Today, I'm kicking off my Summer Reads series, which features awesome new titles for your kids to read over the summer.
The first title is a new book by Mariana Llanos titled Luca's Bridge/El puente de Luca. (aff)
It is the story of Luca, a young boy forced to leave his native country - the United States, where he was born - because his parents are undocumented immigrants and have been told to voluntarily deport themselves. Luca struggles with the change because he has to leave his friends behind - his school behind - and travel to Mexico when he doesn't even speak Spanish.
But Luca finds solace in his trumpet. And finds a way to transport himself back using his musical talent.
In our current political climate, stories like this one are SO IMPORTANT. It is a story that needs to be written, read, and shared. So many children are often separated from their parents when the latter are deported from the U.S. Some, like Luca's family, choose to stay together even though it means uprooting their children from the only life they've ever known. And these books shine a spotlight on the desperate need for better immigration laws in our country.
Mariana is such a talented writer. (Several of her books have been featured here on MommyMaestra already, and she's even contributed a fantastic tutorial on how to create your own Peruvian retablo!) What I love about this book is that it comes with complete text in both English and Spanish, making it accessible to bilingual families and classrooms alike.
And oh the illustrations! Anna López Real is the artist and she does such a remarkable job. I love how she uses color sparingly to make the illustrations pop and to express the emotion of the storyline.
Best suited for children ages 4 to 9 years old.
Teachers, this is a wonderful book for summer camps, assigned for summer reading, or to be used next school year. It works well for studying and discussing themes of immigration, deportation, family separation, music, bridges (metaphorical), childhood, and more.
You can purchase your copy here on Amazon.