Abuela's Weave/ El Tapiz de Abuela by Omar S. Castaneda; Illustrated by Enrique O. Sanchez

This book would be a wonderful addition to your classroom! Leaving Guatemala inspired the author, Omar S. Castaneda to write this book. Apparently, Castaneda wanted to give his own children an idea of what Guatemala is like through his writing.

Suggested Grade Level: 3-5

Summary: A Guatemalan girl learns about family tradition through her grandmother. Esperanza's Abuela is a very skillful weaver of traditional Mayan tapestries. This skill is something she has decided to share with her granddaughter and together they want to sell their tapestries at the market. However, Esperanza needs to sell the tapestries alone in the city. Not only does Esperanza become more independent but learns more about her family's traditions.  

Connections: Omar states that this book portrays the importance of family, responsibility and other aspects of life in the Mayan culture. This website may help you include this book in your classroom by integrating it in a lesson about family, traditions, Guatemala, accomplishing something, Mayan culture, selling goods or literacy concepts. 

Available in  English and Spanish 

Click here to find this book on Amazon!

Click here for more information on how to include this book in your classroom at Leeandlow.com This website not only includes example questions to ask before, during and after the reading but ideas for ESL students and how to integrate this book in different subject areas.

The Giant Turnip by Henriette Barkow; illustrated by Richard Johnson

Suggested Grade Level: K-3

Summary: In the city, the children in Miss Honeywood's classroom are up to something.. BIG! These children have grown the biggest turnip in the world. One problem: how do they get the turnip out of the ground? The students brainstorm ways to get the turnip out- but nothing works! What will do it? A Helicopter? A crane? Whatever the students do try- the turnip won't budge! In the end, the students learn that when they work together they can do anything. 

Connections: This book is said to be based on a traditional Russian story. This could be another example of a book to include in a lesson about traditional stories, cultures, appreciating cultural differences etc. This book could also be used to discuss the benefits of working together. Do you have any suggestions? Comment below!

Available in  English, Spanish, Abanian, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Czech, Fasi, French, German, Gujarati, Italian, Panjabi, Polish, Portugese, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Somali,Tamil, Turkish, Urdu,  Yoruba 

Click here to find this book on Amazon!

More information here at Languagelizard.com

Juan Verdades: The Man Who Couldn't Tell A Lie by Joe Hayes

Juan Verdades: The Man Who Couldn't Tell a Lie is a book I found last year and could be very useful in planning a lesson or for read aloud. Not only are the illustrations beautiful but the story shows readers the importance of being honest. 

Suggested Grade Level: 3-5

Summary: A very rich man, Don Ignacio bets his beloved ranch and famous apple tree that his foreman, Juan Verdades cannot tell a lie. Juan is unaware of the bet but the other rancher and his daughter are doing everything they can to win. The daughter and Juan Verdades fall in love and Juan Verdades proves that he is an honest man. 

Connections: There are a number of themes that could be addressed in this particular book and a variety of ways to include it in your own classroom. Originally, I thought this story would be a great way to introduce students to the genre of folklores. You could also use this book to discuss literacy concepts including; characters, setting, solution etc. depending on the grade level as well as discussing the moral of the story. Do you have any ideas on how you would include this book in your classroom? Comment below!

Available in English & Spanish

Click here to find this book on Amazon!

Welcome

Welcome!

My name is Ry and I am a bilingual education major at Illinois State University. I have started this blog as a resource for pre-service and practicing teachers who have the opportunity to work with English Language Learners (ELLs) in today's classrooms.

The inspiration for this blog has come from an in-course honors assignment in my C&I 321: Bilingual/Bicultural Methods & Materials course.
When considering what I wanted to work on for this assignment, I decided I would like to spend my time making something others could use as a resource. As an avid reader, I have always been interested in children's literature. I plan to continue updating this blog with information about children's literature that may be helpful for your classroom. I hope to post exceptional bilingual/bicultural children's books and include information such as reading level, background knowledge, summaries etc.

While I will be including books on this blog as part of my honors assignment, I also hope that this blog will continue to be updated with your help. If you have any suggestions please contact me at rnfromk@gmail.com.

Thank you and happy blogging!