Me han dicho un dicho...

The Latin Baby Book Club is celebrating El día de los niños, El día de los libros over at their blog.  Please stop by and see how proverbs or dichos are an important part of literacy as well as culture. In Small Phrases, Wordly Lessons I share my thoughts on sayings - and the lessons they teach.  I also suggest a few books classroom teachers can use to anchor lessons about idiomatic expressions and proverbs.

Looking at old pictures...

When I was a child, my father would scrimp and save all year long so that he could take our family to Bolivia for the summer. After several days of packing, more than six hours on a plane, and after suffering a few days of altitude sickness, my siblings and I were ready to enjoy several weeks with our grandparents, aunts, uncles, and many, many cousins.

Every day held a new adventure, a new food, a new game, a trip to the park, the movies, a picnic, a party. One very special memory of mine is captured in a photo of a wooded place, a campfire burning in the background, and several cousins and myself gathered around an uncle with a guitar. I remember the place was called "Mallasa", an hour or so drive from the city of La Paz. We would go there for Dia de campo (a day in the country). Our parents would load up an uncle's truck with baskets of meat, bread, corn, salad, fruit, and sodas, as well as a radio and a guitar. Another truck would carry all the kids in the back (ahhh, those were the days when folks weren't so afraid) and another vehicle would transport the rest of the adults.

It was a glorious time. I love to look at that picture, and all of the others we've saved from our summers in Bolivia. These pictures take me back to a childhood that was, for the most part, wonderful.

Photos are valuable treasures we can share with our children. They are also useful as prompts or inspiration in the classroom. A book that I love to share with my students is Family Pictures/Cuadros de familia, by Carmen Lomas Garza. Please read my review of this great selection over at the LBBC blog.

My Mother's Hair

When I was a little girl, I would sit on my mother's bed and watch her reflection in the mirror as she rolled her long, dark hair up in curlers. She would wrap her hair around pink tubes which she'd secure with long metal clips. Later, when her hair had set, she would unfasten the clips, letting the curls fall on her shoulders, springy and soft. Then, she would brush her hair out, and the resulting effect was... beautiful.

Hairs-Pelitos, a bilingual picture book by Sandra Cisneros, shares fond memories and descriptions about family members and their hair. Please visit Latin Baby Book Club for my review of this very special book.

Bilingual Book Review - Super Cilantro Girl

Stop on over to Latin Baby Book Club for my review of Super Cilantro Girl – La Superniña del cilantro. It's a story about the fears of 1st generation children and overcoming obstacles.

I use this book in my 4th grade bilingual classroom as a springboard for lessons about immigration, discussions about being separated from loved ones, and to inspire creative writing.

Latino Books Month

While perusing some of my favorite blogs, I learned that May is Latino Books Month. The AAP (Association of American Publishers) offers resources, like book lists and book club ideas, at their site.

I plan to do a "kickoff" for Latino Books Month with my students and colleagues tomorrow. I know that some of my coworkers will want to do something special to promote Latino authors for the rest of the month. I have an entire section of bilingual and Hispanic authored books in my classroom library which I'll invite folks to borrow from.

Our school library is quite lacking in this aspect. I'll have to nudge the librarian con cariño to purchase more books in Spanish, more bilingual, and more Latino authors for next year. When children see themselves in the books they read, they are more inclined to find joy in reading. The school where I teach is 90% Hispanic; our school library should reflect the children it serves.

I am currently reading Hungry Woman in Paris by Josefina Lopez. The cover attracted my attention, and the story, so far, is great. Next, I'll be reading B as in Beauty by Alberto Ferreras, which one of my favorite bloggers was kind enough to send to me. Thanks Literanista!

Bilingual Book Review - Oh No! Gotta Go!

Please stop over at Latin Baby Book Club, where I've shared my book review of Oh No, Gotta Go!, a bilingual story-in-verse of a little girl who realizes she needs a bathroom while riding in the car. Susan Middleton Elya weaves Spanish words and phrases into the verses in such a way that invites the reader, bilingual or not, to chime in. Go there to read about it!