BILINGUAL BOOKS

I am a bilingual teacher.  I have been teaching for more than 9 years, not always teaching bilingual students, but that is my passion.

I am in the midst of planning our school’s Read Across America event, and I realized 1) that I haven’t posted recently, and 2) that I suddenly knew what I wanted to share.

I love bilingual books.  I have been inspired by authors who share their gifts by having them translated.  I believe that we can learn a lot about a people by their stories.  In many Latin cultures books are not the way stories are communicated.  It is much more an oral tradition of storytelling, rather than committing these stories to print.  So for my first author crush I need to share Joe Hayes, and my favorite book  so far “The day it snowed tortillas”.   It is a collection of short stories that are poignant and often, hilarious, as in the story of ” The cricket” in which a lazy, good-for-nothing convinces his best friend that he is a seer, and can find lost items. Hilarity ensues, as “the cricket” must get himself out of the mess he got himself into.

Another author of bilingual books that I adore is Alma Flor Ada.  I have a copy of the children’s poetry book “Pio, Peep! Traditional Spanish Nursery Rhymes”.  I believe that poetry and storytelling are windows to the Latino culture, indeed to any culture, and so I will share one of my favorite Alma Flor Ada poems to close.  It’s called, appropriately “Los libros son mis amigos”

Los libros son  mis amigos:        Books are my friends:

nos dicen cosas hermosas.      they tell us beautiful things

Lapiz, papel son mis amigos     pencil, paper are friends that

con los que las cuento yo.        I count my own.

Me gusta leer,                           I like to read,

me gusta escribir,                      I like to write.

me gusta cantar,                       I like to sing,

me gusta reir.                            I like to laugh.

En cada cuento                         In every story

lo mas hermoso                         the most beautiful

es ver al bueno                          is to see the good

salir airoso.                                  end happily

Por eso me alegro                     For that reason

una y otra vez                            over and over again

cada vez que oigo:                     I am happy when I hear the words

“Habia una vez…”                       “Once upon a time…”

Que pasan el tiempo leyendo libros excelentes!