Latin Baby Book Club

This group has some great selections.  What I like best about them is that they find books that are bilingual -- in English and Spanish.

And in this day and age, all children should be bilingual, and I'm not talking about just the Hispanic children, but children worldwide.  Now, whether they are bilingual in English, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, Tagalo, etc, is up to the parents. 

Here are Latin Baby Book Club's latest selections.  Enjoy them by yourself and with your children. --Maria

Winner of the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award, an award presented to honor authors and illustrators who create literature that depicts the Mexican American experience, this book tells the story of the many uses one little girl finds for her "paleta" (aka lollipop).

In this story of an arduous journey, Mario and his father leave their home and friends in El Salvador for a reunion in the United States with Mamá. Follow these little shoes on their journey.

When the author was young it was El Raton Perez who visited him and took his tooth.  Here he tells the story of what happened when El Raton Perez met the Tooth Fairy.

Enjoy.  Disfruten.

BALLET FOLKLORICO DE MEXICO DE ARIANNA HERNANDEZ

Inspired by Reyna Grande's book, DANCING WITH BUTTERFLIES -- about four women in a Mexican folkloric dance troupe --, some of the members of New York's Latina bookclub went to see the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico de Arianna Hernandez on February 24, 2010.

It was wonderful!   In the audience were dignataries and politicians -- Mexican and American.  There were also lots of families with children.  I felt like a kid myself.  In Reyna's book, she talks about a dress with 10-yards of fabric.  I saw that.  She talks about the dancing couple forming a bow with their steps, I saw that.

It was the book, the dances come to life.  It was a great blend of both the literary and the real worlds.  So for anyone who has read or is reading Reyna's book, do try to see a Ballet Folklorico live.  You will be entranced. 

Here are some pictures from the Ballet Folklorico.  Enjoy---maria