Tito Puente Mambo King

Title: Tito Puente Mambo King

Author: Monica Brown
# of Pages: 32

Published by: Rayo; Bilingual edition (March 5, 2013)
Age Range: 4-8
Grade level: preschool-3rd

This is a bilingual picture book that is also a biography of Tito Puente a famous musician. Tito Puente loved hitting pots and pans as a child, but what he really wanted was to have his own band one day. He grew up in SPanish Harlem and ended up at the Grammy Awards. This book is the true story of his life. He was a young boy with a passion of music that turned him into the "King of Mambo." This is the story of his legend!

This book is great to use to teach multiculturalism or during a music unit. There is so much you can do with this book! The pictures are beautiful and it is a short easy read. The facts are true and it is an informative read. The character can be relatable because there are many young students who want to become famous musicians.

Classroom Activities and Lesson Ideas:

• Curriculum guide
• Teach about latino culture 

Here's the book trailer: 

Esperanza Rising

Title: Esperanza Rising 

Author: Pam Muñoz Ryan
# of Pages: 262

Published by: Scholastic (May 1, 2002)
Age Range: 8+
Grade level: 6-7

In this book Esperanza must learn to live a new life as a poor migrant in California after her after is killed and her nice home is destroyed in mexico. Esperanza is forced to rise above the cruel treatment of her uncles, who have ruined her life. She must learn how to adjust to becoming a migrant worker, when she has always been the daughter of a rich and powerful family in Mexico. On the eve of her thirteenth birthday, Esperanza's father is murdered. Mama refuses to move to California. But when their house burns down they don't have any other option. Mama is forced to marry Tío Luis to escape from Mexico. Mama and Esperanza leave for California in the middle of the night. They must leave their grandma, Abuelita behind because she is injured. Their new house is small and duty with a lot of people living in it. Esperanza learns the discrimination that Mexicans face in the United States. Mama gets very sick in a dust storm and is in the hospital for a little while. When Mama gets home from the hospital they plan to use their saved money to bring Abuelita home, but Migues has taken their money. Esperanza is very mad. It turns out that Miguel brought Abuelita to California! Esperanza realizes that there is hope in the new land!  On her fourteenth birthday, she is grateful for all that she has! 

This book teaches a lot about the cultures of both Mexico and America. It also discusses the current discrimination that is going on and the force of labor towards immigrants. This book has accurate details and facts but also portrays a plot. This makes for a wonderful read! Students may have questions after reading it though. But I love this book and would recommend it to anyone! 

Classroom Activities and Lesson Ideas: 

• Teach about the culture
• Explain Migrant workers
• Teacher's Guide
• Literature Circle Activities

Here's the book trailer: 

Dear Primo: A letter to My Cousin

Title: Dear Primo: A Letter to my Cousin 

Author: Duncan Tonatiuh
# of Pages: 32

Published by: Harry N. Abrams
Age Range: 4-8
Grade level: preschool-3rd

This book is written by Mexican author and Illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh. This books displays the difference in childhood depending on where you live. Charlie and his cousin Carlitos write letters back and forth. Charlie lives in the United States, his primo Carlitos lives in Mexico. They write letters about their friends, food, games they play, fiestas, and holidays. These two boys have very different lives. There is something that brings the boys together, which is they both want to meet someday! You'll have to read to see if they actually meet! 

This book is nice and short and can be used to teach a lot. There are beautiful full page images and they use the Mexican style. This book is relatable to students because they may have a pen pal or family that lives in another state or country. The plot develops throughout the story. The setting is realistic an the language is easily relatable to students. 

Classroom Activities and Lesson Ideas: 

• Teach how to write letters
• Assign pen pals or use an online contacting system to have pen pals in another country 
• Teach about the Mexican Culture and heritage 

Here's the book trailer:

Brogeen and the Bronze Lizard

Title: Brogeen and the Bronze Lizard

Author: Patricia Lynch
# of Pages: 181

Published by: The MacMillan Company (1970)
Grade Level: 3-5

Brogeen is a leprechaun. He leaves his world and goes to another to find out what's scarifying decent people. He was sent out by the Queen of Fairies to track down a monster who is ruining the countryside. Here he meets a girls and a boy and two grown-ups that work in the circus. The girl's name is Brid and she wears a bracelet that looks like a lizard. Later, these people meet up with a troupe and Brogeen finds himself with a bracelet. All of the things it could be, it's a monster, it's really a bracelet, but it's also a monster, and it's actually a lizard. This lizard casts a great shadow on land by the light of the moon. This is apart of the Brogeen series and is filled with many fantasy stories of things coming to life and magical adventures that Brogeen the leprechaun experiences on his journey out of his world.

This book is a little difficult to read, but it is mid-century children's fantasy. In this book things come to life and there is a lot of adventure. And leprechauns are not real, but they are fun to imagine! I probably would not use this book in my classroom since it is dated. However, the story elements are consistent throughout the story and the plot develops well. This story displays typical Irish culture.

Classroom Activities and Lesson Plans:

• Teach about irish fantasy stories 
• Geography of Ireland 
• Character study 

A Movie in My Pillow: Una Película en me almohada (English and Spanish Edition)

Title:Author: A Movie in My Pillow: Una Película en me almohada (English and Spanish Edition) 

# of Pages: 32

Published by: Children's Book Press; Bilingual Edition
Age Range: 6 and up

This is a wonderful poetry collection by Jorge Argueta, a Salvadoran poet and writer. This is his first collection of poems for children, and it happened to win the America's Book Award. Throughout the book there are many cultural ties to the Salvadorian and hispanic culture throughout the book. This poetry collection is unique because it has the poems in both Spanish and in english. The poems use his unique style and incorporate words from both languages. The poems help describe the culture difference that young Jorgito is experiencing now that he lives in San Francisco instead of El Salvador. This book shows a wonderful father-son relationship as they reminisce about their homeland through poetry. The poems throughout this book are all about Jorgito's dreams that he has at night of the future and of his past homelands. Topics in the poems include war, family, sadness, and love. The pictures really add to the story because they use vibrant colors, specific line details, and every page is filled with authentic art that represents this Salvadoran culture, and glimpses into what life is like in San Francisco. The poems are easy to read, however, may not be relatable to all students. This would be a great book to introduce other cultures. The pages are visually appealing. Many of the poems are written in free verse. There is rhyming and rhythm incorporated into some of the poems. The rhyming would be useful for student's fluency and to help them remember the poems. Spanish vocabulary words are used throughout the English translations, which is exposing students to other languages and expanding their horizon.

Critique: 

I really enjoyed this poetry collection. I would use this book if I taught in a majority hispanic classroom or if I had a lot of ESL students. The book bridges the two languages together in a beautiful way. I would use this book to teach poetry through two languages. I could have my ESL students write a poem first in their native language and then translate it to make a page of this book just as the poet Jorge Argueta did.

Possible Lesson and Activity Ideas:

• Use to teach about the hispanic/Salvadoran culture
• Use to teach poetry to ESL Students
• Use poems for a spanish vocabulary lesson 
• Have students write about their own home in poetry format

King Pom and the Fox

Title: King Pom and the Fox 

Author: Jessica Souhami
# of Pages: 36

Published by: Frances Lincoln Children's Books; First Trade Paper Edition (April 28, 2009)
Age Range: 4-7 years
Grade level: Preschool-2

Li Ming is so proud of his one pomegranate tree that he has grown. People laughingly call him "King Pom" because of his one sole tree. He noticed, however, that someone or something has been stealing the pomegranates from his tree. He has a plan to catch whoever is doing it. He finally catches a big red fox. When he caught, the fox wanted to make a deal with Li Ming. He said "Get me out of here (the trap) and I'll make you rich!" Li Ming did not believe him until it truly happened. Li got fine clothes, great horses, a palace, and a princess to marry! However, this seemed so unreal. This story is the Chinese version of Puss-in-Boots.

This book is a classic fairy tale of the Chinese culture. This is short enough to be read as a read aloud, at home or during silent reading. The characters are realistic and the fairy tale is believable and provides wishful thinking! Every reader of course would want to be come instantly rich, but is that possible? This book would be a great read aloud during fairy tales week or good to use to teach about the Chinese culture!

Classroom activities and lesson ideas:

• Compare this book to Puss in Boots using this lesson 
• Teach about fairy tales 
• Teach about Chinese culture 

Here is a clip from the American Fairy tale Puss in Boots movie: 

Jimmy the Greatest!

Title: Jimmy the Greatest!
Author: Jairo Buitrago
Illustrator: Rafael Yockenteng
Translated By Elisa Amado
Published By: Groundwood Books/ House of Anasi Press
# of Pages: 48
Theme: Persistence, Boxing, Reading

This Colombian author and illustrator together created a very inspiring story. Young Jimmy lives in a small Caribbean village where there is little to do. There is one small gym, and Jimmy decides to start hanging out there. The owner of the gym Don Apolinear gives Jimmy books and newspaper articles about Muhammed Ali, and inspires Jimmy to become an avid reader and wants to train to become a boxer. Jimmy realized that many people in his town inspire to leave that town and move on to bigger and better things, however, Jimmy wants to change this. However, Jimmy realizes that he wants to stay in the town and even open a library. This book stresses taking pride in your culture and home town. It also stress the lack of materialism. There is a spanish version of this book that was written in 2010 titled Jimmy el más grande and it was nominated for the Best Books of the Year by Venezuela's Banco del Libro.

The pictures throughout this book use a distinct style an help readers visualize the culture and environment of Jimmy's home village. The illustrator used texture and lines to create images specific to this book. The pictures add great detail to the story and enhance the reader's experience while reading theThe bright colors increase the visual appeal and assist readers in picturing this very specific culture and village.

Some Classroom Activities Include:

• Researching the Colombian and Caribbean cultures 
• Learning basic spanish language
• Allowing students to create a plan to open and design their own library