Bilingual Books for Día del Niño

PPL Dia del Nino 2015

Every year Día del Niño (Children’s Day) is celebrated in Mexico on April 30 and for the past 4 years we’ve celebrated this special day with a festival at La Pintoresca Branch Library. Don’t miss this year’s Día del Niño celebration tomorrow, Wednesday, April 26 at 3:30 p.m. We’ll have games, music, snacks and a piñata for children of all ages to enjoy. You can also celebrate Día del Niño by checking out some of the great Spanish and bilingual children’s books that all Pasadena Public Libraries have. Below is a list of some great Spanish/English bilingual books for you to share with your child for this Día del Niño.

Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match book coverMarisol McDonald doesn’t match = Marisol McDonald no combina by Monica Brown

Marisol McDonald has flaming red hair and nut-brown skin. Polka dots and stripes are her favorite combination. She prefers peanut butter and jelly burritos in her lunch box. And don’t even think of asking her to choose one or the other activity at recess, she’ll just be a soccer playing pirate princess, thank you very much. To Marisol McDonald, these seemingly mismatched things make perfect sense together.

Unfortunately, they don’t always make sense to everyone else. Other people wrinkle their nose in confusion at Marisol, can’t she just be one or the other? Try as she might, in a world where everyone tries to put this biracial, Peruvian-Scottish-American girl into a box, Marisol McDonald doesn’t match. And that’s just fine with her.

My Name Is Celia book coverMy Name Is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz = Me Llamo Celia: La Vida de Celia Cruz by Monica Brown

This bilingual book allows young readers to enter Celia Cruz’s life as she becomes a well-known singer in her homeland of Cuba, then moves to New York City and Miami where she and others create a new type of music called salsa.

Sol a Sol book coverSol a Sol: Bilingual Poems written and selected by Lori Marie Carlson

Sol a Sol is a sweet, lyrical collection of bilingual poems that begins with the sunrise and ends with the sun setting and the starlit sky. There are poems about a girl who wears lizards for earrings and enjoys a day with her sassy grandparents, poems about her lively friends, her purring cat, and her parents whose “hips kiss” as they dance across the living room floor.

Here is a collection of poems in English and Spanish that reads like a single story about one wonderful family.

Hot, Hotter, Hottest book coverCaliente, Más Caliente, Muy Caliente: Animales que se Adaptan a Climas Calientes = Hot, Hotter, Hottest: Animals that Adapt to Great Heat by Michael Dahl

Describes some animals that live survive in extreme heat, who lounge in the shade or burrow in the sand. Some of the animals shown include the red-spotted toad, the burrowing owl, the antelope jackrabbit, and the Pompeii worm.

Maria Had a Little Llama book coverMaria Had a Little Llama = María Tenía una Llamita by Angela Dominguez

Everyone knows about Mary and her little lamb. But do you know Maria?

With gorgeous, Peruvian-inspired illustrations and English and Spanish retellings, Angela Dominguez gives a fresh new twist to the classic rhyme. Maria and her mischievous little llama will steal your heart.

In my Family book coverIn my Family = En mi Familia by Carmen Lomas Garza

In My Family/En mi familia is Carmen Lomas Garza’s tribute to the family and community that shaped her childhood and her life. Lomas Garza’s vibrant paintings and warm personal stories depict memories of growing up in the traditional Mexican-American community of her hometown of Kingsville, Texas.

Book Fiesta! book coverBook Fiesta! Celebrate Children’s Day/Book Day = Celebremos El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros by Pat Mora

Take a ride in a long submarine or fly away in a hot air balloon. Whatever you do, just be sure to bring your favorite book! Rafael López’s colorful illustrations perfectly complement Pat Mora’s lilting text in this delightful celebration of El día de los niños/El día de los libros; Children’s Day/Book Day.