CELEBRATING CHILDREN PICTURE BOOKS

 
 
The Latina Book Club was part of the MultiCultural Children's Book Day yesterday.  It was a tremendous honor and we want to continue the celebration of children's books and diversity this week.  So today, we'd like to celebrate Latino Children Picture Books.   Below are some fun ones.---mcf

LAST STOP MARKET STREET
by Matt de la Peña

Every Sunday after church, CJ and his grandma ride the bus across town. But today, CJ wonders why they don't own a car like his friend Colby. Why doesn’t he have an iPod like the boys on the bus? How come they always have to get off in the dirty part of town? Each question is met with an encouraging answer from grandma, who helps him see the beauty—and fun—in their routine and the world around them.

LALO LOVES TO HELP
by Cecilia Velastegui

Lalo, a yellow-naped Amazonian parrot speaks many languages and loves to sing opera. He lives a happy live according to the Amazonian oath of friendship. Lalo is always ready to help everyone and everything living in the Ecuadorian rainforest––like Yoli, the feisty anaconda snake; Pedro, the grumpy white-bellied spider monkey; and the spirited blue-fronted parrot twins.  On the day they all plan to perform an opera, Lalo is summoned downriver to translate the words of an elderly lady. Could this be the forgotten language of the Teteté people?  Will Lalo and his friends rise to the occasion––or will the ancient songs of the Ecuadorian Amazon be lost forever?

 

 

 

 

 

 

NANA IN THE CITY

by Lauren Castillo

In this magical picture book, a young boy spends an overnight visit with his nana and is frightened to find that the city where she lives is filled with noise and crowds and scary things. But then Nana makes him a special cape to help him be brave, and soon the everyday sights, sounds, and smells of the city are not scary—but wonderful. The succinct text is paired with watercolor illustrations that capture all the vitality, energy, and beauty of the city.

 

 

 

 

 

SOFIA MARTINEZ: MY FAMILY ADVENTURE  (debuting February)

by Jacqueline Jules

 

This is a new humorous series about a precocious 7-year old -- Sofia -- with a tight-knit Hispanic family complete with sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles and grandmother. Books in the series include, THE MISSING MOUSE, PICTURE PERFECT and ABUELA'S BIRTHDAY.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DRUM DREAM GIRL  (debuting March)

by Margarita Engle

Girls cannot be drummers. Long ago on an island filled with music, no one questioned that rule—until the drum dream girl. In her city of drumbeats, she dreamed of pounding tall congas and tapping small bongós. She had to keep quiet. She had to practice in secret. But when at last her dream-bright music was heard, everyone sang and danced and decided that both girls and boys should be free to drum and dream.
        This book was inspired by the childhood of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban girl who broke Cuba's traditional taboo against female drummers.###