Archive for November, 2009
A Rose With Wings
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009BOOK DESCRIPTION
All of the children in the class have chosen a special animal for their project, but Miguel only has a caterpillar… or does he? A poetic rendition of the miracle of transformation.
One of the beloved titles of the series Stories the Year ‘Round, or in Spanish, Cuentos para todo el año. The complete stories of the series are:
SPRING
A Rose with Wings
A Surprise for Mother Rabbit
The Empty Piñata
PRIMAVERA
Rosa alada
La sorpresa de Mamá Coneja
La piñata vacía
SUMMER
How the Rainbow Came to Be
After the Storm
In the Cow’s Backyard
VERANO
Cómo nació el arco iris
Después de la tormenta
La hamaca de la vaca
FALL
The Kite
What Are Ghosts Afraid Of?
“Turkey for Thanksgiving?” “No, Thanks!”
OTOÑO
El papalote
El susto de los fantasmas
–¿Pavo para la Cena de Gracias? –No, gracias.
WINTER
The Golden Cage
I Don’t Want to Melt
It Wasn’t Me
INVIERNO
La jaula dorada
¡No quiero derretirme!
No fui yo
CDS AND CASSETTES DESCRIPTION
Facilitating that children listen to the stories as recorded by the author has a special value. They can hear in the author’s voice just exactly how exactly the author wished to convey the stories feelings and emotions, emphasis and suspense. I particularly like to read aloud and to record my readings so, for me, it was particularly joyful to record these twelve stories in English and Spanish.
The stories can be found in individual cassettes in English and Spanish, one for each book of the series, or in CDs in English and Spanish versions. Each of the CDs contains the twelve stories of the series.
A Special Bonus
Because these stories have been so beloved by children, I conceived the idea of given them an extra dimension. I have rewritten the 12 stories in Spanish in verse format. And Suni Paz, with her incomparable creativity, has put them to music. So the Spanish cassettes and CD contain not only the story as published in the book told by me, but also the story retold in verse form and sang by Suni.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The twelve books of this series are some of my best well known books among bilingual teachers and their students. They are also very dear to my heart since the inspiration for most of them comes from my own children’s childhood.
I have always been fascinated by butterflies but they became even more meaningful when we were living in Lima, Peru, and butterflies would lay their eggs on a ñorbo vine outside my studio’s window. My children were fascinated to be able to witness the whole process of the butterfly laying the eggs, the caterpillar voraciously devouring the ñorbo leaves, hanging itself from a twig and creating a cocoon resembling a dry leave, and finally seeing the butterfly come out of the cocoon, all rolled up until the sun dried its wings and it could fly.
So taken was she by the process that when she was five years old my daughter Rosalma made a beautiful book, “How a caterpillar becomes a butterfly.” All of that has been sufficient inspiration for this book.
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READERS’ RESPONSES
If you have enjoyed reading or sharing this book, I would very much like to hear from you. Please click here to send your comments.
A Magical Encounter: Latino Literature in the Classroom
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009BOOK DESCRIPTION
Enhance the presence of literature in your classroom! This book offers suggestions for the uses of literature in the classroom and its application to any classroom and with any other books the teacher may prefer. The book includes numerous examples of both books in English and books in Spanish, making the book useful to the widest possible number of teachers and children. It also provides an extensive bibliography of books for children and adolescents by Latino and Latina authors, organized by genre, language, and some significant themes.
With this book, readers can feel comfortable bringing literature to the classroom as a vehicle for language and concept development, for creative expression and development of higher thinking skills, while promoting the joy of reading. A Magical Encounter: Latino Children’s Literature in the Classroom is divided in four major parts: Part One outlines theoretical principles which ground the practices suggested, offering some reflections on the role of literature for children and adolescents in the language arts curriculum. It presents the basic tenets of “Transformative Education” as they relate to books for children and adolescents, and describes the “Creative Reading” methodology and its applications. The “One Thousand Book Classroom” is outlined, as well as what a “Transformative Language Arts Classroom” would look like. Part Two overviews the evolution of Latino literature for children and adolescents in the United States. It includes an extensive bibliography of books published by Latino and Latina Authors. Part Three describes the role of the various literary genres in the classroom. Part Four offers suggestions for the application of the theory. The activities suggested are accompanied by examples using specific books.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
This book is the product of forty years working with classroom teachers to bring the enjoyment of literature to their students. The activities suggested have all been developed organically in collaboration with creative teachers throughout the nation or have been the result of visits to their classes. It pleases me immensely to know that this book is currently used in many teacher preparation courses. It would be a pleasure to share some of your favorite activities in the process of developing the magical encounter between children and books.
READERS’ RESPONSES
If you have enjoyed reading or sharing this book, I would very much like to hear from you. Please click here to send your comments.
