dreaming of the day when he will sing the turtledove song to his own children.
Adios, Oscar!: A Butterfly Fable
When Oscar the caterpillar discovers that he will one day become a butterfly, he’s overjoyed. And his friend Edna the bookworm encourages his hopes of flying to Mexico with the other Monarch butterflies. To prepare, Oscar learns Spanish and dreams of flying through the purple Sierra Madre Mountains. But when Oscar emerges from his cocoon with stubby little wings, a craving for the taste of designer sweaters — and the urge to take a spin around the bathroom light bulb– his dreams are dashed. There will be no trip to Mexico for Oscar — or will there? Yes there will! How Oscar ignores the limitations of being a moth and learns how to dream like a butterfly is both inspirational, liberating — and hilariously funny.
Baseball on Mars/Beisbol en Marte
Roberto’s dad speaks in Spanish when he gets upset, and boy, is he unhappy today! His lucky chair, the one he sits in to watch his beloved New York Yankees play, is missing. And he needs it for the afternoon game against the Red Sox! Roberto is excited, too. He’s about to take off to Mars on his home-made rocket ship, and his dad’s lucky chair makes a perfect pilot’s seat. When his father finds that the missing chair has become part of the rocket ship in the backyard, he grudgingly tells Roberto he can use it, for now. But it needs to be returned before game time. Roberto’s dad is skeptical about the rocket ship. ”You might have a problem getting off the ground” he says. ”You’re forgetting one little thing; you don’t have an engine!” Soon, he finds himself invited along as co-pilot. And during the exciting flight to Mars, Roberto helps his father rediscover his imagination as they experience an amazing blastoff, wayward asteroids, and even weightlessness. When they finally land, Roberto surprises his father with two baseball gloves and a ball. “Today’s baseball game is on Mars,” he tells his dad. After spending the day playing catch, father and son realize that they speak the same language on the Red Planet. And his dad doesn’t even mind that he missed the Yankees’ game! Children ages 4-8 will want to embark on their own mission to Mars after reading this story that combines vibrant illustrations with a touching story about a father and son’s afternoon adventure.
Butterflies On Carmen Street/ Mariposas En La Calle Carmen
\”Today is Butterfly Day!\” Julianita excitedly tells her grandfather as they make their way down Carmen Street to school one morning. Today is the day Julianita and her friends have been waiting for–they\’re going to learn about monarch butterflies. But what\’s even more thrilling is they\’re each going to receive their very own caterpillar to raise! When Julianita gets hers, she names him Tiger because of his striking yellow and black stripes. Ms. Rodríguez teaches her students all about the monarch. But Julianita already knows that they fly south thousands of miles every winter because her grandfather remembers seeing the beautiful monarchs in his village in the highlands of Mexico. As the children feed and care for their caterpillars, they anxiously anticipate the transformation from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. When Tiger finally emerges from his chrysalis, Julianita doesn\’t want to let him go. She worries that he will get lost on his way to Mexico. \”Tiger knows the way to Mexico because it\’s in his heart,\” her Abuelito reassures her. She feels sad to see Tiger fly away, but Julianita knows that someday, she will follow him to her grandfather\’s magical Mexico. Paired with April Ward\’s charming illustrations that depict Julianita\’s neighborhood–her home on Carmen Street, the bench where Abuelito rests in Palo Verde Park, her parents\’ store that sells everything in the whole wide world–this book by award-winning author Monica Brown is sure to entertain and educate kids ages 3-9. This is a perfect choice for children learning about insects and the forces of nature.
Carnaval
For weeks the people of the Brazilian town of Olinda have been sewing costumes, painting masks, and creating giant puppets–preparing for carnaval. Like Mardi Gras in New Orleans, carnaval is a five-day festival of parades, dancing, and singing. But unlike Mardi Gras, Olinda’s carnaval still celebrates the traditions and folklore of the people and the shared cultures–indigenous, European, and African–that make up Brazil. As generations have done each year, the people of Olinda and their visitors give themselves over to the music, dance, and joy of carnaval.