EDU318: Literacy & Language Diversity: Bilingual Children's Books

When the metate, or grinding stone, that Cinnibah uses to grind corn into flour breaks, she sets out on a quest to mend the precious family heirloom.

Tony's saving all his money to buy something very special: a beautiful, dark leather saddle with nuggets of turquoise laced into the rawhide. If Tony can save enough money to purchase the saddle, he'll be able to stay home and help his father tend the flocks of sheep and goats. Just when Tony has almost enough money, everything begins going wrong.

As Johonaa'ei, the sun, slowly rises, his gentle light and warmth wake the inhabitants of the desert. Johonaa'ei reaches down into the home of the field mice, and lightly tickles the nose of mother mouse; then Johonaa'ei visits the burrow of mother and father rabbit to rouse the family of slumbering bunnies. Finally, Johonaa'ei knocks on the door of the hogan to wake the Navajo family within. Will there be a welcoming response?

When three little sheep set out to begin life on their own, they never dream that they will be followed by a hungry coyote. Fainthearted and just a little bit nervous, each brother heads in a different direction: one travels to the east and builds a grass hut, another travels to the north and builds a tee-pee, and the final brother travels to the south and builds a hogan.

"The artist gives readers of any age glimpses into the Inuit culture which formed his childhood & youth.... The result is a work of integrity, an authentic representation of a culture that now mostly exists in memory." -School Library Journal

A collection of traditional Latin American songs and rhymes, in Spanish and English, with the music included.

When artist Luz-Maria Lopez was growing up in Honduras, her grandmother would tell fantastical bedtime fables about their Mayan ancestors. This story focuses on the creation of the first humans and why it should be that no rich man will enter the gates of heaven unless he treats all who serve him-the finger people-with love and kindness. This fable for young readers is accompanied by colorful Mayan-style illustrations.

An Aztec myth recounting the creation and destruction of the world by the deities of the four great elements.

A book of poems about working in the fields and nature's bounty, one for each letter of the Spanish alphabet.

This lovingly gathered bilingual collection includes traditional favorite nursery rhymes, lullabies, and tongue-twisting verse from South America. Full color.

From one of the most prominent Chicano poets writing today, here are poems like sweet music-to make the body shake and move to the rhythm of rhyme, to the pulse of words. Juan Felipe Herrera writes in both Spanish and English about the joy and laughter and sometimes the confusion of growing up in an upside-down, jumbled-up world-between two cultures, two homes.

This collection of poems for children are written from the point of view of Jorgito, who lives in San Francisco's Mission District, but who has not forgotten his native El Salvador. His memories of the volcanoes, his grandmother's stories, and the cornmeal "pupusas" form a patchwork of dreams that becomes a movie in his pillow. Full-color illustrations.

Maya, who lives in the dusty desert, opens her eyes wide to find the colors in her world, from Papi's black hair and Mami's orange and purple flowers to Maya's red swing set and the fiery pink sunset.

Rebecca Emberly has fashioned an appealing, bilingual book about numbers. This brightly colored English/Spanish board book features the cut-paper technique for which she has been applauded. Full-color illustrations.
Note: UD owns 9 bilingual picture books by Rebecca Emberley.

Inspired by a patchwork quilt, Toña and her grandmother use vacant patches of land in their neighborhood to grow vegetables, then form The Patchwork Garden Club to encourage other children to follow their example.

Retold in both Spanish and English, the universally loved story will delight early readers and older learners alike. The striking illustrations give a new look to this classic tale and the bilingual text makes it perfect for both home and classroom libraries.

Cat lovers and francophiles rejoice-The Cat in the Hat in English and French is back in print! Perfect for teaching beginning readers simple, conversational French or English, the story is here on each page in the language the reader already knows, to guide him or her in the language they are learning. The repetition makes it ideal for learning new words, and the hilarious plot makes it easy to read again and again. Learning a new language has never been so much fun!

While she and her family are interned at Topaz Relocation Center during Worldar II, Mari gradually adjusts as she enrolls in an art class, makes a friend,lants sunflowers and waits for them to grow.

Chinese translation by Wang Xing Chu. A classic retelling of the Chinese maiden warrior legend. Bilingual in English and Chinese.