latino/latina – Mom Read It

Color Our World with stories!

Posted on January 13, 2025January 13, 2025 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Are you thinking of Summer Reading yet? I am, because we’re working with the theme that the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) has for this year – Color Our World – and I’m enjoying the different books I can fit into this. We’ve got destination books; we have concepts; we have stories of people from all over the world. Naturally, I’ve got some new books that fit the bill. Let’s take a look!

Our World: Cuba, by Terry Catasús Jennings/Illustrated by Marla Cruz Linares, (Oct. 2024, Barefoot Books), $9.99, ISBN: 9798888592304

Ages 2-3

Any time I get a book from Terry Catasús Jennings, it’s a good time; pair that with Barefoot Books’ Our World board book series, and you can’t go wrong. The series is a hit here at my library, thanks to kid-friendly illustrations, a day in the life story, and vocabulary from different languages. Each author draws on their personal cultural experiences to communicate to their readers, which really makes this a unique series. Jennings invites readers to enjoy breakfast and a day full of activity at the park and the beach. Led by a young narrator, readers enjoy toast and café con leche at home; a ride to the beach on the guagua, and a game of los escondidos in the park. The child narrator spends a happy with parents, who are free with affection and a sense of play. Words in Spanish are also spelled phonetically on the page, allowing for easier pronounciation. Back matter provides deeper context to day-to-day life in Cuba. It’s an invitation to a day in Cuba, with warm illustrations and a joyful story. A great add to your board book collections – get some literary stamps in your passports with this book and this series.

Many Things at Once, by Veera Hiranandani/Illustrated by Nadia Alam, (Jan. 2025, Random House Studio), $18.99, ISBN: 9780593643907

Ages 4-8

A biracial girl reflects on her Jewish-Indian heritage, ruminating on her parents’ stories: her mother’s mother, a seamstress in Brooklyn, New York; her father’s mother cooking daal on a coal stove in India. The memories go deeper, exploring struggles on both sides of her family; her paternal grandparents separated during the Partition of India, and her maternal grandfather’s escape from the pogroms in Poland. Her families came to America for safety and a new beginning. Her parents tell her that she’s lucky to be “both Jewish and Hindu, to be part of many things at once”, but she sometimes feels neither “Jewish enough” or “Hindu enough” for her parents. Seeing a butterfly, the girl remembers a teacher telling her no two butterflies are the same, and she reflects on this and the roots anchoring the flowers from which the butterfly draws nectar. It all comes together: “I think of all the journeys I’m connected to and grow from”. Hiranandani tells an emotional story of struggle and love and the journey of self-discovery that biracial children travel, inspired by her own family background. An author’s note gives further texture. Pencil and digital illustrations show a diverse family and historical context: the girl views family photos from different decades and she imagines the struggles endured by her grandparents. Relating her cultural heritage to a butterfly will lift hearts. An excellent choice for collections.

I LOVE Blueberries!, by Shannon Anderson/Illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett, (April 2025, Feeding Minds Press), $18.99, ISBN: 9781948898195

Ages 4-8

Jolie from I LOVE Strawberries! (2022) is back and this time, she has a friend! Jolie, who still loves growing strawberries, learned how to germinate blueberry seeds thanks to a local farmer. While showing her germinated seed and sprout in class, she meets new neighbor Margot, a homesick girl who’s just moved from Maine. The two hit it off – Margot’s love of blueberries is a delightful catalyst – and become interested in their teacher’s hydroponic gardening setup, which would let them grow blueberries even quicker. The teacher, who happens to be married to the friendly blueberry farmer, explains hydroponic gardening; the girls are inspired and proceed to hold a local blueberry festival and fundraiser to raise the necessary monies needed to invest in hydroponic equipment. I LOVE Blueberries! is a great story encompassing many areas that will interest readers: friendship, innovation and entrepreneurship, hydroponic gardening, and food farming. The way the community rallies around the two friends to support their ideas is gratifying and inspiring. The illustrations are filled with journals, as with I LOVE Strawberries: Jolie’s journals are joined by Margot’s this time, allowing us some insight into both characters in addition to illustrating the scientific method. Blue endpapers feature line illustrations of blueberries, and back matter includes a note on hydroponics, gardening, and blueberries as a superfood, A great choice for STEM/STEAM collections.

That’s a good start – what Summer Reading titles are you considering?

Abuelo, the Sea, and Me is a tender story of grandfather and grandaughter

Posted on June 1, 2024May 31, 2024 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Abuelo, the Sea, and Me, by Ismée Williams/Illustrated by Tatiana Gardel, (May 2024, Roaring Brook Press), $19.99, ISBN: 9781250848772

Ages 4-8

The changing seasons frame this story of a grandfather and his granddaughter. In the summer, the two roll up their pants and wade in the water, discovering shells and pebbles; she listens to his stories about marlins and dolphins. In the fall, they watch the waves, and Abuelo tells his granddaughter that he won medals as a swimmer. In the fall, they watch the waves churn as the wind and ice whip against the water; Abuelo tells her about his father taking him to the beach during hurricanes. In the spring, Abuela packs the two a picnic, and grandfather and granddaughter joyfully shed their shoes and run for the water. The beach allows Abuelo to tell his granddaughter about his life in Cuba; she feels his sadness as he recalls his memories: the swimming medals he left behind; the guayaba ice cream, the island sun. Digital illustrations provide rich color: the purple sky, with clouds shaped like marlins and dolphins and the close-up spread of Abuelo’s and granddaughter’s faces, his eyes reflecting the Cuban sun and sand, hers reflecting her grandfather, are two outstanding moments. Williams’s vivid descriptions let readers feel the sun on their faces, the ice hit their cheeks, and let them wiggle their toes in the sand. An outstanding immigrant story and of intergenerational relationships.

picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Two books for Back to School

Posted on July 18, 2023July 17, 2023 by Rosemary Kiladitis

I know, I know, don’t throw things at me! It’s only July and our kids have practically just started summer vacation (as my own Kiddo has told me when he sees school supplies on sale), but you want to have your books ready to greet the kiddos when they get back to school, right? Here are three good additions to your back to school collections.

The Wild Guide to Starting School, by Laura & Philip Bunting, (Aug. 2023, Kane Miller), $15.99, ISBN: 9781684646081

Ages 3-6

This Australian import (2022) is about to hit U.S. shelves and it is a hilarious guide to the first day of school, starring a cast of Australian animals starting preschool. Taking readers through an entire day from wake-up to bedtime, the book, written in guide format, provides hilarious and heartfelt steps for getting through that first day of school. Readers will laugh out loud at the suggested – and not recommended – suggestions for waking up, getting dressed, school essentials, and ways to go to school. A sweet section on drop-off farewells include such suggestions as the “Bil-Bye”, when parent and child bilbays interlock tails and the “Butt Bump”, where parent and child wombats… well, bump butts. The section on bathroom use will bring the shrieks and giggles, and parents will recognize the responses to “What did you do at school today?”, provided in bar chart form. Mixing humor with helpful suggestions, The Wild Guide to Starting School is a fun addition to back-to-school storytimes that answers questions while providing some relaxing laughter.

Yenebi’s Drive to School, by Sendy Santamaria, (June 2023, Chronicle Books), $17.99, ISBN: 9781797216294

Ages 4-7

Yenebi and her sister, Melanie, wake up at 4 a.m. every morning and get ready to leave for school. Mami waits for them in the car, and they begin they drive across the border. As they sit in traffic for up to three hours, the family orders breakfast from vendors who walk up and down the road, selling everything from food to clothing and jewelry. Yenebi is in good spirits, delighted by all she can buy and see from Mami’s car window, and Melanie sleeps until it’s time to eat; Mami savors her coffee and enjoys the family time with her girls. The story of life in a border town, Yenebi’s Drive to School shows the hardships of families waiting in La Linea – the traffic waiting to cross the border – and the dedication of parents who will do anything in their power to give their children the best they can. Spanish vocabulary and phrases throughout the book thread through the English text. Digital illustrations bring the vibrancy and color of a border town to life. Endpapers show a variety of pigeons sitting on barbed wire; some with pencils, some with coffee, some with backpacks. An author’s note provides deeper context to the story. Yenebi’s Drive to School published simultaneously in Spanish; both are essential purchases for collections.

Yenebi’s Drive to School has starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and Kirkus.

Welcome to Preschool, by Maria Carluccio, (July 2023, Chronicle Books), $16.99, ISBN: 9781797210841

Ages 2-4

What a cute way to welcome children to preschool! An introduction to a day at preschool, Welcome to Preschool has an all-animal cast of characters and sturdy pull tabs that let little explorers pull and push a character per spread across the page, allowing student to hang up a coat, play with trains, fingerpaint, push a book cart, reach for the sky, and head home for the day. Mixed media watercolor provides soft colors; rhyming text makes for a soothing read, and the sturdy board book will hold up to multiple uses. Each spread makes Pre-K look like a wonderful place to be, with a friendly teacher who leads her charges through the school day and a friendly group of students who play together. A very cute addition to board book collections.

picture books

Multicultural Children’s Book Day: Three Pockets Full

Posted on January 26, 2023January 25, 2023 by Rosemary Kiladitis

A boy wants no part of wearing a traditional Cuban shirt to a wedding that he does not want to attend in this heartfelt story of tradition and family.

Three Pockets Full, by Cindy L. Rodriguez/
Illustrated by Begoña Fernández Corbalán,
(Sept. 2022, Cardinal Rule Press), ISBN: 9781735345154
Ages 5-7

Beto won’t wear a guayabera to the wedding. Nope! Nunca! Not going to happen! Told through notes between Beto and his mother and through omniscient narration, this touching story contains Spanish vocabulary and there are gorgeous cultural details in the illustration. Filled with chuckle-worthy moments – Beto decides that his dog looks better in the shirt than he would – and moments that will move readers as the reason for Beto’s retience becomes clear, Three Pockets Full beautifully captures not only a cultural tradition, but touches on themes of grief, loss, and moving on. Rich artwork pairs with bold, easy-to-read text and makes this an excellent collection addition.

Visit Cardinal Rule Press’s webpage for a free, downloadable readers guide and coloring pages.

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via Multicultural Children’s Book Day so I could provide an honest review. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

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