Dia de los abuelos: Book recommendations

I am so thankful for grandparents!  My girls are blessed to have four wonderful grandparents that love them and care for them in four unique ways.  While Grandparents' Day is celebrated in other countries on different dates, it is celebrated here in the US on September 9th.  There are so many great books to read to your students about grandparents with lots of reading strategy and writing potential.  Here are some examples:

I am kind of partial to books published by Piñata Books Arte Público Press.  This one is a precious cumulative tale in the style of "This is the house that Jack built".

Ésta es la abuela

que sueña con las caras felices

que comieron las empanadas

y bebieron la leche

que sirvió la abuela

que alimentó a la familia

que vino con los primos…

Younger students would love to participate in this as an interactive read-aloud.  Second graders could revisit the text for some great practice on past tense verbs.  

There is not much text to this book BUT if you are working with early writers, this is an excellent way to show how the author tells a story with her illustrations and just a few words to convey the meaning.  

This book is filled with beautiful language.  The descriptive scenes would be perfect for having small groups of students act out what they visualize based on the text.  

One thing I love about this book is the many reasons it provides for why so many people appreciate this grandmother.  Using a Bubble Map from Thinking Maps or another descriptive graphic organizer, your students could brainstorm their own reasons for why they are grateful for their own grandparents.

Another book from Piñata Books, this one highlights the special way we can learn about the past from our grandparents.  An excellent homework writing assignment would be to have students interview a grandparent or other older person to learn about a favorite food and its history.

This list is just a beginning!  I would love to know your suggestions and other ideas you have for helping your students celebrate this special day!