Skip to main content
  • Tags: spanish
Snapshots from the wedding
Soto, Gary
A young girl, Maya, retells the events of a Mexican-American family wedding by looking back through the wedding photos. From the excitement of being a flower girl, to the ceremony itself, to the music and dancing afterwards, she recalls many happy memories.

Angel's kite
Blanco, Alberto
Young Angel is sad because the town bell is missing. One night, Young Angel builds a giant kite that mysteriously turns into the town bell. (Also in Spanish).

Isla
Dorros, Arthur
Rosalba and her grandmother go for an adventure. They fly from New York to la Isla. They fly over la Isla stopping to visit all of grandmother's favorite spots from her childhood. Some things have changed but not everything has.

Shoes, shoes, shoes
Morris, Ann
A rhyme about shoes from all over the world ranges from new shoes to work shoes, game shoes to fun shoes.

Creativity
Steptoe, John
Hector is a new student in Charles' class from Puerto Rico. Hector has trouble adjusting to his new school at first, but Charles recognizes his differences as being creative, and helps him feel welcome.

Bedtime monster (A dormir, pequeno monstruo!)
Burnell, Heather
A little boy doesn't want to go to bed. He whines. He cries. He throws a tantrum. He begins to grow a tail. What? A tail? It's true! This little boy is not only acting like a monster, he turns into one! He growls a scary growl. He grows long hair and sharp claws. But, his parents know what to do. They calmly cuddle, rock, and sing to him. Here is a monster you might actually want to snuggle with as bedtime draws near.

I speak English for my mom
Stanek, Muriel
Lupe lives with her mother who cannot speak English. Lupe helps her mother by translating what people are saying. Lupe's mother fears she may lose her job. She decides to try to learn English so she can get a better job.

Are you my mother?(Eres tu mi mama?)
Eastman, P.D.
A baby bird hatched out of the egg and found no mother in the nest. The bird went out searching for his mother. After asking various animals, the bird returns to the nest where his mother is waiting to give him a worm. Written in Spanish and English.

Aunt elaine does the dance from spain
Komaiko, Leah
Katy's family is of Yiddish decent, born in Mexico. However; Katy's Aunt Elaine enjoys spanich dancing and speaking spanish phrases. Katy attends one of Aunt Elaine's dance shows and realizes why her aunt grealty enjoys spanish dancing.

A pocket for corduroy (Un bolsillo para corduroy)
Freeman, Don
Corduroy the teddy bear wants a pocket for his outfit. He goes with his owner to a laundromat to search for one and gets into many mishaps. Written in English and Spanish.

Never poke a squid
Cazet, Denys
Arnie and Raymond come home from a Halloween celebration at school. Arnie's mother asks them all about the adventures of the day. They tell her about decorating the classroom, playing games, and marching in a parade. After their story, they go off to trick-or-treat.

Bread is for eating
Gershator, David//Gershator, Phillis
When a little boy leaves bread on his plate, his mother reminds him how important bread is and the hard work that goes into making it. Through a song, children learn why they should not waste food, and how to be thankful for grain and bread.

Oranges
Rogow, Zack
Have you ever seen how orange seeds are planted?Would you like to know how oranges are picked off the tree, packed into boxes, and then delivered to the store for you to buy?

Listen to the desert
Mora, Pat
With a combination of lyrics in English and Spanish, this poem describes different sounds of the desert. Each page describes new sounds for a frog, coyote, rain, wind, and snake.

Sense suspense: A guessing game for the five senses
McMillan, Bruce
Which of your five senses are you likely to use when you look at the photos?Learn English by reading the words printed in black and learn Spanish by reading the words in blue.

A sweater for Duncan (Un sueter para Duncan)
Malone, Margaret
Little Duncan penguin is proud of his fuzzy coat. He sticks out his chest as he waddles among the other penguins. He knows he is the handsomest one in the frozen south. Trouble jumps in when his fuzz flies off in clumps and floats on the wind like butterflies. His mother agrees to knit him a sweater, but will that solve the problem? The sweater is just too small. What is he to do? Finally, his mother leads him to a mirror like a piece of ice, where a happy surprise awaits. He is all grown up and is again the handsomest penguin in the frozen south.

The three little javelinas
Lowell, Susan
Cousins of pigs (known as javelinas) attempt a daring rescue from the hungry coyote. The angry coyote huffs and puffs to blow the house down of the first and second javelinas--but not the third!The hungry coyote has a sizzling surprise in the adobe house where the three little javelinas live happily ever after.

Taxi!Taxi!
Best, Cari
A child's parents are divorced. She spends every Sunday with her father. She enjoys these days because she never knows what to expect.

Let's eat!
Zamorano, Ana
Every day Mama cooks a meal for the family to eat together, but usually someone can't be there. But when Mama comes home after having the baby everyone is there to celebrate, and she is happy.

Big bushy mustache
Soto, Gary
Ricky is always being told he looks like his mother. When he is given the chance to choose his costume for the school play, Ricky chooses the big bushy mustache. Now he will look like his papi. But Papi must come to the rescue when Ricky loses his mustache. There's only one way to replace a big bushy mustache!

Gracias, the thanksgiving turkey
Cowley, Joy
Miguel's dad, a truck driver, sends Miguel a turkey to fatten up for Thanksgiving. Miguel and his family care for and love the turkey, and they name her Gracias. When Thanksgiving arrives no one can eat Gracias the turkey, instead they eat chicken for Thanksgiving dinner!

A child's treasury of nursery rhymes
Denton, Kady MacDonald
A collection of nursery rhymes provides children with rhyming skills and patterns. Over 100 nursery rhymes are remembered through illustrations, songs, and verse.

The dancer
Burstein, Fred
A little girl is on her way to ballet class with her father when they encounter various people and things through the city. Descriptive words about the city are written in three languages: Spanish, English, and Japanese.

Gilberto and the wind
Ets, Marie Hall
Gilberto is a friend with the wind. The wind and Gilberto do things for each other.

Those mean nasty dirty downright disgusting but invisible germs
Rice, Judith Anne
Rosa has been playing all day and now she has germs all over her hands. Germs can make her sick. They are invisible bugs that no one can see. Rosa knows just what to do to get rid of the germs, because they like wet places and warm places to grow.

A gift for abuelita: Celebrating the day of the dead
Luenn, Nancy
Rosita and her grandmother are very close. Rosita's grandmother teaches Rosita how to braid, garden, and make tortillas. When Rosita's grandmother dies, Rosita feels a great loss without her around and misses her terribly. Her family tells Rosita that she can make a gift to give to her grandmother on the Day of the Dead. Rosita braids a cord that is filled with love and memories for her grandmother.

Magic dogs of the volcanoes
Argueta, Manlio
The people of El Salvador are protected by cadejos, which are magic dogs that are descendents of the volcanoes. Two ancient volcanoes help the cadejos when Don Tonio and his 13 brothers send soldiers to destroy the cadejos. This book contains both Spanish and English text.

What do I do?
Simon, Norma
A little girl goes through an average day doing things and asking, What do I do? in key situations. Then on the next page, she does the appropriate thing. This book is in both Spanish and English.

Gracias, Rosa
Markel, Michelle
When Kate gets a new babysitter, she is not too excited because Rosa speaks Spanish. Soon Kate and Rosa learn to communicate and share each other's traditions.

The birthday swap
Lopez, Loretta
Lori wants to find her older sister the perfect gift for her birthday. At the market, Lori learns that it's not easy to find the right gift. Little does Lori know that the best gifts can come to us when we least expect them. Why is this the year of the best birthday party ever?

Day of the dead
Johnston, Tony
A Mexican family spends many days preparing for the celebration of the Day of the Dead, one of Mexico's most important holidays. They eat food, sing, dance and use flowers to celebrate and honor the family members who have passed on.

Make way for ducklings (Abran paso a los patitos)
McCloskey, Robert
Mr. and Mrs. Mallard are searching for the perfect place to settle down and raise ducklings. They find an island in the Charles River and later they have eight ducklings. While Mrs. Mallard raises the children, Mr. Mallard explores the river for a better home. They end up living in a public park and eat peanuts that people feed them.

Uno, dos, tres: One, two three
Mora, Pat
Two sisters go shopping in a Mexican market for their mother's birthday. They count the number of presents in Spanish and English as they go along, and also create a rhyme about the gifts.

Tomas and the library lady
Mora, Pat
Tomas and his family are migrant workers who travel between Iowa and Texas to find work. Tomas loves to listen to his grandfather's stories but he knows all of them and decides to go to the library to learn some new stories. The librarian welcomes Tomas in and offers him cold water to drink and stories to read. Tomas visits the library lady whenever he can and even teaches her some of his native language, Spanish. When Tomas' family must leave the library lady gives Tomas a book to take with him.

The little painter of sabana grande
Markun, Patricia Maloney
Feraundo Espino is a little boy with a great talent for art. He wants to paint but has no paper. After some thinking he finds something he can paint on and surprises his village.

The night of las posadas
dePaola, Tomie
Lupe and Roberto are going to play the roles of Mary and Joseph in a reenactment of the night that Jesus Christ was born. Lupe's aunt, Sister Angie, is in charge of the production. However, Sister Angie becomes sick and Lupe and Roberto must proceed to the village. There is a bad snowstorm and the couple gets stranded in the snow. Friends of Sister Angie come to the rescue and play the role of Mary and Joseph, then disappear. Lupe and Roberto finally arrive and close the production. Later, Sister Angie wanders the church and finds the cloaks of the carving of Mary and Joseph covered in fresh snow.

Chato and the party animals
Soto, Gary
Chato's friend, Novio Boy, always gets sad at birthday parties because he is from the pound and does not know when his birthday is. Chato decides to throw his friend the biggest party ever, but in the hustle and bustle, forgets to invite the cat of honor!Now that he is found, it's time to celebrate.

Speak English for us, Marisol!
English, Karen
Marisol is anxious to get home from school to see if she has new kittens or not. Unfortunately she is delayed by relatives and friends that stop Marisol for a favor, to speak or translate English. She happily complies and solves everyone's problems and is rewarded with her mother's love and pride.

Tortillas and lullabies: Tortillas y cancioncitas
Reiser, Lynn
The relationship between mother and daughter is seen in one girl's family. Each generation of women in the family makes tortillas, picks flowers, washes clothes, and sings lullabies. The little girl does these same things for her doll. This story is told in both English and Spanish.

Juanita
Politi, Leo
As Juanita grows up, she brings happiness to her parents, even when the business is not going well. She partakes in the blessing of the animals and shows her kindness to others.

The old man and his door
Soto, Gary
One day, a man brings el puerto (a door) to the neighbor's barbeque instead of el puerco (a pig). On his way to the picnic, the door becomes very useful when he carries many things on it. Once he gets to the barbeque, his wife tells him about the pig and it is all a big joke.

My shoes and I
Lainez, Rene Colato
Mario's shoes take him everywhere, and they have an important trip in front of them. Mario and his father are leaving El Salvador to join his mother in the United States. His shoes take him through three countries, through storms, over mountains and through rivers. Through each part of the journey, the shoes fall apart, but Mario makes sure they make it to the end of the journey.

What's wrong with julio
Ormsby, Virginia
Julio has just moved to the United States and does not speak English. At school he always causes trouble. When the school realizes his parents did not come to the United States with him, they have a fundraiser so that he can call home.

What do I say?
Simon, Norma
Manuel is a Puerto Rican child living in a large American city. Follow along with him throughout the day as various situations arise and Manuel asks, What do I say?. All of his questions and answers are offered in English and Spanish.

The mission bell
Politi, Leo
Diego is taught by Father Serra that there is always a mission in life. Diego learns that you must learn to accept and love people for who they are and in turn, they will teach you.

Chicks and salsa
Reynolds, Aaron
A very creative bunch of farm animals at the Nuthatch Farm decide they are tired of their regular feed, and that they want something different. They begin to create sumptuous Mexican dishes with spices that they get from the farmer's garden. After planning a fiesta, the animals discover that all of the foods from the garden have been harvested and they cancel the fiesta and begin to eat their old, dull food once again --until the next day when rooster makes crepes and white grapes with sauce!