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Halloween Spanish Books for Babies, Toddlers, Little Kids & Beyond

spanish halloween book recommendations kids

Trick or treat! Halloween! Dame libros, no mani!


If you’re like me and you like to bring out your seasonal literary treats around this time of year, then this post is for you! I’ve gathered some fun Halloween-themed books for the smallest toddlers to those ready for more mature (but not too mature) chapter books. Do you have any favorites for this time of year?

Babies

Little Kids

Early Chapter Books

Older Kids

So, what else do you like to read this time of year?

*All links to Amazon are affiliate links, but that doesn’t affect the recommendations we make!

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Canticuenticos

When N was first born, I avoided ‘kids’ music whenever I could–we jammed out to Rodrigo & Gabriela, Marc Anthony, Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, and, because it was of the times, What does the fox say? As N got older and I started really listening to some of the lyrics we’ve been singing along to (thank goodness Despacitos’ innuendo is still well over their heads) I started looking for quality kids’ music that had strong, empowering messages AND was something I could enjoy.

If you’ve never heard of Canticuenticos, then I’m pleased to introduce you. They are an Argentine group playing cumbias and all sorts of fun beats while singing progressive, kid-friendly lyrics. They have a YouTube channel with lots of their quirky videos, including ‘La cumbia del monstruo,’ which is really fun to dance to and fairly addictive.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFdUXU9ZGls&w=560&h=315]

Given that this video has 36 MILLION views, clearly I’m late to this game (although my own household is responsible for a hefty share of those views).

 

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Award Winning Picture Books In Translation!

Not all wonderful books win awards and not all award-winning books will reach you the way they do others, but the Caldecott, Pura Belpre, and Newbery awards and honors pretty consistently select beautiful, moving, and heart-warming stories.
The annual Pura Belpre award is named after Pura Belpre, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. It honors a Latino/a author and illustrator “whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.” (There’s also a lovely picture book about her.). The annual Caldecott Medal honors artists of “the most distinguished American picture book for children.”  And the Newberys honor the author “of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.”
I’ve put together a non-exhaustive list of some of the many books honored by these awards that are available in Spanish.

Alma y como obtuvo su nombre

A 2019 Caldecott Honor Book recounting the history behind Alma’s name. It’s sweet and is a lovely way to spark conversations about a child’s name(s).

Continue reading “Award Winning Picture Books In Translation!”

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2018 Holiday Gift Guide for Bilingual Preschoolers, Kindergartners, & Young Kids

Yesterday we posted our Holiday Gift Guide for Babies and today it’s the older kids’ turn! As we’ve mentioned, you can make pretty much any toy (think: legos, blocks, dolls, tiny kitchens, etc. etc. etc.) into a tool for teaching or complementing your family’s language. But sometimes it’s nice to have the toys do a little of the work for you. So take a look below and let us know what you think!
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2018 Gift Guide for Bilingual Babies

For those of you who still don’t have your holiday shopping done, we’ve put together  some of ideas for the bilingual babies in your life! (I should note that this post only includes toys and books that have official bilingual components because we know that’s something many parents want, but ALL toys have the potential for bilingualism if you play with them in Spanish or your target-language!)

If feel a connection to Latin America and the Caribbean (in particular, Puerto Rico) you’ll love ¿Dónde está el coquí? by VeoLeo  Your budding Spanish speaker will learn numbers, active verbs, and animals, while following the sweet coquí on its adventures.

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