...what Betty read, heard, recommends or just wants to say.
We just bought Krong
There’s a little mystery in the short plot and the gift given at the end of the story helps our little protagonist crack the “code”. Diego read the book before me but insisted I read it aloud to him. This one will be in and out of our bookshelf for a long time to come. Perfect for all ages.
Do you know of other picture books that introduce kids to different languages? Please share!
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You know how much I miss being in the classroom, so whenever I have an opportunity to go into Diego’s kindergarten (and there are many opportunities), I get VERY excited. Today I’m Thursday Reader and agreed with Diego to read City Dog, Country Frog
Opposites clearly attract in this gorgeous book written by Mo Willems and I don’t know a better story about friendship, loss, and faith in happiness once again. The anticipation of each changing season is also a central theme in the picture book and in my opinion, images that can be viewed over and over again as if for the first time.
Hands down one of my favorites of all picture books. As the children are ready to start a Mo Willems unit in class, the teachers were all for Diego and I to share this soon to be classic as an introduction of this great author and his work.
Do you have a favorite Mo Willems book? I love that Knuffle Bunny is available in Spanish: El Conejito Knuffle: Un Cuento Aleccionador (Knuffle Bunny Series) (Spanish Edition)
I have been waiting for this announcement! Two of the most prestigious children’s literature awards were announced on Monday by the American Library Association. How exciting!
It’s almost time! I LOVE Valentine’s Day and it’s almost here! We just received these books I ordered on amazon! I think that for my boys, as long as they enjoy reading, they definitely won’t mind these funny and tender books about el dia del amor y la amistad!
My 5 picks:
Splat the Cat: Funny Valentine
Duck & Goose, Goose Needs a Hug
Where Is Baby’s Valentine?: A Lift-the-Flap Book
What’s your little one’s favorite love story or book? Please add to this list in the comments below!
Oooh and come back to enter my Valentine’s Day Giveaway for you and a little love!! Coming soon!
Have a great weekend!
Okay, so I didn’t actually pick up the newspaper this weekend, but isn’t this image pretty?
Hi! How was your weekend? It was relaxing for us! I should be taking down the Christmas decorations but instead I found and read/viewed all of this:
Diego, Santi and I read and re-read two new bilingual picture books: Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match / Marisol McDonald no combina
To help you with your 2013 workouts: a list of music!
Found two book reviews that left me intrigued. Put them on your nightstand: The Feminist and the Cowboy: An Unlikely Love Story
Great idea for a special birthday!
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I made two trips to the library this week. I took Santi on a one-on-one little book date and literally scanned the picture book shelves for Latino-sounding last names…Morales, yes! Pull that book off that shelf! I do this a lot. I do racial profiling with books!! jajaja!
My second trip to the library was on Thursday. I was the Thursday Reader guest in Diego’s kindergarten (an awesome way to get parents in the classroom) and because I have a pretty full plate around here, I was not prepared. I asked Diego a few days before what he would like for me to read to the class. He said he wanted me to read How the Grinch Stole Christmas
An old friend was really looking forward to her preschooler dressing up for Halloween as a…get ready for this… a Mermaid Unicorn Bat Princess! How awesome is that? I can see Coya and Nina now, a few days before Halloween, stitching together an amazing costume that only their little girl would wear on the big day. Last year, this cutie was a unicorn but I think the costume was only a Mermaid Unicorn Princess if I’m not mistaken. This year she was going to be a bit more big and bad (er…small and bad but SCARY nonetheless) with her added black wings and fangs! I can picture the sparkly tail, and the tiara placed carefully on top of her horn. So creative! So unique! Only a four-year-old can come up with ideas for an awesome Mermaid Unicorn Bat Princess costume. That is, until another four-year-old declares that the idea is pretty lame. So weird. Why would you be different? Everyone is going to be x this year! Didn’t you read the feeds? So cutie changes her mind.
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I went to Diego’s kindergarten classroom last week to present for Hispanic Heritage month (September 15-October 15). Diego was really excited to share these books with his friends. First. we looked at the classroom globe to point out Mexico and we talked about Diego’s grandparents. We then had the class point out other Spanish speaking countries. These kids are sharp! Diego even explained his version on how a lot of countries became independent from Spain. The way the Spaniards traveled back and forth by boat had the class captivated 
.
We brought our discussion back to Mexico and introduced the very famous artist, Frida Kahlo. We have this beautiful picture book, Frida (English Language Edition)
Here are some of our favorite spreads…
We discussed how painting can help us express our emotions.
Diego loves this illustration of “Frida painting a picture of her painting a picture of her painting a picture”. Don’t you love his interpretation?
I looked at my copy of The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait
When we were done, we served quesadillas made with real Chihuahua cheese! My mom brought it from Chicago!!
I asked the teachers for photographs of our presentation but they never got back to me. 
I understand they are VERY busy and I wanted to post this to share with you. If I receive one later, I’ll make sure to put it up here.
Is your school doing special projects to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month? I get to go back for Cinco de Mayo and need more ideas (although the class was intrigued by this Diego who shares a name with our Diego)!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Your friend,
Betty
Many of you already have the kids back at school or are preparing them to go back any day now. I know a few of you are teachers and are setting up your classrooms for the new school year. How exciting! As I mentioned to you before in my “Back-to-School Tips for You” post, a lot of bookstores and libraries have the back-to-school displays out and ready. I am preparing Diego for Kindergarten so on Friday we took a trip to Barnes and Noble and had an abundance of books to choose from to help ease those first day jitters.
Of all the books to choose from, we came across How Rocket Learned to Read
What a great book for a reluctant kindergartner! I think that it would be great for older kids too so they can remember how amazing it feels when something new is learned. Check it out! I promise you and your little readers will love it!
Do you have any back-to-school favorites? Maybe we saw it at our bookstore? Would love to hear…and read!
Your friend,
Betty
The Olympics start this Friday! Are you looking forward to watching the best athletes compete for the gold? We are! Diego is super excited to watch the swimming competitions and he has been reading Olympig! by Victoria Jamieson.
This little piggy has big dreams of Olympic glory…
…but he quickly finds out that it isn’t as easy as it seems.
Beautiful art work and a great story of motivation and determination, this book is great for all kids who play sports and those looking forward to watching the Olympics this summer.
Will you be watching the Games? What are your favorite events?
Your friend,
Betty
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