Author: admin

A few weeks ago a close family friend asked me for recommendations for Spanish books for her new (and soon to be bilingual) grandchild. It occurred to me I hadn’t shared the best board books I found for the young baby and toddler phase (other than the board books highlighted on my diverse books page)–so here you go! Of course, the best thing about this age is that their books are very easy to translate and they will be none the wiser. But if you prefer to have a few Spanish books on your shelf, here are a few ideas! Do you have any favorites?

Continue reading “Spanish Board Books for Babies and Toddlers”

We all know the importance of reading to our kids (I write about it somewhat often) and quality Spanish books for kids are hard to come by, especially at a reasonable price. So I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that there are organizations offering to mail or download age-appropriate books in Spanish for free (FREE!), if your kids meet certain location and/or age requirements. I’ve included below information on the ones I’ve found.  Do you know of any others??

The Children’s Trust: Read to Learn Book Club

Where: Florida (Miami-Date residents only)

For: 3 year olds (I’ve read elsewhere it’s 3 to 5, but the site currently says it’s only for 3 year olds)

You have the option to receive in the mail books in Spanish or English on a monthly basis until your child turns 5. Sign up here.

Read Conmigo

Where: everywhere (online resources) California, Florida & Texas (mailed books)

For: birth to 5th graders

You can subscribe to receive free books available online, in print and on mobile devices for free here. The site also offers lots of free bilingual activities and resources for kids. If you live in California, Florida, or Texas, parents of preschoolers through fifth graders can subscribe here to receive a reading club book every one to four months.

Dolly Parton Imagination Library

Where: Check for availability in your area here (they serve participating communities in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia)

For: birth to age 5

Every month, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library mails one book to each registered child for free–so far the library has mailed over 100 million books to children across the world! The site does a great job of explaining how they pay for these books, the benefits of the program, and how they select age-appropriate books for each recipient. I’m not able to register, since the program is not available in my area, but I understand that some participating areas offer selections in other languages, including Spanish!

 

I wasn’t always a sap, but something about the quality children’s books I’ve been reading lately has made me quite weepy. (I’m looking at you, Un Sillon Para Mi Mama…the first few reads of which I couldn’t get through without choking up.)

After a long wait, we finally received “Lola” in the mail. For those of you who enjoy contemporary fiction, you may recognize Junot Diaz as the 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner for The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (or one of his other very well received works). Earlier this year he published Islandborn (“Lola” in Spanish), the story of the journey a little girl undergoes to discover that the island on which she was born–and which she no longer remembers–is a part of who she is. Although I think this story has the ability to touch you, regardless of where you are from, readers from the Dominican Republic may see a beautiful part of who they are reflected in the pages–including the darker parts of its history. N (now 5!) was surprisingly moved by the story, and I’m not ashamed to admit I teared up towards the end as she realizes how much the island is a part of her and how much she is a part of the island.

Are there any picture books that make you weepy?

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