De regreso a la escuela: ¡Yo puedo leer con los ojos cerrados!

Mientras más libros leas 

más cosas aprenderás.

Y mientras más aprendas, 

más lejos llegarás.

As I wrap up my summer-long De regreso a la escuela series, I thought I would include this book that I came across at my public library today.  While I always prefer to use authentic Spanish literature, this is another Dr. Seuss book translated by Yanitzia Canetti who is widely recognized for her great translations.  

The first few weeks back to school often include a lot of discussions about reading and its purposes.  Why do we read?  What do we read?  How do we read?  

While my favorite book for prompting these discussions is still ¡Qué locura por la lectura!, ¡Yo puedo leer con los ojos cerrados! is another fun book that can serve a similar purpose.  

Are there any other books that I am missing that you use to kick off literacy for your class?

De regreso a la escuela: Pepita y la peleonera

As we near the beginning of school, I will be winding down my "De regreso a la escuela" Spanish read-aloud series.  If you want to see all of the books that have been recommended this summer, please visit my Pinterest board here or click on the "Back to School" tag in the right margin of the blog.


This week's book is not one for the first day but it would be a worthwhile read for later in the first week.  Pepita y la peleonera is the bilingual story of Pepita's first week at school.  She is bullied by another girl in her class named Babette.  After getting advice from several friends and family members, Pepita decides try out her father's counsel: "Así es que mañana si Babette te vuelve a jalar las trenzas, debes decírselo a tu maestra.  Pero si Babette te dice algo malo, puedes responderle de manera cortés o alejarte.  Pero hagas lo que hagas, debes ser cordial."

He goes on to explain that cordial means about the same thing as amable.

The next time Babette bullies her, Pepita confronts her with kindness and Babette decides to change.

Since I brought this book home from the library, my daughter has asked for it to be read aloud to her no less than three times and she has kept it in her bed to "read" at nap time.  My mom was here last week and had been the one reading it aloud to her.  She thought it would have been better if there was one more page at the end telling a bit more of the story.  Either way, the story sure resonated with my four-year-old.

Pepita is the character in several other books by Ofelia Dumas Lachtman and this book is a great way to introduce your students to characters in a book series as well as begin a discussion about friendships and avoiding bullying.

Have you read any of the Pepita books before?  Which one is your favorite?

De regreso a la escuela: ¡Qué nervios!

This week's De regreso a la escuela book may need no introduction if you have already seen the original English version:  First Day Jitters.  While I prefer to find as many authentic Spanish books as possible, I don't think it hurts to include some translations, especially ones that have been highly embraced in English.

This is a perfect read-aloud for the first hour of the first day of school.  You know that time when the children have arrived with their mountains of supplies, the last parent has finally left, and it is just you and your twenty-two lovelies?  It is that time when you might find yourself thinking, "Who needs a seating chart?  This class is a bunch of ANGELITOS!"  Isn't it funny how quiet they can be that first hour as their little bodies adjust to being awake at an earlier hour?

While I'm sure they are indeed going to be an angelic class, that first hour of school is always in need of a little ice breakage.  What better way to break the ice than with a funny read aloud on the carpet?  

SPOILER ALERT: ¡Qué nervios! is the story of Sarah who does not want to wake up and get ready for the first day of school at a new school.  After many humorous protests, she is eventually dressed and arrives at school.  As she is introduced to her new class by the principal, the reader is surprised to learn that Sarah is not a student but the teacher! 

Now, you will have to forgive this book the VERY unrealistic idea that a teacher could just show up on the first day of school!  I'm not sure where this school is supposed to be but Sarah was obviously not spending her summer studying Pinterest and decorating her classroom!

Still, it's a cute book and, after reading through it the first time and discovering the surprising twist, your students will want to revisit the earlier pages to find clues that might have helped them infer that Sarah was really a grown-up and not a kid.  Definitely a great way to break the ice on the first day with second or third graders!

Have you read this book with your students before?  Did they enjoy it?  You can find more Spanish back-to-school read aloud suggestions on my Pinterest page!

De regreso a la escuela: René tiene dos apellidos

You know Arthur, Franklin, Emily Elizabeth, and Gaby.  Now, it is time for you to get to know René!  He is such a lovable little boy and so relevant to our bilingual students.  As a follow up to his debut book (featured here on ITDL last week), René now faces the dilemma of losing one of his last names attending the US school.  I know my students can relate to this one!

The first René book is still my favorite of the two but this would be another great addition to the typical study about names at the beginning of the year.  I hope the author René will bring more books about his character to us in the future!  

De regreso a la escuela: Soy René, el niño

If you follow ITDL on Facebook, you may have seen my post last Friday about the new public library that just opened right around the corner from my house.  I visited it for the first time with my girls and we discovered that ALL of the books and videos are BRAND NEW!  It was absolutely magical! And I was super-excited to discover a collections of hundreds of children's books in Spanish.  Can you hear the angels singing???  I picked out some good ones to read and review as a part of our "De regreso a la escuela" read aloud recommendations.

Typically, one of the focuses of the first week of school in the early grades is writing and reading one's own name as well as learning the names of other students and people in the school.  Who hasn't read Kevin Henkes's Chrysanthemum (which is, by the way, available in Spanish!)?

Soy René, el niño by René Colato Laínez would be a perfect book to add to your study about names.  It is really a perfect book for the first week of school in so many ways.

René is a boy, originally from El Salvador, who has always considered his name to be just a boy's name.  Upon entering a new classroom in the United States, he learns that it can also be a girl's name.  This does not sit well at first!  Yet, as the girl Renee pursues his friendship and he discovers a book called El significado de los nombres in the library, René begins to feel better about his name.  He decides to enter a writing contest to win two extra large pizzas (he likes pizza!) and his essay WINS!  

Yo soy René.  En español, René es nombre de niño.  En inglés, se escribe con una ‘e’ extra al final y es nombre de niña.  René es un nombre francés que significa renacer, volver a nacer…Tengo la piel canela como el pan dulce que sirve Mamá para el desayuno.  Tengo un cabello negro y lacio que no le hace caso a los peines o cepillos.  Tengo bonitos ojos negros como Mamá y brazos fuertes como Papá. 

Mi nombre René es diferente.  Pe pertenece sólo a mi. 

La letra R es por los rieles que corrían enfrente de mi casa en El Salvador.

La letra E es por mi país, El Salvador.

La letra N es por nunca darme por vencido.

La letra E es por mi nuevo país, los Estados Unidos.

El acento al final es lo que hace a mi nombre fuerte y poderoso.

Yo soy este René.

Now, tell me that your sweet teacher brain is not just spinning with ideas about what to do with this book!!!  This is a BEAUTIFUL book and absolutely perfect for your first week of school!  It might just be my favorite so far!  I know, I know...I say that almost every week! 

By the way, don't forget to visit the author's website and let your kids tell him how much you enjoyed his book!  I will review another René book next week so stay tuned!

De regreso a la escuela: Rotas y partidas son más ricas compartidas

Y'all (you do know I'm from Texas, right?), this is just about the CUTEST book ever!  It is a super simple story perfect for starting the year with PK or Kinders.  It is short and the illustrations are so much fun.

This is the story of Juan who loves to go to school to play with his friends.

Cantan todos como pajaritos, saltan como canguros y corren como los indios.  Pero a la hora de prestar atención, escuchan a la maestra con orejas de elefante.  Así pasan los días con una sonrisa en la cara.  Felices de ser felices.


Don't you just love it?  I am totally going to remind my students to listen with orejas de elefante!


So, as the story continues, Juan's backpack falls amid all the playing and his cookies get crushed.  At snack time, Juan is devastated and inconsolable...until little Marina comes up, gives him a hug and kiss, and thanks him for bringing enough cookies to share with everyone. :)


Y así fue como, por accidente, cuatro galletas se transformaron en merienda de todos.  Desde ese día, todos los chicos se dieron cuenta de que poniendo sus galletas rotas y partidas en un plato podían ser compartidas.



Doesn't this sound like the perfect book for building community with little ones?  Felices de ser felices.  I just love that!

De regreso a la escuela: Una lombriz y un águila

This might not look like the standard back to school book but I think it has great potential!

This book starts out when an eaglet and worm meet for the first time.  They size each other up and make all sorts of comparisons, each one intending to make himself look bigger or better than the other new friend.  The conversation continues in this manner until the worm mentions the passing of his uncle that was the only one who knew how to read and always told the best stories.

Leer es mejor que volar altísimo, mejor que cavar los túneles más hondos, mejor que tener vision telescópica.  Es como abrazar, bailar, cantar y ver el Sol al mismo tiempo.

They have heard that the owl that lives on the other side of the forest could teach them to read and when the eaglet grows big enough to fly, he carries the worm to find the owl.  They find him submerged in books but he was more than happy to teach them to read.  

Cuentan que la lombriz, el águila y el búho se hicieron amigos inseparables.  Cuentan que hicieron cientos de viajes y que leyeron muchísimos libros.  

I think there is no better way to start the school year than by lots and lots of reminders of the joys and riches of reading.  This would be a great companion or follow up to reading this book!  Stay tuned for more books in our De regreso a la escuela series!  I would love to know other suggestions you may have!

Best Practices for Language Learners: Guest Blogging

I am honored to be a guest blogger for Krista over at Second Grade Superkids and am in great company.  Be sure to visit her blog and read the posts from this past week to learn about excellent "best practices" for language learners!

De regreso a la escuela: Marisol McDonald no combina

From the bookjacket:
Marisol McDonald has flaming red hair and nut-brown skin.  Polka dots and stripes are her favorite combination.  She prefers peanut butter and jelly burritos in her lunch box.  To Marisol, these seemingly mismatched things make perfect sense together.

Other people wrinkle their nose in confusion at Marisol -- can't she just choose one or the other?  Try as she might, in a world where everyone tries to put this biracial, Peruvian-Scottish-American girl into a box.  Marisol McDonald doesn't match.  And that's just fine with her.

A mestiza Peruvian American of European, Jewish, and Amerindian heritage, renowned author Monica Brown wrote this lively story to bring her own experience of being mismatched to life.

I have visited hundred of bilingual classrooms and practically every one of them has at least one student who could identify with Marisol McDonald.  Whether it's his name or her hair color, they just don't look or sound like the rest of the peers assigned to the class. 

Being a part of a bilingual program typically means that students will spend several years with the same peers unlike the monolingual students who are shifted around each year.  This can be a wonderful thing as they build deeper friendships and trust and know each others' strengths and challenges.  It can also be difficult because certain expectations can be unintentionally established that a "bilingual student" will always have certain characteristics.

I picked this bilingual book Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match/Marisol McDonald no combina as another book for my DE REGRESO A LA ESCUELA series because it is a good way to foster conversation from the very beginning of the year.  A typical beginning of school activity is to have students create Venn Diagrams or Double-Bubble Maps comparing and contrasting themselves with a partner in the class.  It is healthy for our students to begin to process these ideas even at a young age as they appreciate the diversity within and outside their classroom. 

I would say this book is best targeted for first or second grades but could easily be stretched higher or lower!

De regreso a la escuela: Luna, Lunita, Lunera

PreK and Kindergarten teachers, have you met this sweet book by Jorge Argueta yet? 

Mañana voy a la escuelita

por primera vez

El corazón me salta

como una ranita.


Little Luna, Lunita, Lunera is quite nervous about going to school for the first time. 

Como tengo cinco años

y soy grande como la luna llena

me pongo

los calcetines blancos,

los tenis rojos,

la blusa azul

y unos pantalones verdes

yo solita.

Y nos vamos a la escuela.

Little Lunita gradually discovers that school is not so scary as she gets to know her teacher and new friends in her class.  And contrary to her previous belief, she realizes that there are actually no scary monsters at school.  At home that night with her parents, she is even excited to go back the next day.

PreK and Kindergarten teachers, I have such admiration for what you do, especially those first few weeks of school!   I hope you can enjoy this sweet book with your little Lunas!

De regreso a la escuela: ¡Qué locura por la lectura!

I know, I know!  School just finished this past week and the stores are still weeks from filling their shelves with crayons and pocket folders.

However, I am always on the quest for good books to begin the school year because those first read-alouds seem to be so important in building community and establishing our class's identity.  Today, when I was perusing the children's section of Spanish books at my public library, I came across a few gems that I will be sharing over the next few weeks.  I know it is crazy early but this will give you time to buy or reserve the books at your library.  I promise, you'll thank me when August (or September) gets here! :)



¡Qué locura por la lectura! is the translation of Judy Sierra's book Wild about Books.  I have always been a fan of Marc Brown's illustrations and Yanitzia Canetti's translations are widely respected.  She has been the translator of most of Dr. Seuss's book.  Can you even imagine trying to translate those?

The book starts out like this: