Bebe Goes to the Beach

Explore this bilingual text prior to spending a day at the beach!

Elya, Susan Middleton.
Bebe Goes to the Beach.
May 2011.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

When Mama, donning "her gafas" decides to take Bebe, dressed to the nines in his "gorro with fuzzy jirafas," to the beach on a hot summer day, it's bound to be an adventure as this waddling, toddling proves to be quite the handful! As soon as her "silla" is parked, Bebe takes off to explore the "olas" and all that the beach has to offer. As the duo explore throughout the day, readers are introduced to many beach terms in Spanish, allowing ample opportunity to turn a beach adventure into a learning adventure as well!

The book is fun, well-written and will definitely engage children and encourage them to further explore the Spanish language. The book is also a perfect choice for a summer read, as children love all things beach during the summertime!

Learning/Reading Activity:

• Spend a day at the nearest beach with your child(ren). After enjoying a day in the sun, head home and have your child(ren) unwind by spending some time describing their day at the beach. Have your child(ren) use a pencil for this activity and after they are finished, break out a Spanish-English dictionary or use an online translator to translate some of their English nouns to Spanish to continue expanding your child's bilingual lexicon!
  

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If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

Where Is the Green Sheep?/Donde esta la oveja verde?

Teach young children basic Spanish with the help of Mem Fox!

Fox, Mem.
Where Is the Green Sheep?/Donde esta la oveja verde?
September 2010.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

Children will find great delight in reading, simply by "reading" the repetitious phrase, "But where is the green sheep?" Not only will children pick up on the concept of using the pictures for context clues, they will also learn colors and opposites, among other basic vocabulary in both English and Spanish - a great way to introduce children to the Spanish language! The book would also be a great tool to teach children about "camouflage," as the green sheep is ultimately found sleeping beside a green bush, cleverly disguised as camouflage works!

This is definitely a great book for preschool children - I shared this book (English big book version) with my Head Start classroom and the kids loved it and were so excited to be actively participating in the read aloud, as I prompted them each time to shout, "But where is the green sheep?"

Reading/Learning Activities:

• Use this 3-page Where Is the Green Sheep? Activity Guide to supplement the reading!
• Where Is the Green Sheep? Book Extension Activities
  

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

Great Bilingual Books

Expose your children to the Spanish language using bilingual picture books!

Walsh, Ellen Stoll.
Mouse Paint/Pintura de raton.
June 2010.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

Three adventurous white mouse take readers on a journey exploring the act of color mixing. As they dip into different color cups, readers will find great join and excitement in the new colors that are formed - orange, green, purple and even brown! The simple text introduces secondary colors through the mixing of the primary colors. This book is perfect for preschool children learning about colors. It also makes for a wonderful art activity!

• Get out those finger paints and a large piece of finger paint paper. Using the three primary colors: yellow, red and blue, allow children to explore by mixing colors of their own, after giving them a dollop of each on their plate. Challenge your child(ren) to try and find the combinations that make orange, green, purple and even brown!
  

Parks, Carmen.
Farmers Market/Dia de mercado.
July 2010.
Hougton Mifflin Harcourt.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

Parks and Farmers Market/Dia de mercado introduce young readers to the concept of a farmers market - from how it works to the items being sold. This book would make for a perfect introduction about fruits and vegetables, how they are grown and who the people are that grow them. You could easily expand upon this book in other ways, as well!

• Take a field trip to your local farmers market (or produce section at the grocery store). See what fruits and vegetables you can find. Try buying 3 different ones that haven't yet be tried by your family/class. Experiment trying out new fruits and vegetables!
  
• Set up a farmers market in your classroom using play fruits and vegetables. Tag each item with a price and have your child(ren) "buy" the items to practice counting with money!
  

Floyd, Lucy.
Rabbit and Turtle Go To School/Conejo y Tortuga van a la escuela.
July 2010.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

Similar in aspects to the Tortoise and the Hare, Rabbit and Turtle Go To School/Conego y Tortuga van a la escuela, explore how these two animals take different approaches in a race to school. While ultimately the animals travel in different methods than you might expect - and the race results are likely to be surprising - this is the perfect book to introduce children to the classic, The Tortoise and the Hare. Definitely a fun, simple story that children will likely enjoy!

• Use a Venn Diagram to draw up a list of similarities and differences between Rabbit and Turtle Go To School/Conejo y Tortuga van a la escuela and The Tortoise and the Hare. See if children can identify what is so ironic about Rabbit and Turtle Go To School/Conejo y Tortuga van a la escuela (Tortoise is the slower of the two animals, yet he wins the race to school)!

The bilingual aspect of these books will allow children to not only see and hear the Spanish language, it also allows them to make a connection between words. The books are perfect for any families you might come across that are bilingual - in my classroom I have an English speaking child with Spanish speaking parents - interesting to say the least! However, providing them with such reading materials exposes the children to their parents' native (first, and only) language and the parents' to the the children's (first, and only) language, allowing them both to learn from each other (and the illustrations of course, that are key for preschoolers to draw conclusions from print and illustration)!



If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

Pele: King of Soccer

An inspirational read for soccer fans!

Brown, Monica.
Pele: King of Soccer/El rey del futbol.
December 2008.
HarperCollins.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

Pele "O Rei" grew up in a very poor family in Brazil, the largest country in South America. The family's limited resources didn't deter Pele's father from involvement in his young son's life - every night, despite their weariness, Pele and his father played soccer in the streets. Upon finding his father upset one night that Brazil had lost yet another World Cup, Pele makes a promise that one day, he would personally win a World Cup for his father. Pele worked to overcome the hardships stacked against him and in Pele: King of Soccer/El rey del futbol, readers share his story as they watch Pele not only win a single World Cup game, but three! Along with his goals that helped to win the World Cup Titles, Pele also went to score an impressive 1,281 goals!

Soccer fans everywhere will delight in sharing the story of Pele's success. This is also the sort of book you might share with a certain youngster who seems to have the odds stacked against them, but is driven towards success in life! It might just be that little bit of inspiration that helps them overcome that one hump that could virtually "make or break" them! Definitely a wonderful story of inspiration and the payoffs of hard work!

Learning/Reading Activity:

• Take an afternoon and head outdoors with your child(ren) and break out the soccer ball. Check out this link for some helpful hints about teaching your child to play soccer!
  

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

Once Upon A Time: Traditional Latin American Tales

Bilingual book of Traditional Latin American Tales that teach a whole heap of lessons!

Martinez, Rueben.
Once Upon a Time/Habia una vez.
March 2010.
HarperCollins Publishers.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

Within the pages of Once Upon a Time/Habia una vez, a bilingual book, readers can delight in the telling of seven traditional Latin American (originating in Cuba, Colombia, the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, northern Argentina, Andalusia, and Spain, as well as other areas in Latin America) tales:

• The Wedding Rooster/El gallo de bodas
• The Tlacuache and the Coyote/El tlacuache y el coyote
• The Mother of the Jungle/La Madreselva
• Marina the Cockroach and Perez the Mouse/La cucarachita Martina y el raton Perez
• The Flower of Lirolay/La flor de lirolay
• The King and the Riddle/El rey y la adivinanza
• Pedro Urdemales and the Giant/Pedro Urdemales y el gigante

"The Wedding Rooster" answers the question of how the rooster would be able to attend his uncle's wedding. "The Tlacuache and the Coyote" tells the story of the coyote and his reasons for howling at a full moon. "The Mother of the Jungle" reminds us of the importance of taking care of Nature and learning to live in harmony with her (Martinez, 38). "Marina the Cockroach and Perez the Mouse" was probably my least favorite of the tales, as there wasn't a strong "story" that had a great deal of meaning (in my eyes, at least). "The Flower of Lirolay" proves worthy, leaving children with an important thought, have many (valuable) possessions doesn't make you an important person, as they say beauty is more than skin deep! "The King and the Riddle" insinuates the important role that riddles play in Latin American culture - and this tale is full of them! "Pedro Urdemales and the Giant" tells the story of a trickster, who does everything in his power to win a bet, even if he is cheating in the process. This would be an important tale to share with youngsters who are sneaky in the process of always trying to win.

This bilingual book is full of information relevant to Latin American culture. I don't typically see children picking this book up willingly, though, as it lacks illustrations that would likely engage them in the tales being told. If I were to use these tales with a group of preschoolers (or early elementary children), I'd likely need to create illustrations and/or felt board activities to coincide to keep their attention. However, that being said, the tales within are wonderful and there is much to be learned from each and every one of them!



If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!