Niko's PICKS: El juego de la lotería

El juego de la loteria/Playing Lotería, by René Colato Laínez, Illustrations by Jill Arena

This fun bilingual book tells the story of a young boy who is sent to spend some time with his Grandma in Mexico. The boy is worries because he doesn't speak Spanish well and his abuela doesn't speak English, but through the game of lotería, both learn from each other and about each other. The text is provided in English and Spanish and the illustrations are vibrant and colorful. Students will relate to the young boy's struggles with learning the language - especially in pronouncing the "r" sound! Overall, a lovely book that would make a good addition to a unit on Mexico, family relationships or games of Latin America.

Niko's PICKS: Gathering the Sun

Gathering the Sun: An Alphabet in Spanish and English, by Alma Flor Ada, English translation by Rosa Zubizarreta, and illustrations by Simón Silva

This is a delightful collection of short poems that "...celebrate honor and pride, family and friends, history and heritage, and... the bounty of the harvest." The beautiful illustrations depict the reality of farmworkers in fields and orchards throughout the country. The poems center around Checkpoint A/beginner themes, such as: árboles, duraznos, lechuga, and pájaro and zanahoria. They also include poems about cultural people and places like César Chávez, México and Yucatán. The simple text appears side-by-side in Spanish and English. Great for thematic units on Mexico, immigration, food, the farm, or professions and jobs.

Niko's PICKS: 31 usos para mamá

31 usos para mamá, by Harriet Ziefert, Illustrations by Rebecca Douoghty

This short picturebook is PERFECT for beginning, FLES and immersion classes. On each page we see a separate illustration and a numbered "use" for moms in a single word or phrase. For example, some of the cutest uses are: taxista (Mom driving with her child in the back seat), doctora (Mom putting a bandage on a crying child's knee), batidora (Mom mixing batter for chocolate chip cookies). There are also more complicated and compound terms like recogepelotas, abrelatas, and paseamascotas. Kids will love the illustrations and easily recognize the many jobs that moms do. An excellent book for a unit on family... have students add their own "uses" to the list!

Niko's PICKS: Riqui, Riqui, Riqui, Ran

Riqui, Riqui, Riqui, Ran: Canciones Para Jugar y Bailar (Collección Clave De Sol), by David Marquez

This wonderful collection of 32 popular songs from Venezuela and around the Spanish-speaking world is a great addition to any Spanish classroom. It comes with a CD for students to listen to and contains beautiful illustrations and lyrics. This is another book from the excellent Venezuelan publisher, Ediciones Ekare.

Niko's PICKS: Tortillitas para Mamá

Tortillitas para Mamá and Other Nursery Rhymes, by Margot C. Griego, Betsy L. Bucks, Sharon S. Gilbert, and Laurel H. Kimbal, Illustrations by Barbara Cooney

This great collection of nursery rhymes from Latin America in Spanish and English. The text is simple and it includes instructions for finger play and movements to go with some of the rhymes. As is often the case with oral tradition rhymes that have been around for a long time, some of the rhymes include lines that will seem inappropriate or outdated (i.e., "... if I get my dress dirty, Mother will beat me.") If using the book with middle or high school students, this would be a perfect opportunity to talk about the meaning of the rhymes in a social/generational context. When using the rhymes with elementary-aged students, it might be best to avoid the more controversial ones. Still, an excellent addition to your classroom library!

Niko's PICKS: Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico!

Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico! America's Sproutings, by Pat Mora, Illustrated by Rafael Lopez

This fun volume of poems in Spanish and English includes tributes to 14 different foods that are native to the Americas. Foods include: blueberries, chili, papaya, vanilla, pumpkin and prickly pear. There is also good information and facts about the background of each food. The lyrical language of the poems is simple enough to use with beginners and FLES/immersion students. This is a great resource for a thematic unit about food, the Americas and Columbus, or poetry. The beautiful illustrations can also be used for pair work descriptions. Have students write their own tributes to their favorite foods! Niko dice: "Me encanta este libro!

Niko's PICKS: Yo sé que el río me ama

Yo sé que el río me ama/I Know the River Loves Me, by Maya Christina Gonzalez

This beautifully illustrated book is great to use for a thematic unit on water rights, the environment, or nature. It would be a great to accompany La mujer que brillaba más que el sol (which we reviewed here). The text is presented in English and Spanish. The language is simple and can be used with beginners and FLES students (though some more poetic or expressive words might need to be pre-taught). This is another book from Children's Book Press - check them out. They are a non-profit business that consistently publishes interesting books with diverse characters, and environmental and social themes.

Lori's PICKS: Dreaming in Hindi

Dreaming in Hindi: Coming Awake in Another Language, by Katherine Russell Rich
Today I will make a recommendation for adults/teachers! The author of this book started studying Hindi in New York and then decided to move to Udaipur, India for one year to study the language intensively. The book is part travel memoir, part synthesis of second language aquisition research! As the author goes through many different phases in aquiring greater and greater proficiency in her new language, she wrestles with what is happening to her - the silent period, the peaks and valleys of vocabulary acquisition, cultural learning, and the ups and downs of her emotions as well. What a wonderful book for anyone interesting in teaching or learning languages!

Niko's PICKS: Dos libros sobre Martin Luther King, Jr.

Un Libro Ilustrado Sobre Martin Luther King, Hijo, by David A. Alder, illustrations by Robert Casilla

Feliz Cumpleanos, Martin Luther King by Jean Marzollo, illustrations by J. Brian Pinkney

Both books about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. are aimed at students grades 1-3 (native speakers of Spanish), though they would work well with beginning or intermediate students of Spanish as a second language. I love the illustrations by Brian Pinkney in the Feliz Cumpleanos book, though both sets of illustrations are nice and offer many different scenes that students could use to describe in pairs or in small groups. An excellent set of books for teaching about this important man!

Niko's PICKS: El mundo de los deportes

"El mundo de los deportes" SERIES: Deportes de invierno, Deportes de verano, by Isidro Sánchez and Carme Peris

These two fun books are perfect for elementary and level 1 Spanish (Deportes de Primavera and Deportes de Otoño don't seem to exist - anyone know why?) The illustrations are fun and very kid-friendly, and can be used as the basis for description activities and a seasons unit. Most of the text is simple, though some vocabulary might need tweaking and/or pre-teaching for beginning proficiency students. For example: "Siguiendo las instrucciones de monitor, no es difícil aprender a coger los bastones y a situar bien los esquíes." A lovely series published by Barron's.