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Each year, I try to do something new for Hispanic Heritage Month at the library.

This year, I fell in love with Susan Middleton Elya's, Little Roja Riding Hood (Putnam, 2014), so I based a program around that title.  We had a fun time retelling the classic story as we knew it, recreating it with felt board pieces,  reading Susan Middleton Elya's version, using the globe to find Spanish-speaking countries, playing a game of Color, Colorcito, and finally some free play with the felt board pieces and a rojo coloring page.

Below is a slide show with reviews of other bilingual favorites that I've used for storytime.  I also have a list of fun preschool songs, music, and activities for Hispanic Heritage Month.  Feel free to ask me about them.  If you have trouble seeing the slideshow, you can access it on Riffle. [https://read.rifflebooks.com/list/181065]
 

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Powers, J.L. 2014. Colors of the Wind: The Story of Blind Artist and Champion Runner George Mendoza. Cynthiana, KY: Purple House Press.

As a child, George Mendoza began seeing brilliantly-colored lights, shapes and squiggles, eventually losing most of his sight except his peripheral vision and the ever-present colors.  Unable to play basketball or other do other things he wanted, George took up running. He excelled in the sport and competed twice in the Olympics for the Disabled.  In the back of his mind, however, he'd kept a long-ago word advice from his youth.

One day, a flyer arrived in the mail,
advertising a contest for blind artists.
George remembered the priest, who told him,
"You should paint what you see."

George started to paint,
just like the priest told him to do.

And so began the painting career of George Mendoza.

The text appears in a plain, small font on white pages, accompanied by simple blank ink drawings, often highlighted with colors from Mendoza's paintings.  Each facing page contains a full-bleed image of one of Mendoza's paintings.

Biographical information, photos of Mr. Mendoza, and painting titles are included in the book's back matter.


The joyful, riotous colors of Mendoza's paintings will certainly appeal to children, as will his story of perseverance and purpose.  Enjoy!

You can see photos from Mendoza's "Colors of the Wind" exhibit at the Ellen Noel Art Museum here.  The exhibit is listed with the Smithsonian Affiliate Exhibition Exchange.


My copy of the book was provided by the author.

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The #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign points out many reasons why it's important to have diversity in books. One of the reasons is that people like/want/need to see themselves reflected in the books that they read. Another is that people like/want/need to see the world through the eyes of people other than themselves. Whatever your reason for seeking diversity in books, I hope you find it in Lowriders in Space.

Camper, Cathy. 2014. Lowriders in Space. New York: Chronicle.
Illustrated by Raul the Third.
(Advance Reader Copy)

Quirky and unique, Lowriders in Space is a graphic, sci-fi novel that extols the virtues of working hard, working together for a common goal, and striving for success despite the odds of achieving it. It's also funny and stylish, and peppered with Mexican-American slang as it shines a rare spotlight on "lowrider" culture.

The cast of characters includes an impala, an octopus, and a mosquito:

• "Lupe Impala was the finest mechanic south of Vacaville.  She could rescue a dropped gasket, notch a belt, or electrocharge a sparkplug, swish a swashplate or wrangle a manifold with a twist of her wrench a flick of her wrist."
• El Chavo "Flapjack Octopus wielded the wettest washcloth North of the Salton Sea. When he polished a car, he spun over the paint job like an eight-pointed ninja star flying through the night."
• "Elirio was the best detail artist around. People were a little afraid of Elirio Malaria."

They're best friends. They work together. They can count on each other.  But can they build a lowrider to win the Universal Car Competition?  They can when they accidentally use rocket parts and get a truly cosmic makeover!

Besides its truly unique and fun characters, I like that Lowriders in Space features adults. The general rule is that books for kids will be about kids. That's fine as a general rule, but a quality children's book about adults is a breath of fresh air.  When I was a very young kid, my favorite things to read were Archie and Veronica comic books and Nancy Drew mysteries.  They had cars and boyfriends and nary a parent in sight (unless you count Nancy's father, who was more like an early version of an ATM than a parent).

Humor?  Lowriders has that, too. My favorite panels?

El Chavo (the octopus) sitting in his new bucket seat (a bucket!). "¡Que suave!"
Elario rescuing the group from a black hole with ... Wite Out!

What else do I like about Lowriders in Space?  The subtitle is "Book 1." I sure had fun reviewing this one. I look forward to seeing more of this unconventional trio.

Back matter includes a dictionary of the Mexican-American slang and scientific terms used throughout the book (it is a sci-fi novel, after all).

Note: 
My advance copy was in black and white, with only a small sampling in color. See full color pages on the book's FB page. [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Low-Riders-in-Space/487615068027769?sk=photos_stream] 

Though I'm a Jersey Girl now, I lived for many years in Southern California. If you've never been stopped at a red light next to one of these bouncing babies, you're really missing something!  Want to see some lowrider action?  Check out this YouTube video, "60 Seconds of Low Riders."

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Illustrator Juana Martinez-Neal is calling upon Hispanic/Latino picture book artists whose main focus of work is multicultural children’s illustration. Juana has been searching online for an existing group of Hispanic/Latino children’s illustrators to network with and has come up empty handed. So she decided to form a group herself. Juana has two objectives in mind, one is to create a critique group that understands the Hispanic culture and the other is to network with like-minded Hispanics and Latinos in the industry. Any artists interested in joining will find more information about the group here...

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Once again my bags of books are overflowing! Here are a few new titles worthy of mention:

Jacobs, Paul DuBois and Jennifer Swender. 2010. Fire Drill. Ill. by JuyVoun Lee. New York: Holt.

A picture perfect, non-threatening, multicultural, rhyming book about fire drills.  What more can one ask for? A must-have for every Kindergarten teacher.

Elya, Susan Middleton. No More, Por Favor. 2010. Ill. by David Walker. New York: Putnam.

Deep in the rain forest - selva, so green,

lives Papagayo, an eating machine.
"Here, Bebe Parrot, papaya is yummy."
"No!" says the baby. "No more in my tummy!
Papaya for breakfast, for lunch and la cena.
Too many times in a row no es buena!"

Simple ink sketches, highlighted with minimal coloration tell the simple story of Henry, who, "more than anything else in the whole wide world," wanted a dog.  It is also the story of a duck, to whom

Nobody ever wrote. Nobody ever called. Nobody ever e-mailed,

that is, until he created "The Perfect Disguise."  Funny, touching, and hilariously illustrated!
                            

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Winter, Jeanette. 2010. Biblioburro: A true story from Columbia. New York: Beach Lane.

Biblioburro is a true story, simply told, about Luis and his two burros, Alfa and Beto.  Together they carry books to children in remote Columbian villages, undeterred by burning sun, long distances, or even a bandit seeking silver! (Luis gives him a book.)

Every week, Luis and Alfa and Beto set off across the countryside to faraway villages in the lonely hills.  This week they travel to El Tormento. ... The Biblioburro continues on its way over the hills, until at last, Luis sees houses below.  The children of El Tormento run to meet him.

The illustrations are reminiscent of the colorful traditional clothing or the small, hand-sewn trinkets that are sold as souvenirs in many South American Countries.   The book states that the "illustrations are rendered in acrylic paint with pen and ink," however, it appears that Winter has used fabric or felt and markers as well, to evoke a vibrant, rural feel.

Biblioburro is a joyful celebration of books and one man's determination to make a difference in the lives of children, and thus "a small corner of the world is enriched."  Highly recommended for ages 4 and up.

Please take the time to watch this video of Luis Soriano.  It's truly inspirational.



It's Nonfiction Monday again! Check out all of today's contributions at In Need of Chocolate. I'll be hosting next week!

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Johnston, Tony. 2009. My Abuelita. Illustrated by Yuyi Morales. Boston: Harcourt.
(winner of a 2010 Pura Belpre Illustrator Honor)

A riot of brightly colored collage and puppet art infused with a Latino flair, accompanies this delightful story of a young child watching his Abuelita prepare for work.

While she cooks, she yodels about bedroom slippers. "Pantuflas - pantuflas - pantuflas!" "Yodeling loosens my voice," she explains, "for work." I know that already. My abuelita says it every day. But I like to hear it anyway.

So, what does Abuelita do for work that requires yodeling, a feathered crown, a plumed snake, a cloud-scarf? You'll have to read this enchanting story to find out!

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