Thursday, November 22, 2012

A Pinata in a Pine Tree by Pat Mora



It is almost my favorite time of the year and to celebrate I thought I would include this book based on "The Twelve Days of Christmas" ...but with a twist!

Suggested Grade Level: K-5

Summary: This story is a variation of the well-known Christmas carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas. However, the book replaces the partridges and other traditional gifts with pinatas, burritos bailando, and more!  

Connections: How would you include this text in your classroom? This book is a great choice to include in your classroom around the holidays! It can be used in a number of ways. Including counting, pronunciation, using context clues and making predictions. This really is a wonderful book for kids of all ages! Here is a link to another blog I found, that goes into this book more in depth.

Available in  English, Spanish

Antonio's Card: La Tarjeta de Antonio by Rigoberto Gonzalez



Suggested Grade Level: 1-3

Summary: Antonio is a boy who loves words. He is amazed by all the things we can express because of words. When Mother's Day comes, Antonio wants to write to his mother and her partner Leslie. However, Antonio is teased by his classmates. 

Connections: How would you include this text in your classroom? This book is a great choice to include in your classroom. It can be used to discuss how different family structures may be, and promote acceptance among students. The book could also be used as  a writing prompt, or around Mother's Day. Here is a link to a teacher's guide to this book.

Available in  English, Spanish

My Grandparents and I: Mis Abuelos y Yo by Samuel Caraballo




Suggested Grade Level: K-2

Summary: This book not only is descriptive but has beautiful illustrations to support  the text! This tells the story of a boy and the role his grandparents play in his life. The text rhymes, and creates a very fun book that is great to read out loud. The book describes different things the boy and his grandparents to together, including going to the museum, and playing in the backyard. 

Connections: How would you include this text in your classroom? This book could be used in your class when discussing poetry, rhythm or verse. It also is a great opportunity to encourage students to write about their families, and things they do with their loved ones. 

Available in  English, Spanish

Senorita Gordita by Helen Ketteman; Illustrated by Will Terry


This is a great story to include in a lesson or in your classroom! I used this with my first grade student and she loved it. The illustrations are beautiful and the writing style is so fun and creative.

Suggested Grade Level: K-3

Summary: This book is a fun twist to the classic gingerbread story. Senorita Gordita is made and jumps off the frying pan and runs away! She continues to run as she encounters a number of animals that want to eat her in the desert. She yells to the animals "You'll never catch me!"and with a "flip, and a skip, and a zip-zoom-zip" she gets away! 

Connections: How would you include this text in your classroom? This book could be used in your class when learning about different animals, food, sequencing, retelling, or discussing folklores/fairytales. This truly is  a book that can be used in many different ways!

Available in  English, Spanish

Lucy's Family Tree by Karen Halvorsen Schreck



Suggested Grade Level: 3-6

Summary: Lucy doesn't want to do an school assignment of creating a family tree. Lucy didn't want others to know that she was adopted from Mexico. However, Lucy learns that every family is different and that is something to celebrate. 

Connections: How would you include this text in your classroom? This book could be used in your class when discussing families, types of families and family trees/heritage. 

Available in  English, Spanish

Friday, October 26, 2012

Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell; Illustrated by Helen Oxenbury




Suggested Grade Level: K-2

Summary: A duck lives on a farm with a very lazy farmer! While the farmer lays in bed, the duck does all of the work. One day, the other animals decide to help. 

Connections: How would you include this text in your classroom? This book could be used in your class when learning about farms, literacy concepts and more!

Available in  English, Spanish
also Albanian, Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Chinese, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Kurdish, and more.
 
Click here to find this book on Amazon!

Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Qué Rico! by Pat Mora




This book include breathtaking illustrations and captivating Haiku poems! Really a great find for your classroom, for all ages. 

Suggested Grade Level: K-5 (Reading level: 3)

Summary: This book is a collection of Haiku poems about fourteen foods native to the Americas including cranberries, pears, blueberries, papayas and more. The pages describe the food's history  origin and interesting facts while celebrating it's diversity of food languages and cultures in the Americas.

Connections: This book really is a great find- and there are many things you can do with it in your classroom! I included a number of links that describe lessons you can plan, using this book!

Available in  English, Spanish
Click here to find this book on Amazon!




I Love Saturdays y Domingos by Alma Flor Ada





Suggested Grade Level: K-3

Summary: In this story, the girl visits her grandparents and experiences two cultures. She spends her weekends  with her grandma and grandpa as well as her abuelita and abuelito. On Saturdays she visits her grandma and grandpa who have European-American heritage. On Domingos, she visits her abuelito y abuelita, who are Mexican-American. 

Connections: This book would be wonderful to use to discuss heritage and cultures. There are a number of lessons you could plan and incorporate this book in them! Here is a link to scholastic's website which created a "Teacher's Guide" to using this particular book! Click here for the link.

Available in  English, Spanish

Bebé Goes Shopping by Susan Middleton Elyagm




I have seen this book many times at the Children's museum, library, classrooms etc. Finally picked it up!

Suggested Grade Level: K-2

Summary: A baby goes shipping with his mother, but the day results in chaos. The shopping trip is detailed int he story through rhyming and Spanish words. 

Connections:  This book makes something very ordinary, like shopping with your mother into an adventure! It could be used for a number of reasons in the classroom as it includes spanish vocabulary words, and rhyming. 

Available in English and Spanish

Icy Watermelon/Sandia Fria by Mary Sue Galindo




Another great bilingual book about a close family... and delicious watermelon! 

Suggested Grade Level: K-3

Summary: A family spends a Sunday enjoying all the blessings the have in life and eating Mama's ice-cold watermelon. Grandpa tells everyone the story of his father  and mother met and  how they grew watermelons. 

Connections: This could be used in a lesson in which students discuss family traditions.


Available in  English, Spanish