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Booklists—Expert Recommendations
Judy Freeman, Children's Book Expert, says that when selecting books for second-language learners, she looks for strong titles with staying power that teachers and parents will be eager to read aloud to their children, and that children will also love reading by themselves. Some are written in two languages; others incorporate words and phrases of another language into the English text.
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Abuela
by Arthur Dorros, illustrated by Elisa Kleven
Dutton, 1991
Prekindergarten—fourth grade
Rosa and her Spanish-speaking abuela (grandmother) fly high above New York City, past the Statue of Liberty, and see the sights below. Several dozen Spanish words and phrases are woven into the fanciful picture book story, and the vibrant collage of watercolors, pastels, and cut paper pulses with colors and tiny details of city life.
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Angels Ride Bikes and Other Fall Poems/Los Ángeles Andan en Bicicleta y Otros Poems de Otoño
by Francisco X. Alarcón,
illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez
Children's Book Press, 1999
Kindergarten—fifth grade
In 21 brief astute poems—written in both English and Spanish and illustrated with upbeat, vivid paintings—a young narrator observes his life in Los Angeles. With a keen eye, he describes his family, school, and neighborhood. Alarcón says, "These poems celebrate Los Angeles as a Promised Land where people from all over the world can make their dreams come true."
View the city at other times of the year in his Laughing Tomatoes and Other Spring Poems (1997) and From the Bellybutton of the Moon and Other Summer Poems (1998)
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The Bossy Gallito:
A Traditional Cuban Folktale
by Lucie M. Gonzalez, illustrated by Lulu Delacre
Scholastic, 1994
Kindergarten—second grade
On his way to the wedding of his uncle the parrot, a bossy little rooster dirties his beak and tries to make the grass, a goat, a stick, fire, water, and the sun do his bidding and clean him up. This funny sequence tale, lots of fun to act out, is written in both English and Spanish.
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Can You Count Ten Toes?:
Count to 10 in 10 Different Languages
by Lezlie Evans, illustrated by Denis Roche
Houghton Mifflin, 1999
Kindergarten—third grade
There are 10 objects one can count on each friendly page, in languages such as Chinese to Zulu, with phonetic spellings beside each word so children can sound it out easily. The map at the back will help children locate where in the world each language is spoken.
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Chato and the Party Animals
by Gary Soto, illustrated by Susan Guevara
Putnam, 2000
Prekindergarten—second grade
Cool cat Chato is shocked when his best barrio buddy, stray cat Novio Boy, confesses he has never had a birthday party and doesn't even know when he was born. "Pobrecito," Chato says, and plans a surprise bash, but "Que tonto!" (How dumb) he says, when the party is underway and he realizes he has neglected to invite the guest of honor. Spanish words and expressions are integrated into the hip, zesty sequel to Chato's Kitchen (1995).
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Cuckoo / Cucú
written and illustrated by Lois Ehlert
Harcourt, Brace, 1997
Prekindergarten—third grade
Beautiful, lazy Cuckoo irritates the other birds with her lovely but incessant singing until she saves them from a fire that scorches her feathers black and turns her voice hoarse. Illustrated with bold, colorful paper collages inspired by Mexican folk art, and told in English and Spanish, this Mayan Indian pourquoi (how and why) tale, explains why all cuckoos now have black feathers and plain voices.
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Eight Animals on the Town
by Susan Middleton Elya, illustrated by Lee Chapman
Putnam, 2000
Prekindergarten—second grade
After sitting down to a feast of the foods they bought at the market, the mouse, cat, dog, bird, frog, horse, cow, and pig set out for the baile (dance) where they dance all night. With Spanish words cleverly incorporated into the jaunty rhyming text and entrancing double-page-spread folk art-style illustrations, children will learn new Spanish animal names, numbers, and foods effortlessly. Put on a lively recording of music, and invite children to the baile or dance. One at a time, call out each animal, so children can dance the way each animal would.
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I Hate English
by Ellen Levine, illustrated by Steve Björkman
Scholastic, 1989
First—fourth grades
Now living in New York City where her family has moved from Hong Kong, Mei Mei resists speaking English until a new teacher shows her how she will benefit from her new language. Undidactic and believable, here is a story for not just the bilingual students who will identify with Mei Mei's anxiety, but also the English-speaking ones who have never had to know two languages at once.
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In My Family / En Mi Familia
written and illustrated by Carmen Lomas Garza
Children's Book Press, 1996
Third—eighth grades
Mexican-American painter Carmen Lomas Garza offers an engrossing new series of paintings with descriptions in English and Spanish of her family memories growing up in Kingsville, Texas, near the Mexican border, as a companion to her equally compelling Family Pictures / Cuadros de Familia (1990). Beautifully detailed scenes of making empanadas, her mother's unusual earache treatment, or a Saturday night dance at a local restaurant give readers an entrance into her close-knit extended family. Children can draw or paint scenes from their own family traditions and describe them in writing. -------------------------------------------------------
Marianthe's Story:
Painted Words, Spoken Memories
written and illustrated by Aliki
Greenwillow, 1998
First—third grades
When Marianthe emigrates with her family from her poor country to America, she learns to tell her story, first in pictures, and then in English, with the caring, patient support of her new teacher, Mr. Petrie. In the "Painted Words" half of the book, an overwhelmed Marianthe draws pictures about herself, the only way she can communicate with her English-speaking classmates. Turn the book over to read "Spoken Memories," where she has begun to acquire English and can use words to tell her peers more about the story of her life.
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Moon Rope: Un Lazo a la Luna
retold and illustrated by Lois Ehlert
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992
Prekindergarten—third grade
Fox convinces an unwilling Mole to climb to the moon on a woven-grass rope, but Mole bails out and hides underground to avoid the teasing of the other animals, while Fox stays up there. The spare text of this Peruvian folktale is in both English and Spanish, and the oversized, brightly colored and luminescent silver illustrations, inspired by Peruvian folk art, are sensational. Have your children look up at a full moon and see if they can see the face of the fox still there.
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Mouse Match: A Chinese Folktale
retold and illustrated by Ed Young
Harcourt, Brace, 1997
First—sixth grades
In a unique retelling of a Chinese variant of a well-known folktale, Papa and Mama mouse would like to find the greatest and most powerful one in the world as a suitor for their perfect daughter. They start with the sun, then ask the cloud, the wind, and the mountain before coming to realize that it is mice who are the most powerful of all. The story, formatted as an accordion book or codex that opens out into a spectacular 18-foot long mural of brown-toned collage, pastel, and watercolor, is written in large, striking Chinese calligraphy on the reverse side.
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My Very Own Room / MI Proprio Cuartito
by Amada Irma Pérez,
illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez
Children's Book Press, 2000
Kindergarten—fourth grades
Craving a space all her own after years of sharing a room with her five brothers, a 9-year-old Mexican-American girl decides she should take over the tiny storage area of the family's apartment for her new room. With the help of her understanding Mamá and her amiable brothers, she sets up the perfect spot. Written in English and Spanish, the upbeat and heartfelt story turns out to be based on the author's own family.
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The Rabbit's Escape
by Suzanne Crowder Han, illustrated by Yumi Heo
Henry Holt, 1995
First—fifth grades
Quick-thinking wily rabbit saves his own liver from being donated as a cure for the dying Dragon King of the East Sea in a humorous Korean trickster tale retold in both English and Korean. Pair this with The Rabbit's Judgment.
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The Rabbit's Judgment
retold by Suzanne Crowder Han, illustrated by Yumi Heo
Henry Holt, 1994
First—fifth grades
Even though the tiger promises to be forever grateful to the man who helps him out of the pit into which he has fallen, once he is free, he decides to eat him. A quick-thinking rabbit, encountering the scene, entreats the tiger to reenact the situation, and the unthinking tiger jumps back into the pit. Many cultures have their own versions of this witty Korean folktale, which is told here in both English and Korean.
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Say Hola to Spanish
by Susan Middleton Elya, illustrated by Loretta Lopez
Lee & Low Books, 1996
Kindergarten—fourth grade
"Spanish is fun, so give it a try. Hola is hello, adiós is good-bye." Children will effortlessly acquire a vocabulary of more than 70 Spanish words after reading this jazzy and entertaining picture book, a rhyming language lesson where each new word is defined in context. The bright, cheerful gouache and colored pencil illustrations are a great help for understanding each word in context, and the glossary at the back includes the pronunciation and English meaning of each Spanish word, from "accidente" to "un zapatero." Companion books include Say Hola to Spanish, Otra Vez (1999) and Say Hola to Spanish at the Circus (2000).
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Snapshots from the Wedding
by Gary Soto, illustrated by Stephanie Garcia
Putnam, 1997
First—fourth grades
Flower girl Maya narrates each "snapshot" scene of Rafael and Isabel's memorable Mexican-American wedding, taking us down the aisle and to the reception. Children will pore over the extraordinary 3-dimensional artwork, done in Sculpy clay, acrylics, wood, fabric, and found objects to figure out how they were put together.
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Too Many Tamales
by Gary Soto, illustrated by Ed Martinez
Putnam, 1993
Kindergarten—third grades
While helping to knead the masa for tamales for the family's Christmas dinner, Maria tries her mother's diamond ring. Later, in a moment of sheer panic, when she realizes the ring is no longer on her thumb, she enlists her eager cousins to eat all the tamales to find it. When no ring is found, she must go to her mother and confess what she has done.
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