Eileen Hesseling writes:<\/p>\n
There are thousands of wonderful, excellent books in Spanish for children and that every year more and more treasures are published. The problem is not lack of good books, but rather how to learn about what is being published in other countries and where to find them here in the US. Yes, there are tedious, didactic books in Spanish, but tedious, didactic books are published in every language, even English! I don\u2019t know how buyers for Borders or Barnes & Noble, etc. learn about what is quality literature for children that is published worldwide, but after browsing through bookstores in Madrid, Buenos Aires, and Santiago de Chile, my hunch is that they just buy whatever the US publishers deliver to them. NOT quality books. As a result, the public here thinks that that is all there is. Meanwhile the production is as rich and as varied as any in the world.<\/p>\n
Below is a very short list of some of my favorite books followed by places to buy books and finally, sites that contain reviews of books.<\/p>\n
Ricardo Alc\u00e1ntara, <\/strong>Cuando todos dorm\u00edan; <\/strong><\/em><\/span>As\u00ed se hicieron amigos; <\/strong><\/em><\/span>Aventura en la playaj; <\/strong><\/em><\/span>Un viaje en tren<\/strong><\/em> <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n These four books, published by Everest, build a story based solely using nouns. Cuando todos dorm\u00edan starts out like this:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLa noche y la luna (picture of night on left, a moon on the page facing it) \u00c9ric Battut, <\/strong>El secreto K\u00f3kinos<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Translated from French, this is a story of a mouse who hides, or tries to hide, a delicious secret from his friends hedgehog, frog, rabbit, etc. Repetitive text invites participation in which the reader becomes an accomplice and knows something the mouse doesn\u2019t know. One or two sentences on the left hand page with minimal illustrations on a white background on the right. \u00a0The story begins like this:<\/p>\n \u201c\u00a1Oh!,\u00a1Qu\u00e9 hermosa manzana! Andr\u00e9s Guerrero S\u00e1nchez, \u00a0Cinco ovejitas<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Sometimes it\u2019s hard to get to sleep and for a little wolf, counting sheep doesn\u2019t always work, especially since he can only count to five… Small picture book. \u00a0The story begins like this:<\/p>\n \u201c\u2013\u00a1Mam\u00e1aa…! \u00a1No puedo dormir! \u2013se quejaba el lobo chico. El lobo chico se qued\u00f3 pensando… Y empez\u00f3 a contar… Una… Dos… Tres… Cuatro… Cinco…<\/p>\n Pero claro… no se durmi\u00f3. Cinco ovejas son muy pocas para dormirse.<\/p>\n Y empez\u00f3 de nuevo… Una… Dos… Tres… Cuatro… Cinco…\u201d<\/p>\n Isol Tener, <\/strong>Un patito es \u00fatil<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n A little boy tells how he found a little duck and uses it as a rocking chair, as a hat, as a pipe and a whistle, etc. At the end of the book, you turn the page and the little duck tells how he met a little boy who picked him up: the boy gives him back massages, the duck uses the boy as a look out tower, the boy gives him kisses…a telling contrast of point of view. An accordion book, published by FCE. \u00a0The story begins like this:<\/p>\n \u201cMe encontr\u00e9 un patito y lo agarr\u00e9.<\/p>\n Lo uso para mecerme.\u201d<\/p>\n Ernst Jandl Ant\u00edpodas, Al otro lado del mundo<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n The antipodes are the place on the opposite side of the Earth. The protagonist takes a trip to the other side of the world, but through rather than around it. The text of one or two short phrases on the left faces illustrations that complement the print. \u00a0Published by L\u00f3guez. \u00a0Translated from German.<\/p>\n The story begins like this:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cuna hoja de papel (next page) Jean Maubille, \u00a0Y el peque\u00f1ito dijo Oc\u00e9ano<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n A hippopotamus, an elephant and a rhinoceros share a double page with a little white bird who is feeling a bit squished among such big company. The bird demands that each one leave. At the end, the bird is feeling bored and lonely and asks where everyone has gone. The text is repetitive. The pages have a fold-out flap. \u00a0Translated from a French original, published by Traves\u00eda.\u00a0\u00a0The story begins like this:<\/p>\n \u201cEstaban cuatro en el libro, Christian Voltz <\/strong>\u00bfTodav\u00eda nada?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Early one morning Mr. Luis digs an enormous hole and plants a seed. In the hole he plants a seed. Then he fills the hole, tamps the soil down and waits… but does he wait long enough? The illustrations are collages. \u00a0Translated from the French and published by Kalandraka. \u00a0The story begins like this:<\/p>\n Una ma\u00f1ana, muy temprano, el se\u00f1or Luis cav\u00f3 un hoyo enorme en la tierra.<\/p>\n next page:<\/p>\n En este hoyo enorme, el se\u00f1or Luis dej\u00f3 caer una semillita llena de promesas (porque a las semillas les gusta abrigarse en la tierra).<\/p>\n \n <\/a><\/p>\n Happy reading!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Eileen Hesseling writes: There are thousands of wonderful, excellent books in Spanish for children and that every year more and more treasures are published. The problem is not lack of good books, but rather how to learn about what is … Continue reading
\nLa luna y la ventana (picture of the moon on left, a window on the page facing)
\nLa ventana y la habitaci\u00f3n (picture of the window on left, the room on the other)<\/p>\n
\n\u00c9ste ser\u00e1 m\u00ed secreto.
\nVoy a esconderla…\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u2013Cuenta ovejas, ver\u00e1s como te duermes \u2013contest\u00f3 mam\u00e1 loba.<\/p>\n
\n\u2013S\u00f3lo s\u00e9 contar hasta cinco \u2013dijo.<\/p>\n
\ny debajo una hoja de papel (next page)
\ny debajo una hoja de papel (next page)
\ny debajo una hoja de papel (next page)
\ny debajo una mesa…\u201d<\/p>\n
\ny el peque\u00f1ito dijo:
\n\u00a1Me est\u00e1n aplastando! \u00a1V\u00e1yanse de aqu\u00ed!\u201d<\/p>\nWhere to buy books in Spanish<\/h3>\n
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Reviews of books in Spanish for children and adolescents<\/h3>\n
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