Teachers who work with English as a Second Language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12 students learn to read.
Holiday Booklist
Colorín Colorado presents some bilingual holiday books to share with your family, including classic children's stories and depictions of Hispanic families' celebrations of Christmas and Las Posadas. Whether you give these as holiday gifts or find them at your local library, they will delight everyone in your family!
A Piñata in a Pine Tree
In this festive holiday book, Pat Mora blends tradition by setting her own Spanish lyrics to the popular Christmas carol, "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Each verse describes a Latino custom, often related to the celebration of Three Kings Day: "On the second day of Christmas my amiga gave to me / dos pastelitos / and a piñata in a pine tree." Vibrant acrylic illustrations of guitarritas, luminarias, and piñatas dance with joy on the colorful pages.
Hanukkah: A Counting Book in English, Hebrew, and Yiddish
The Festival of Lights, or Hanukkah, celebrates the rededication of the Jewish temple after a group of ancient heroes defended their right to worship as they wished. This handsome little counting book honors the most joyful of Jewish holidays, and teaches readers how to count from one to eight in English, Hebrew, and Yiddish.
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
The classic tale of the Grinch is now more than 50 years old. But that's just why it's a classic: Seuss' grumpy stealer of Christmas is as fresh today as it was when first published in the mid 20th century.
Las Posadas: An Hispanic Christmas Celebration
Estos reportajes fotográficos ilustran las preparaciones de la celebración de Las Posadas, que tienen lugar en una comunidad hispánica de Nueva México, e incluyen la comida, arte popular y música asociados con la festividad. Texto en inglés. Incluye la receta en español para los bizcochitos.
N Is for Navidad / La N es de Navidad
Participa de una alegre celebración latina de la Navidad de la A a la Z (ángel a zapatos), disfrutando las imágenes y símbolos de las fiestas. El libro contiene un poema bilingüe en inglés y en español. Este energético libro se completa con otras explicaciones y palabras navideñas en español, y con coloridas y animadas ilustraciones.
The Christmas Gift/El regalo de Navidad
This bilingual picture book tells a story from Jimenez's award-winning autobiographical collection, The Circuit: Sto ries from the Life of a Migrant Child (1997). Panchito dreams of getting a red ball for Christmas; but there's no work and no money for presents, and the family must move again. The child's focus is on his own disappointing gift, and, like him, the young picture-book audience may miss the subtlety of the Christmas metaphor about the couple finding no room at the inn. However, Cotts' stylized acrylic paintings, rich in color, express the tenderness of the narrative and the facts of the poverty. The story's power is in the simple words that directly tell of having to leave home. As the family drives away in search of work, Panchito waves to his friends on the school playground, "but they [do] not see him."
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved.
The Gifts of Kwanzaa
"Habari gani? What news?" Synthia Saint James presents the language and origins of Kwanzaa with enticing writing and bold pictures that honor the people and colors of Africa.
The Legend of the Poinsettia/La Leyenda de la Flor Nochebuena
En su relato de este querido cuento popular mexicano, Tomie dePaola presenta la historia del milagro de Navidad que trae las ardientes flores de Nochebuena que hoy todavía disfrutamos cada diciembre. Las bellas ilustraciones cautivarán a los lectores.
The Polar Express
A magical train ride on Christmas Eve takes a boy to the North Pole to receive a special gift from Santa Claus. This holiday classic earned a Caldecott Medal.
The Storyteller's Candle / La velita de los cuentos
This is the story of librarian Pura Belpré, told through the eyes of two young children who are introduced to the library and its treasures just before Christmas. Lulu Delacre's lovely illustrations evoke New York City at the time of the Great Depression, as well as the close-knit and vibrant Puerto Rican community that was thriving in El Barrio during this time. Bilingual Spanish-English text.
The Tomten
From Swedish folklore comes the story of the tomten, a little gnome who watches over us while we sleep. Read this heartwarming version, from the author of Pippi Longstocking, and celebrate a time-honored tradition for the Winter Solstice.
