Pages

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Lee & Low Bilingual Book Set




Today's Back-to-School Fiesta giveaway is for those of you looking for bilingual picture books! Our friends at Lee & Low have so kindly put together this set for a MommyMaestra reader. They would be a great addition to lessons for children in PreK through third grade.

Here's a quick review of the titles:

(The following links are affiliate links. See my sidebar for an explanation.)

Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match / Marisol McDonald no combina

by Monica Brown

Marisol McDonald has flaming red hair and nut-brown skin. Polka dots and stripes are her favorite combination. She prefers peanut butter and jelly burritos in her lunch box. And don’t even think of asking her to choose one or the other activity at recess—she’ll just be a soccer playing pirate princess, thank you very much. To Marisol McDonald, these seemingly mismatched things make perfect sense together.

Unfortunately, they don’t always make sense to everyone else. Other people wrinkle their nose in confusion at Marisol—can’t she just be one or the other? Try as she might, in a world where everyone tries to put this biracial, Peruvian-Scottish-American girl into a box, Marisol McDonald doesn’t match. And that’s just fine with her.

A mestiza Peruvian American of European, Jewish, and Amerindian heritage, renowned author Monica Brown wrote this lively story to bring her own experience of being mismatched to life.

Family Poems for Every Day of the Week: Poemas Familiares Para Cada Dia de la Semana

by Francisco X. Alarcón 

This bilingual collection of poems takes us through the week, day by day. Children spend Sunday visiting their grandparents, play with school friends on Monday, daydream on Tuesday, eat popcorn at the local market on Wednesday, and more until we arrive at Saturday when they get to play nonstop all day. Along the way, we also learn how the names of the seven days came to be. Partly based on the real-life experiences of Alarcon's own family, this festive, celebratory collection of poems highlights the daily life of children while also honoring the experiences of the poet's Latino family in the United States. 

Rainbow Weaver/Tejedora del Arcoiris

by Linda Elovitz Marshall 

Ixchel wants to follow in the long tradition of weaving on backstrap looms, just as her mother, grandmother, and most Mayan women have done for more than two thousand years. But Ixchel's mother is too busy preparing her weavings for market. If they bring a good price, they will have money to pay for Ixchel s school and books. And besides, there is not enough extra thread for Ixchel to practice with.

Disappointed, Ixchel first tries weaving with blades of grass, and then with bits of wool, but no one would want to buy the results. As she walks around her village, Ixchel finds it littered with colorful plastic bags. There is nowhere to put all the bags, so they just keep accumulating.

Suddenly, Ixchel has an idea! She collects and washes the plastic bags. Then she cuts each bag into thin strips. Sitting at her loom, Ixchel weaves the plastic strips into a colorful fabric that looks like a beautiful rainbow just like the weavings of Mayan women before her.

Quinito, Day and Night / Quinito, Dìa Y Noche

by Ina Cumpiano 

From the author and illustrator of Quinito's Neighborhood comes this delightful story full of opposites.

From first thing in the morning until he goes to sleep at night, Quinito is up and running-fast or slow, depending on the day. If it's sunny, he's off to the park to swing high and low. If it's rainy, Quinito stays home, where he can be quiet at nap-time and loud at playtime. There's so much to do before the sun sets.

Ina Cumpiano teams up with José Ramírez once more to show young readers that everywhere they look, opposites abound. Quinito, Day and Night is a delight for all kinds of readers: young or old, tall or short, messy or neat.

Sharuko: El Arqueólogo Peruano Julio C. Tello / Peruvian Archaeologist Julio C. Tello

by Monica Brown

A fascinating bilingual picture book biography of Peruvian archaeologist and national icon Julio C. Tello, who unearthed Peru's ancient cultures and fostered pride in the country's Indigenous history.
Growing up in the late 1800s, Julio Tello, an Indigenous boy, spent time exploring the caves and burial grounds in the foothills of the Peruvian Andes. Nothing scared Julio, not even the ancient human skulls he found. His bravery earned him the boyhood nickname Sharuko, which means brave in Quechua, the language of the Native people of Peru.

At the age of twelve, Julio moved to Lima to continue his education. While in medical school, he discovered an article about the skulls he had found. The skulls had long ago been sent to Lima to be studied by scientists. The article renewed Julio's interest in his ancestry, and he decided to devote his medical skills to the study of Peru's Indigenous history.

Over his lifetime, Julio Tello made many revolutionary discoveries at archaeological sites around Peru, and he worked to preserve the historical treasures he excavated. He showed that Peru's Indigenous cultures had been established thousands of years ago, disproving the popular belief that Peruvian culture had been introduced more recently from other countries. He fostered pride in his country's Indigenous ancestry, making him a hero to all Peruvians. Because of the brave man once known as Sharuko, people around the world today know of Peru's long history and its living cultural legacy.

The Giveaway


To enter to win this awesome set of bilingual picture books, simply use the rafflecopter below. 

¡Buena suerte!