¡Miau! Los Gatos / Cats Bilingual Storytime

One of my favorite parts of teaching my online class Bilingual Storytime at Your Biblioteca, is that I learn so much from my students.  This week a student shared a super cute and simple little rhyme, "Los Gatitos" (shared below), and it inspired me to post an outline for a cat-themed bilingual storytime this week.  Enjoy!

Books / Libros

Ven, gatita, ven / Here, Kitty, Kitty is a cute bilingual story from the My Family / Mi Familia series by Pat Mora.  Join in the fun as the family searches everywhere to find the hiding kitty!  A good read for toddlers.

La primera luna llena de Gatita, the Spanish translation of Keven Henkes' Caldecott-winning Kitten's First Full Moon, is a contemporary classic and an absolutely precious story of a little kitten's attempt to get closer to the great saucer of milk in the sky.  Provides lots of opportunities to engage children in the story by predicting what might happen next.  Excellent for preschool.

Un gato y un perro / A Cat and a Dog by Claire Masurel is another bilingual book, and one of my favorites to share with the preschool crowd.  Dog and Cat naturally do not get along.  However, they come to realize that they each have something special to offer the other and find themselves becoming buddies.

I have successfully used and would recommend all of these titles with mixed-age audiences.

Storytelling with Flannelboard / Un cuento para contar

Cookie's Week by Cindy Ward is a story many librarians are familiar with about a mischievous cat who finds creative ways to wreak havoc all week long...hopefully she will take a rest on Sunday!  It's a great story to tell bilingually, in Spanish, or incorporating some Spanish words (such as the names of the days of the week).  I really enjoy telling this story with the aid of the flannelboard, so I am sharing my flannel pattern of Cookie's Week as this week's Flannel Friday contribution.  If you are not familiar with the story, click the link in the title to locate a copy near you in WorldCat.  The Spanish version of the story is La semana de Cookie.  This is another flannel that I first discovered when working at the Columbus Metropolitan Library, so I can't take credit for the adorable design.  My version is modeled off of what staff in the Center for Discover there had already made.

 

Below you find the PDF of these flannel pieces shared via my SlideShare profile, which you can use as a pattern for creating your own version of this flannelboard.

Songs / Canciones 

The song that my student shared this week piggybacks on the tune of "Ten Little Fingers / Diez deditos" and is called "Los gatitos / Little Kittens."  It's very simple, can be sung in English and Spanish, and practices counting skills.

Uno, dos, tres gatitos (One, two, three little kittens)

cuatro, cinco, seis gatitos (four, five, six little kittens)

siete, ocho, nueve gatitos (seven, eight, nine little kittens)

diez gatitos son...¡miau! (ten little kittens meow!)

Another piggyback song that I thought of would be to sing GATOS instead of BINGO, replacing each letter one at a time with a "miau."  You could easily do this with the assistance of a flannelboard, having each of the letters and replacing the letters one at a time with a cat.

And there is a fun traditional song you could use as well, "El Señor Don Gato."  The video below has a fun, upbeat version of the song that shows kids dancing along with everyone standing in a circle, one child walking around the circle to find a friend to dance with, the friends dancing together in the circle, and then a new child walking around to find a friend.  This is a great way to get parents participating in the fun.  Many will probably know the song as well.

You can find the lyrics and an additional audio file of the song via Mama Lisa's World.

School Readiness Activity / Actividad para prepararse para la escuela

If you follow this blog, then you know that I like to include some sort of an early literacy or school readiness skill building activity at the end of storytime, especially for family programs.  An idea that I thought of for this program is to have several sets of cats of different sizes cut out of different colors of paper.  Then, at individual stations or together in small groups, parents and children can use these cat cutouts of varying sizes and colors to conduct a variety of activities.  They can count the cats, pair the cats by 2's or 3's, sort the cats by color, organize the cats by size, create or complete patterns with the cats and even make up their own cat story, using the cutouts as props.  Simple yet powerful practice.

That's all for this program.  Did I miss a book or song that you love for a gatos program?  Have another idea that has worked with your families?  Let us know in the comments, and thanks for reading!

Thanksgiving Storytime Ideas / Ideas para el Día de Acción de Gracias

November is here and I enjoy presenting storytimes that celebrate family and gratitude in the lead up to Thanksgiving.  I thought I would share some of my favorite materials for such bilingual or Spanish program.

Rhymes and Flannelboard

I previously posted my translation of "Five Little Turkeys/Cinco pavos," but I am re-sharing it today with a flannel for this week's Flannel Friday roundup.

Five Little Turkeys
Five little turkeys standing at the door,
one waddled off, and then there were four.
Four little turkeys sitting near a tree,
one waddled off, and then there were three.
Three little turkeys with nothing to do,
one waddled off, and then there were two.
Two little turkeys in the morning sun,
one waddled off, and then there was one.
One little turkey better run away,
For soon it will be Thanksgiving Day.

Cinco pavos
Acerca de la puerta son cinco pavos
Uno se salió, y ahora son cuatro.
Cuatro pavos gordos huelen a los postres
Uno se salió y ahora son tres.
Tres pequeños pavos saltan unos saltos
Uno se salió y ahora son dos.
Dos pavos nerviosos esperan su oportuno
Uno se salió y ahora solo hay uno.
Un pavo queda este día importuno.                                      
Cuando el se sale, ¡no hay ninguno!

Find a PDF of the flannel pieces which you can use as a pattern to create your own on Slideshare.

Books

Movement Song - "Al pavo pavito"

This movement song is also a fun game that is sort of similar to musical chairs.  As explained on Mama Lisa's World:  "This game needs an odd number of children. They dance in a circle. At the end of the song, they count '1, 2, 3' and they gather two by two. The one remaining alone is shouted at with 'Pavo, pavo'. In Spanish, 'pavo' means 'turkey', but it also means 'silly', 'idiotic'."  Though that description may sound a little extreme, the game is actually quite fun, especially with school-age children or mixed-age family audiences in which the parents are participating. This song is from Spain, and I honestly don't know how popular it is in Latin America.  If someone could shed some light on this in the comments, that would be great!  Check out the video below for a video demonstration and the lyrics to the song. 

Extra Activities

Check out this great post from Spanglish Baby with ideas on crafts and games for Thanksgiving, as well as linked printables.

I hope this gives you some ideas for a November bilingual/Spanish storytime!  If you have more suggestions, please share them with us in the comments!

New Session of Bilingual Storytime at Your Biblioteca!

Hi all!  Sorry for the self-promotion but many folks were interested in but unable to participate in the last session of Bilingual Storytime at Your Biblioteca and asked to be notified when it was being offered again. Well, that time is now!  A new session is being offered by Library Juice Academy during November.  The class won't get into full swing until November 4, so there is still plenty of time to register.  All the relevant details are below.  Please send a message or leave a comment if you have any questions.  You can also check out what past students have had to say about the class on the feedback page.

Bilingual Storytime at Your Biblioteca

Instructor: Katie Scherrer
Dates: November 1-28, 2013
Credits: 1.5 CEUs
Price: $175

Description: This 4-week, online course teaches participants how to present bilingual storytimes (English/Spanish) for various ages, regardless of their own language skills. Video demonstrations, articles, online resources and course discussions direct students as they learn how to successfully deliver the various elements of bilingual storytimes, either on their own or with a bilingual community partner. Participants will discover new books, rhymes, songs, plans and resources that they can immediately put to use in their bilingual storytime programs.

Learning Objectives:

• Students will learn how to select and use the following components in bilingual storytime: books, songs, rhymes, fingerplays, and stories for telling aloud.
• Students will experiment with incorporating bilingual materials into their existing storytime programs.
• Students will select books and other materials they can use to increase inclusion of Latino culture and the Spanish language in their English storytime programs.
• Students will develop strategies for working with bilingual community partners to present and market bilingual storytime.
• Students will gain an increased understanding of the early literacy and school readiness needs of Latino children.
• Students will articulate how bilingual storytime supports the early literacy and school readiness needs of Latino children, and identify online resources for sharing early literacy and school readiness information with Spanish-speaking parents.
• Students will each develop two bilingual storytime plans.

Katie Scherrer is a library consultant and training specialist whose work focuses on improving library services to Latino and Spanish-speaking children and families. She previously worked as the first Spanish Program Specialist for the Columbus Metropolitan Library and as a Children’s Librarian at the uniquely bilingual Village Branch of the Lexington Public Library. Katie has presented many workshops on bilingual storytime and library services to Latino families for librarians across the country, including at the 2010 Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Literature for Youth, and the 2013 ALA Annual Conference. For more information, check out this Interview with Katie.

Course structure:  This is an online class that is taught asynchronously, meaning that participants do the work on their own time as their schedules allow. The class does not meet together at any particular times, although the instructor may set up optional sychronous chat sessions. Instruction includes readings and assignments in one-week segments. Class participation is in an online forum environment.

Cuentos para celebrar el cambio de las estaciones / Storytime to Celebrate the Change in Seasons

It's been a little while since I posted a full storytime plan and the magnificent color of the autumn in Kentucky has me inspired, so I thought I would share some ideas for a storytime on the seasons / las estaciones.

One of the coolest things that I have learned since I began teaching workshops on bilingual storytime is how many varied approaches there are out there to such programming.  For example, with the exception of music which I only use if it is bilingual or in Spanish, I tend to present most of the materials in my programs in both English and Spanish.  At my presentation at ALA this summer, there were a couple of librarians from the Southwest who attract a mostly bilingual crowd to their programs (their participants speak both English and Spanish comfortably).  These librarians do not present the same materials in both English and Spanish, but rather present one item in English and then move to Spanish and so on.  In my online classes, I often work with librarians who themselves do not speak Spanish who are wanting to learn how they can incorporate a few Spanish words or songs here and there into their English programs. Though learning about these different approaches doesn't necessarily change my particular style of how I design and present bilingual storytime, it has helped me to think more broadly about what it can look like.  I hope that some of these ideas will be useful across a broad spectrum of storytimes.

Bilingual Storytime: Seasons / Las estaciones

Opening Song

There are many potential opening songs for bilingual storytime.  One recommendation is "What's Your Name / ¿Cómo te llamas?"

Talk Time with Flannelboard

Take a few minutes to introduce each season in English and Spanish: winter / el invierno, spring / la primavera, summer / el verano, and fall / el otoño.  There is plenty of inspiration to be found for flannelboard designs on the Flannel Friday Seasons Pinterest board.  I like to keep it simple with a snowflake / un copo de nieve, a flower / una flor, a sun / un sol, and a leaf / una hoja.  You can talk about the various seasons in all kinds of ways depending on the age of your group (what you wear, what the weather is like, which is your favorite, etc.).  This is a great moment to make a brief early literacy statement for the parents, encouraging them to talk with their children frequently in the language that the know best to help their children learn new words.

Movement Rhyme

This is a little movement ryhme that I came up with recently.  You could share in English and Spanish all at once on your own or with a partner, share once in Spanish and then again later in the program in English, or even switch from English to Spanish from verse to verse depending on your style and your group.

¿Cómo son las estaciones / What are the seasons like? 

En el invierno
hace frio, frio, frio.
(Tirite el cuerpo como tenga frio.) 

In the winter time

it is cold, cold, cold.

(Shiver your body like you are cold.)

En la primavera
hace lluvia, lluvia, lluvia.
(Menee los dedos por abajo como la lluvia.)

In the spring time

it rains, rains, rains.

(Wiggle your fingers down like rain.)

En el verano
hace sol, sol, sol.
(Levante los brazos por arriba como el sol.) 

In the summer time

the sun shines, shines, shines.

(Raise your arms up overhead like the sun.)

En el otoño
caen hojas, hojas, hojas.
(Gire como una hoja cayendo.)

In the fall time

the leaves fall, fall, fall.

(Spin around like leaves falling and come to seated on the floor.)

Book 1

Llegó la primavera / Spring is Here by Taro Gomi

Movement Song

There are many options for movement songs.  I love to use them to transition between the sitting activities, especially with mixed-age groups.  Movement songs just need to be fun; no theme is necessary.  If you want to stick with the celebration of the seasons, a traditional song like "De Colores" could be made into a movement activity by adding egg shakers, color scarves or a parachute.  If you want to try something just for fun, I like this movement song from Grupo Encanto called "La ronda de los conejos."  This song is a fun what to get parents engaged with the program as well.

Find the lyrics here on the Cantajuegos blog.

Book 2

Un recorrido por las estaciones por Stella Blackstone

Nonfiction Book

The seasons are a great theme for exploring nonfiction with kids.  You don't have to read the book word-for-word or all the way through; another option is to use the book and some of its content (including the pictures) to talk about the seasons and why they change. This echoes back to the early literacy statement you earlier shared with parents about the importance of talking frequently with children and models how to use a book to inspire such conversation.  Some options are the series of seasons books available in Spanish by Sian Smith or Las estaciones y el tiempo / Seasons and Weather by Mary Berendes.

Closing Song

Lyrics available here on the King County Tell Me a Story wiki.

Final Activity

I absolutely love this leaf collage idea from the El Hada de Papel blog.  If you are fortunate enough to be in an area where there are trees, you could spend a few minutes outside together collecting leaves as a group for your collages.  If not, ask your staff to bring in some from home.

There you have it!  I would love to get your feedback if you try any of these ideas in your own storytime.  Or if there is a book, song or another idea that you'd like to add, please share in the comments below.  Thanks for reading!

Library Outreach to Spanish-Speaking Communities Online Class

This post is to let everyone in library land know that registration is now open for my online course "Library Outreach to Spanish-Speaking Communities" being hosted by Library Juice Academy.  This course is designed for public library staff new to the work of providing outreach to Spanish-speakers.

Many libraries struggle to serve Spanish-speakers. Even those that build a Spanish language collection or try offering programs in Spanish sometimes do not see the response they hope for from the community. Library Outreach to Spanish-Speaking Communities walks participants through the outreach process, critical for forming relationships within Spanish-speaking communities, particularly first-generation immigrant communities. Learn about the barriers to access the prevent library use, and how organizations can overcome those barriers by working with community partners and leaders.  The course is asynchronous and it runs for four-weeks.  Participants choose from two options for their final project in the course: developing an initial Outreach Plan for their organization or conducting a real Community Leader Interview to learn more about the Spanish-speaking community in their area.

Information about registration for the course can be found here: http://www.libraryjuiceacademy.com/032-spanish-speaking.php.  Don't hesitate to be in touch if you have any questions about the course.

Also, a head's up, my class on bilingual storytime, Bilingual Storytime at Your Biblioteca, will be offered again this November.  I hope to see some blog readers in both of these classes!

Bilingual Board Book Giveaway!

What better way to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month 2013 than with a giveaway?  I was recently contacted about ArteKids, a beautiful new series of bilingual board books that celebrate art from around the world and introduce first concepts.  The publisher, Tu Press, has generously agreed to give away a full set of the the books to one lucky reader of ¡Es Divertido Hablar Dos Idiomas!

These five bilingual board books, with text from the San Antonio Public Library Foundation and illustrations from the San Antonio Museum of Art are excellent choices for all public library collections.  They introduce numbers, colors, shapes, animals and vocabulary through images of diverse art, including paintings, sculpture, photography and more.  Questions in English and Spanish on each page spark interaction between child and caregiver.  Examples from Animal Amigos! include: "Can you walk like an elephant?" and "¿Por qué se esconden los monos entre las rocas?"  These suggestions help inspire dialogic reading, movement and conversation between adult and child, making the books excellent choices when introducing early literacy and school readiness concepts to parents.  The artwork from around the world featured in the illustrations is cited in the end pages of each book.  I hope that the series continues to grow!

To be entered in the drawing for a complete set of the five books currently in the ArteKids series, simply leave a comment on this post by the end of the day Friday, September 20.  I'd love it if you would share how you intend to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month this year, or how you think you may use these books if you the winner.  I will put the names in a drawing and randomly select a winner, who will be contacted by a representative of Tu Press for details on how to receive the books.

Thanks, Tu Press, for this generous offer!

Book Recommendation: Good Night Captain Mama / Buenas Noches Capitán Mamá

This quick post is to share with you a book that I became aware of over the summer, but only recently sat down to read.  Good Night Captain Mama / Buenas Noches Capitán Mamá by Graciela Tiscareno-Sato is a bilingual picture book that covers a subject I've never seen addressed in any picture book, let alone a bilingual one.  It's about a female pilot in the Air Force who is also a mom.  In this story, mom, who has the rank of Captain, takes the time to lovingly tell her curious son about her job, her uniform and her patches.  Her son goes to sleep full of pride and looking forward to the day when he will get to see her airplane.

This is the rare self-published book that I would actually hope to see on library shelves.  It is more instructional than engaging in terms of story development, but still noteworthy due to its attention to women/Latinas/moms serving in the military.

I personally was really touched by the story, because my father-in-law and his father were both pilots in the Navy.  My husband's grandfather was a teacher to other pilots.  He passed away around Christmas time the year before last.  When he was in the hospital before he passed, we had amazing conversations about his time as a pilot instructor.  He still remembered many of his students' names, and had many touching and sometimes hilarious stories to share.  The pride he felt for that work stayed with him his entire life.  I believe picture books that allow young people to connect with their military family members, such as this title, are so valuable.  You can find out more about this book on Amazon or a the book's web page.

Flannel Friday GIVEAWAY! - Picky Paul (Bilingual)

*NOTE: Please read this entire post to find the details on how to enter a drawing for a version of this flannel set which I a giving away!*

Picky Paul, which I now tell in Spanish and bilingually as Pedro, el mal comedor, is the flannel story that made me first fall in love with using the flannelboard as a storytelling tool.  I learned it when I was working at the Columbus Metropolitan Library as a Spanish Language Program Specialist.  There are several really amazing things about working in youth services for that specific organization.  One is that they have a circulating flannel collection which is housed in the Main Library's Center for Discover (the children's department).  There are hundreds of flannelboard versions of stories and rhymes already made by the talented staff which any YS staff person can request and "check-out" for his or her programming.  That's where I first discovered "Picky Paul," and I'm sharing my version of it with you here today. Unfortunately, I have no idea what book or collection it originally comes from, so if someone does and can share, that would be great!

The story basically goes that a little boy named Paul (Pedro) is a picky eater (un mal comedor).  His dad is always trying to introduce him to new foods, but when he asks Paul if he will try them, his response is, "No I won't!" (¡No lo probaré!)  So Paul's dad takes Paul into the kitchen and introduces him to a variety of foods, including a tomato (un tomate), a green pepper (un pimiento verde), some mushrooms (unas setas), an onion (una cebolla) and some cheese (el queso).  Each time Paul's dad asks if he will try the ingredients and each time comes Paul's response: "No I won't!" (¡No lo probaré! - change the grammar as appropriate in Spanish).  Paul's dad gets out a big bowl (una tazón grande) and stirs, stirs, stirs (la mezcla, mezcla, mezcla).  Then he gets out a rolling pin (un rodillo de amasar) and rolls, rolls, rolls (la estira, estira, estira).  Finally he puts something in the oven and they wait, while a yummy smell fills the kitchen.  The oven timer dings, and out comes a pizza!  This time when Paul's dad asks if he will try the new food his response is "Yes, I will!" (¡Si la probaré!).

I know that this story doesn't have the best message about food behavior, but I love it anyway!  It is super fun to tell and the visual component of the ingredients helps to reinforce new vocabulary that is introduced.  It is also a story that works extremely well in bilingual storytime.  Last month I presented a bilingual storytime on food with one of my previous "Bilingual Storytime at Your Biblioteca" students (new session starts August 5 - register today!).  She had designed the program as part of her final project in the class.  We used this story in addition to What Can You Do with a Paleta / ¿Qué puedes hacer con una paleta? by Carmen Tafolla and No More, Por Favor by Susan Middleton Elya.  It was a blast!  We had a mixed-age audience of wee ones up through school age and they all stayed very engaged throughout.  She surprised the kids at the end with real paletas too, which was a huge success!

Here, as always, is a PDF of the flannel pieces which you can feel free to print and use as a pattern to make your own "Picky Paul / Pedro, el mal comedor."  However, this time around I have a special surprise for all of you Flannel Friday folks - I'm giving this flannel set away to one lucky reader!  Just leave a comment by Tuesday, July 23, 5 PM EST and I will put the names of everyone who commented into a random drawing.  I will announce the winner in the comments, so be sure to select to receive follow-up comments or check back frequently.  I will need the winner to correspond with me via email ASAP so that I can have a valid address to send the flannel.  If I cannot get in touch with the person selected in a timely manner as per my discretion, then I select another name until I do.  Happy flanneling everyone!

Picky Paul / Pedro, el mal comedor from Katie Scherrer

ALA Take-Away: Issues Surrounding Multicultural Books for Kids

At ALA Annual last week, I had the opportunity to attend two very well-organized and engaging sessions on the issues surrounding the publishing of multicultural literature for children.  Some of you may remember last winter's controversial New York Times article decrying the lack of Latino children's literature.  There was also a recent NPR story on the same topic.  This compelling infographic from multicultural children's publisher Lee and Low provides a visual presentation of the stagnation in terms of the inclusion of people of color in literature for children and youth.

However, the issue of diverse representation in multicultural children's literature is more nuanced than a simple declaration of not enough material being published.  What is happening with the high-quality diverse children's literature that is being published?  Are Pura Belpré and Coretta Scott King award-winning books being used in classrooms and after-school programs?  How many books that positively portray people of color are included in library bibliographies and school summer reading lists?  Are we incorporating bilingual books into our storytimes and library displays, or are they languishing in foreign language sections of our children's areas, separate from where most families browse and discover new books?

There were many responses to the original New York Times article, including one from School Library Journal in which prominent Latino children's literature scholars and librarian activists such as Dr. Jamie Campbell Naidoo and Oralia Garza de Cortes were quoted speaking about the strides that have been made for diverse children's literature in recent decades.  What was the most powerful take-away for me from that article is what was also the most powerful take-away for me from the discussion sessions at ALA - if we want to see the publishing of diverse children's literature that actually reflects the demographics of our country, then we must demand it.  We must do our part to be sure that the high-quality literature that already exists is visible and accessible.  We must support small publishers.  We must demand diversity in classrooms, library programs and book fairs.  We must continue to engage in the discussion in-person and online long after the spark from these recent news stories fades away.

What are you doing, in ways small and large, to increase the visibility of diverse children's literature in your community?

2013 ALA Annual Conference Presentation on Bilingual Storytime

Hi everyone!  Here is the presentation that I am sharing at the 2013 American Library Association annual conference.  My session is called "Bilingual and Culturally Inclusive Storytime Programs" and it is designed to be the most useful for librarians who are interested in or new to bilingual storytime, who may not be bilingual themselves.  I hope to see many friendly faces at the session on Saturday, June 29, 1-2:30 PM.  Come by and say hello!

Upcoming Learning Opportunities

Hello friends!  This quick post is to let you know about some learning opportunities that I have coming up if you are interested in learning more about bilingual storytime or providing outreach to Spanish-speaking communities.

First, I am super excited (and nervous!) to be presenting at ALA at the end of the month.  The Office for Literacy and Outreach Services has asked me to present a session on bilingual storytime for librarians who may not be bilingual themselves.  The session will be 90-minutes, focused on the "how-to" of launching a new  bilingual storytime program, and it will incorporate demonstration in order to give participants some of the flavor of bilingual storytime as well.  Here is the official description and information:

Bilingual and Culturally Inclusive Storytime Programs

WHEN: 

Saturday, June 29, 2013 - 1:00pm to 2:30pm

LOCATION: 

Hyatt Regency McCormick Place

Regency Ballroom D

DESCRIPTION: 

Latinos are the youngest and fastest-growing demographic in the country, with many Latino children growing up in Spanish-speaking homes. Bilingual storytimes provide an opportunity to model early literacy practices for parents, to discover new stories and songs and to celebrate the gift of bilingualism – all in two languages! This session will describe how librarians who do not speak Spanish can implement bilingual storytime programs. The models discussed will be (a) truly bilingual programs offered by working with bilingual community partners and (b) predominantly English programs which are intentionally inclusive of Latino culture and the Spanish language. Participants will leave the session with new ideas for books, songs and rhymes to incorporate into their storytime programs, as well as useful online resources for program planning. Tools for explaining and promoting early literacy and school readiness skills to Spanish-speaking parents will also be shared.

I also have two online classes being offered this summer through Library Juice Academy.  The first is a class on outreach to Spanish-speakers called "Connecting with Spanish-Speaking Communities."  It is designed to be most useful to library staff who want to learn how to better connect Spanish-speaking immigrant communities with library services, particularly when they are new to this work and/or when the organization lacks bilingual/bicultural staff.  The class runs July 1 - July 28.  More information is below:

Connecting with Spanish-Speaking Communities

Instructor: Katie Scherrer
Dates: July 1-28, 2013
Credits: 1.5 CEUs
Price: $175

Description: A 4-week online course through which participants create an Outreach Plan designed to increase library use by and service to Spanish-speaking immigrant communities. This course is designed to be most useful to organizations and staff serving communities of first-generation, Spanish-speaking immigrants and their families, particularly when organizations lack bilingual/bicultural staff. Participants learn strategies, discover resources and develop confidence they can use to reach out to this underserved community and connect them with library services.

Learning Objectives:

• Students will identify and select appropriately useful online and print resources available to libraries serving Latinos and Spanish-speakers.
• Students will generate strategies for building relationships between Latino community and the library, based on case studies and real-life examples of successful outreach.
• Students will identify specific barriers to library access experienced by Latino and Spanish-speaking communities and articulate specific outreach steps to remove access barriers.
• Students will apply the outreach process to their own specific organizations by identifying potential partner agencies and community leaders serving Spanish-speakers in their communities.
• Students will generate ideas for effectively marketing relevant library services to Latino and Spanish-speaking communities.
• Students incorporate this learning into the creation of an Outreach Plan for their organization.

I would love to see some of the readers of this blog at ALA or in one of my classes, so please be sure to introduce yourself if you do attend!  As always, if you have any questions, you can contact me here.

Bilingual Nonfiction Book for Earth Day

This Monday, April 22 is el Día de la Tierra, Earth Day.  I recently discovered a book that would be wonderful for marking this holiday in bilingual storytime.  I Love Our Earth / Amo nuestra tierra by Bill Martin, Jr. is a rare find indeed.  It's simple and brief text is lovely in both languages and is short enough to be a perfect storytime choice.  This is sometimes difficult to find in bilingual nonfiction!  The book is illustrated with beautiful photos of real people and real landscapes from around the world.  It would be a nice choice for storytimes on colors and seasons as well.

Spanglish Baby has created a Pinterest pinboard of bilingual Earth Day ideas.  You can can find crafts and printables for celebrating el Día de la Tierra from Primera Escuela as well.

How are you celebrating Earth Day?  Please leave a comment to let us know how it goes if you share this book in your program, have other Earth Day ideas or want to suggest other bilingual nonfiction titles that work well in storytime!

Bilingual Book to Know: Tito Puente: Mambo King/Rey del Mambo

Tito Puente: Mambo King/Rey del Mambo has finally arrived!  I have been waiting for this book to come out since I first heard Brown and Lopez talk about it at the 2010 National Latino Literature Conference.  I have to say, it was worth the wait! This book is going to be so much fun to share with kids and incorporate into storytimes.  I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do!  See my review from Mamiverse Books below and a book trailer narrated by Brown and Lopez.

Tito Puente: Mambo King/Rey del Mambo

Tito Puente: Mambo King/Rey del Mambo
By Monica Brown • Illustrated by Rafael López
Translated by Adriana Domínguez
Rayo/HarperCollins • 2013 • 32 pages
Hardcover ($17.99)
ISBN: 978-0061227837
Ages 4-8

Monica Brown and Rafael López (the duo behind the award-winning My Name is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz/Me llamo Celia: La vida de Celia Cruz) have teamed up again to create an illustrated biography of one of America’s most important and beloved Latino musicians: Tito Puente, Mambo King/Rey del Mambo. This book captivates readers with its lively energy right from the cover, which portrays an enthusiastic Tito swept up in a whirlwind of music.

While some of Brown’s past biographies have been of a length and depth appropriate for older school-age children, this title focuses on Tito’s lifelong passion for music rather than on presenting extensive information about his life. This keeps the text fast-paced and age-appropriate for a younger pre-school audience, which will delight in Lopez’s imaginative full-spread illustrations. Mamis, teachers and librarians will be thrilled to see that this bilingual title is of appropriate length to share with younger children in both languages! Additionally, Brown’s incorporation of repeated onomatopoeia invites readers and listeners to join in, tapping or chanting out the “¡Tum Tica! ¡Tac Tic! ¡Tum Tic! ¡Tom Tom!” as Tito and his friends make joyful music together.

A photo and further factual information about Tito are provided at the end, as well as a musical notation for the repeated rhythm. Playful and vibrant in both text and illustration, this title successfully keeps the spirit of Tito Puente alive for a whole new generation.

—Reviewed by Katie Cunningham, Library Professional and Blogger, ¡Es Divertido Hablar Dos Idiomas! 

Celebramos César Chavez

Librarians and teachers working with elementary students have several wonderful picture books available to celebrate César Chavez Day, which is celebrated as a state holiday in California, Colorado and Texas on March 31.  César Chavez was an important Latino leader who, along with his partner Dolores Huerta, helped migrant farm workers organize to demand decent working conditions.  This movement and Chavez are associated with the rallying cry, "¡Sí, se puede!"  "Yes, we can!"

Here are some ideas of books, activities and more that can be used in the classroom or in library programs.

César, a 2006 Pura Belpré honor recipient for both text and illustration, presents the life and work of César Chavez in brief, English-language poems.  Written by Carmen Bernier-Grand and illustrated by David Diaz.

A Picture Book of Cesar Chavez by David and Michael Adler and illustrated by Marie Olofsdotter presents a biography appropriate in length and depth for younger elementary students.

Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez (also available in Spanish) is an excellent biography, and a recipient of the 2004  Pura Belpré illustration honor.  Written by Kathleen Krull and illustrated by Yuyi Morales.

César Chavez: The Struggle of Justice / La lucha por la historia presents a biography of César in a bilingual format.

Dolores Huerta: A Hero to Migrant Workers celebrates César's partner, who fought alongside him and was a fearless leader herself.

Perhaps my favorite, Side by Side: The Story of Dolores Huerta and César Chavez / Lado a lado: La historia de Dolores Huerta y César Chavez presents the story of each of these important leaders and their work together.

A biography of César Chavez followed by printables and other activities from Enchanted Learning.

Many resources, including booklists and video, for parents and teachers of migrant students from Colorín Colorado.

How will you celebrate the legacy of César Chavez?

Learn Bilingual Storytime with Katie! New Online Course

Hi everyone!  I am really excited to share with you that "Bilingual Storytime at Your Biblioteca," a new course I am teaching through Library Juice Academy is now open for registration!  Through this course I teach participants to design bilingual and culturally inclusive storytime programs, even when they do not speak Spanish.  The course features video demonstrations of bilingual songs, rhymes and stories, but like the one that I shared in Flannel Friday: Owls! Lechuzas! Búhos! I love teaching this class, so I hope to see many of you there!  The description and registration information is below.  Please share!  Also, please don't hesitate to be in touch if you have any questions.

If you'd like to learn a little more about me and my experience as it pertains to serving Latinos and Spanish-speakers, feel free to visit the Connected Communities website, or read this interview from Library Juice Academy.

Bilingual Storytime at Your Biblioteca

Instructor: Katie Cunningham
Dates: April 1-28, 2013
Credits: 1.5 CEUs
Price: $175

Description: This 4-week, online course teaches participants how to present bilingual storytimes (English/Spanish) for various ages, regardless of their own language skills. Video demonstrations, articles, online resources and course discussions direct students as they learn how to successfully deliver the various elements of bilingual storytimes, either on their own or with a bilingual community partner. Participants will discover new books, rhymes, songs, plans and resources that they can immediately put to use in their bilingual storytime programs.

Learning Objectives:

• Students will learn how to select and use the following components in bilingual storytime: books, songs, rhymes, fingerplays, and stories for telling aloud.
• Students will experiment with incorporating bilingual materials into their existing storytime programs.
• Students will select books and other materials they can use to increase inclusion of Latino culture and the Spanish language in their English storytime programs.
• Students will develop strategies for working with bilingual community partners to present and market bilingual storytime.
• Students will gain an increased understanding of the early literacy and school readiness needs of Latino children.
• Students will articulate how bilingual storytime supports the early literacy and school readiness needs of Latino children, and identify online resources for sharing early literacy and school readiness information with Spanish-speaking parents.
• Students will each develop two bilingual storytime plans.

Rhyme Time en Español

Serving on the 2013 Pura Belpré award committee was easily one of the greatest honors I have experienced thus far in my career.  However, now that my term is over and our winners were selected, I am thrilled to be able to blog about books again!

Yanitzia Canetti has been on my radar for a long time due to her excellent translation work.  I have always been particularly impressed by how well she maintains rhyme, making changes to literal content when necessary in order to preserve the context, rhythm and intention of the story.  Some examples include La llama llama rojo pijama, Cerdota grandota,and Cha-cha-cha en la selva.  So I am especially thrilled that she has recently published her own book of Spanish children's rhymes, Uno, Dos, Tres: My First Spanish Rhymes.

This title presents dozens of Spanish rhymes organized by topic, such as "Let's Travel / A pasear" and "Let's Play / A jugar."  The rhymes are all in Spanish, but the end pages in the back provides some explanation and English translation.  The title also contains a CD so you can hear the rhymes in addition to reading them.  I know for me this is always useful, as I like to use traditional rhymes in my storytime programs but did not grow up speaking Spanish, so I'm always looking to learn new rhymes that will resonate with the families I serve.  The rhymes aren't titled in the book, which makes their presentation at times a little unclear.  I also wish that the notes at the end included information about in which countries the various rhymes are common. Overall, however, this is an excellent title, a must-have for libraries and definitely one that any librarian offering Spanish/bilingual storytimes and/or serving Spanish-speaking families should know.

Flannel Friday: Owls! Lechuzas! Búhos!

A while back, Leah Kulikowski shared a totally cute pattern for owls to go with the rhyme "Five Little Hoot Owls."  I also discovered the fingerplay "Wide-Eyed Owl" from Storytime Katie.  Today I am sharing my Spanish translations of each of these.

Cinco lechucitas

Cinco lechucitas sentadas en un árbol.
¡Una se fue volando! ¿Cuántas están quedando?

Cuatro lechucitas sentadas en un árbol.
¡Una se fue volando! ¿Cuántas están quedando?

Tres lechucitas sentadas en un árbol.
¡Una se fue volando! ¿Cuántas están quedando?

Dos lechucitas sentadas en un árbol.
¡Una se fue volando! ¿Cuántas están quedando?

Una lechucita sentada en árbol. 

¡Se fue volando! Ahora, ninguna está quedando.

Leah is so awesome that she has a pattern of her little owls on her blog already, so I'm going to link back to her instead of uploading my pieces as a PDF.  But I do have a video demonstration of this rhyme to share.  This video was produced by the Library of Virginia for my online course "Bilingual Storytime at Your Bilioteca."  The next session of this course is being offered by Library Juice Academy in April.

And finally, Wide-Eyed Owl.  For this rhyme, I like to use an owl puppet or a larger version of one of the owls above.

There’s a Wide-Eyed Owl / El búho con ojos grandes
There's a wide-eyed owl (circle your eyes with your hands)
With a pointed nose (make a beak with your fingers)
Two pointed ears (make ears with your fingers)
And claws for toes (wiggle your "claws")
He lives way up (point way up)
In the tree (way, way up)
And when he looks at you (point to children)
He flaps his wings (flap your wings)
And says, "Whoo! Whoo!" (keep flappin' till the owls come home)

Hay un buho con ojos grandes
Con una nariz puntiaguda
Dos orejitas
Y pezuñas afiladas como deditos
El vive arriba
Muy alto en el árbol
Y cuando les mira
El bate las alitas
Y dice, “Juuu, juuu."

Online Course: Connecting with Spanish-Speaking Communities

I am teaching a course on outreach to Latino and Spanish-speaking communities in March through Library Juice Academy.  The information is below.  This is a great class not only for youth services librarians, but also outreach librarians, adult services librarians, managers and even administrators who are working to make their libraries more inclusive of Latino and Spanish-speaking communities.  Please feel free to email me if you have any questions about the course: katie@connectedcommunitiesconsulting.com.

Connecting with Spanish-Speaking Communities

Description: A 4-week online course through which participants create an Outreach Plan designed to increase library use by and service to Spanish-speaking immigrant communities.  This course is designed to be most useful to organizations and staff serving communities of first-generation, Spanish-speaking immigrants and their families, particularly when organizations lack bilingual/bicultural staff.  Participants learn strategies, discover resources and develop confidence they can use to reach out to this underserved community and connect them with library services.  

Learning Objectives:

• Students will identify and select appropriately useful online and print resources available to libraries serving Latinos and Spanish-speakers.
• Students will generate strategies for building relationships between Latino community and the library, based on case studies and real-life examples of successful outreach.
• Students will identify specific barriers to library access experienced by Latino and Spanish-speaking communities and articulate specific outreach steps to remove access barriers.
• Students will apply the outreach process to their own specific organizations by identifying potential partner agencies and community leaders serving Spanish-speakers in their communities.
• Students will generate ideas for effectively marketing relevant library services to Latino and Spanish-speaking communities.
• Students incorporate this learning into the creation of an Outreach Plan for their organization.

Upcoming Session: March 1 – March 31 via Library Juice Academy.  Register at http://libraryjuiceacademy.com/032-spanish-speaking.php.   Cost is $175.

Flannel Friday - Froggy se viste

I'm sure it's been shared in multiple variations before, but with the cold and snow finally arriving here in Kentucky, I wanted to share my flannelboard version of Froggy Gets Dressed, also available in Spanish as Froggy se viste, by Jonathan London.  If you haven't shared this tale on the flannelboard before, go for it!  Especially if you are working with preschool, or even young school age kids.  This story may even be a great fit for early elementary Spanish teachers to consider including in the classroom to reinforce clothing vocabulary.  And, it's guaranteed to get some giggles!

Before I move on to the flannel, though, I'd like to quickly share that there is still time to register for my upcoming online course, Bilingual Storytime at Your Biblioteca, being offered by the Library of Virginia.  I am SO thrilled to finally be teaching this class!  Bilingual folks will find new songs, stories, online resources, and pre-made plans they can use to enhance their programs.  However, this class is for librarians who don't speak Spanish too!  Many resources and techniques are included for making English storytime programs more inclusive of Latino culture and the Spanish language.  I even share some flannelboard patterns and video demonstrations!  There is a pre-requisite for the course, but I will consider waiving it for students who already have experience providing outreach to Latino and Spanish-speaking communities.  If you are interested, please click the link above for full registration information and more details about the course itself.  Now, on to Froggy!

Most people are probably already familiar with this story of a little Frog who wakes up early to find snow on the ground.  He wants to go play, but each time he goes outside, his mom calls his name to let him know he's forgotten a crucial item of clothing.  There is a lot of repetition in the story, and the kids can join in predicting what may happen next.  Here are some of the key words in Spanish: snow/la nieve, frog/la rana, winter/el invierno, socks/las medias, boots/las botas, hat/la gorra, scarf/la bufanda, gloves/los guantes, pants/los pantalones, shirt/la camisa, jacket/la chaqueta, and underwear/la ropa interior.

As always, here is a PDF of the flannelboard which you can download and print to use as a pattern to make creating your own version of this story even easier.  Happy flanneling!  ¡Disfruten el cuento!

Froggy Gets Dressed flannel pattern from Katie Cunningham

Bilingual Storytime at Your Biblioteca - Register Today!

Hello readers of ¡Es Divertido Hablar Dos Idiomas!  Have you ever wanted to learn more about how to present your own bilingual storytimes, or how to make your English storytimes more inclusive of Latino culture and the Spanish language?  If so, please consider enrolling in my new online course, Bilingual Storytime at Your Biblioteca, being offered through the Library of Virginia!  I am beyond excited to be offering this course, which I have been working on creating for the last several months.  I share pre-made bilingual storytime plans, recommended books and music, great online resources, and even video demonstrations of flannelboard storytelling, bilingual songs, and fingerplays, created specifically for this course.  It is designed to help bilingual storytime presenters enhance their programs, and to provide non-Spanish speaking libraries with tools and tips for how they can make their English programs more inclusive and useful for Spanish-speaking families.  More information about the course is below - I hope to see many of you in the class!

Bilingual Storytime at Your Biblioteca - Course Description:

This 4-week, online course teaches participants how to present bilingual storytimes (English/Spanish) for various ages. Numerous techniques for successfully delivering the various elements of bilingual storytimes (bilingual books, storytelling, rhymes, and songs) will be shared in print and demonstrated via video. Participants in this course will gain practical ideas and increased confidence that will aid them as they work to include Latino culture and the Spanish language in their storytime programs, regardless of their language skills. Modifications for storytime presenters who do not speak Spanish but want their programs to be more inclusive of Latinos and Spanish-speakers will be shared.  Each participant will develop two storytime plans as the final project for the course.

Bilingual Storytime at Your Biblioteca - Registration:

Registration is now open for the next session of this course, which will be offered online through the Library of Virginia, January 14, 2013 - February 10, 2013.  The registration fee is $25 for library staff in Virginia and $50 for those outside of Virginia.  The fee includes your own copy of the book Read Me a Rhyme in English and Spanish / Léame una rima en español e inglés by Rose Treviño.  To register please contact Enid Costley at the Library of Virginia - enid.costley@lva.virginia.gov.  The prerequisite for this course is "Connecting with the Spanish-Speaking Community."  However, the instructor will consider accepting students who already have experience working with and providing outreach to Latinos and Spanish-speakers who have not taken this prerequesite.  If this is your situation, please email Katie Cunningham directly to discuss this further - katie@connectedcommunitiesconsulting.com.