WebJunction

Hi, I also had that problem and needed to improvise on so many stories. I can recommend two publishers that you may be able to find the types of books that you are looking for. One is Editorial Ekaré and the other is Editorial Corimbo.

Here are some books that you can use for storytime as well:

El Bossy Gallito by Alma Flor Ada ( She has a lot of books)
The Christmas Tree by Alma Flor Ada
Chipis Chipis Caracoles del Mar- Irania Macias Patterson
La Cucarachita Martina
Julieta y su Caja de Colores

Those are a few suggestions. I tend to find more translations of English picture books that are good for storytime. Original books in Spanish are wordier. I hope this helps!

Hi "Paleopal",
I also wanted to point you to a new resource that WebJunction has just published in partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Libraries Siga Adelante (Moving Forward) Program. They conducted a series of workshops in Spanish on the topic of family literacy across their state. Here is the [url http://webjunction.org/do/DisplayContent?id=18850]manual[/url] they developed for others who would like to replicate their workshops.

The workshops are for parents learning to read to their children, but one of the activities they do is model reading out loud to children. The books they use are:

1) Where the Wild Things Are/ Donde Viven Los Monstruos, ISBN 0064434222
2) The True Story of the Three Little Pigs/ La Verdadera Historiade los Tres Cerditos, ISBN 014055758x
3) Oh No, Gotta Go, ISBN 9780399234934
4) Cinco Dedos from The Bilingual Book of Rhymes, Songs, Stories and Fingerplays, ISBN 0-87659-284-1
5) Video—Read Aloud: Share a Book with Me, Raising a Reader kit from San Mateo County Library and the Peninsula Partnership for children, Youth, and Families, Clearwater Films, 2000, (13 min.)
6) Songs—Buenos Dias and Chocolate, from The Bilingual Book of Rhymes, Songs, Stories and Fingerplays, ISBN 0-87659-284-1
7) CD—De Colores and Other Latin American Folk Songs for Children ISBN 1-57417-00

It's a big file, so it may take a couple minutes to download (we're working on an HTML version that you won't have to download, but that won't be immediately available).

I (from the Spanish storytimes I've done) can personally attest to the popularity of Donde Viven Los Monstruos, which seems to be a hit in both Spanish and English ;)

Buena Suerte!

~Emily

Hi, I have found some books that go over well in bilingual storytimes. My story times always have a theme, so I look for books that fit the theme and will hold the kids interest. I read each page of the book in English and Spanish and have found 2-3 books to be plenty esp. when combined with songs and a craft. Here are some good ones I have used:

My Pal Victor/Mi Amigo Victor by Diane Gonzales Bertrand This is one of my favorites! Good for a Friends storytime or one about disabilities and kids. This is the story of two boys who are best friends, do everything together, and it isn't until the very end that you realize one of the boys is in a wheelchair.

Margaret Y Margarita/Margarita y Margaret by Lynn Reiser Also good for a Friends story time. Two girls very much alike, but one speaks Spanish and one English, become good friends teaching each other some words in their respective languages.

For story times about dogs, some good books are:

Perro Grande Perro Pequeno: Un cuento de las buenas noches. Fun story of two dogs who are best friends but complete opposites. Kids always enjoy this one!

Perros! Perros! Dogs! Dogs! by Gindger Foglesong Guy This holds the kids interest well too as it is a fun story that also teaches opposites and colors and other difference such as clean and dirty, wet and dry, etc. Good vocabulary builder.

Benny by Sieb Posthuma is a fun story about a dog who can't find his bone because he has lost his sense of smell. Elements of Dr. Seuss when the dog goes to the doctor and the doctor uses a contraption much like something Dr. Seuss might have created to diagnose the problem. Not a lot of text--fun story.

CRAFT NOTE: A good craft for story times about dogs is to make a dog puppet out of a brown paper lunch bag. The bottom flap of the bag is where you make the face. I always cut out ears, eyes, nose and mouth beforehand. It is easy to put together and always goes over well. I usually have the kids sing a song with their puppets, too.

Oso Pardo, Oso Pardo, Que Ves Ahi? by Bill Martin, Jr. is the spanish version of Brown Bear Brown Bear what do you see? by Bill Martin, Jr. with illustrations be Eric Carle. With this book, if you need help with translation, just pull the English version. I read this in a story time about colors. A note about colors--there are different words for the same colors--it all depends on the country one is referring too. I did a story time about colors and some books had different words for the same color, so I just incorporated that into our story time to talk about how in different countries different words are used to describe the same color but in the end, it is all the same color. Much as people are all different, but in the end, we are all more alike than different.

Somos Como Somos by Marcus Pfister is a good one to talk about differences and learning to be happy with who we are and how we look. This story focuses on animals who wish they looked more like other animals and then it shows how silly they would actually look that way. For instance, a lion who likes the bright beak of a parrot. Then a picutre of lion with a parrot's beak.

I am Latino: the Beauty in Me by Sandra L. Pinkney This book is in English, but talks about the beauty and diversity of Latino children. Easy to translate and good for storty times dealing with self esteem or pride in one's heritage.

De Colores is a great folk song to use in story times, too! A lot of fun and you can have the kids form a circle and move "a la izquierda...y a la derecha! to the music or simply stand and sway. This is also the theme song for migrant farm workers and an ode of sorts to Cesar Chevez. It is is various song books and their are different versions of it on CD, including one by Raffi. A good book of songs I use is De Colores and Other Latin American Folk Songs by Jose-Luis Orozco.

Another option is to read poetry. I personally like introducing kids to poetry and there are good books in both English and Spanish.

Hope this helps! These are just a few that came readily to mind.