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Lil' Libros
Life of / La vida de Selena: Special Edition (Bilingual: English/Spanish): A Bilingual Picture Book Biography (The Life of Series)
A Lil' Libros Bilingual Biography
Selena's career started at a young age when she became lead singer in her family's band, Selena Y Los Dinos. She went on to become an award-winning artist with albums like Amor Prohibido and Selena Live, and earned the title "Queen of Tejano Music." Your little one will learn that Selena's favorite food was pizza and that the most important people in the world to her were her familia and fans.
Unable to find bilingual first concept books she could enjoy reading to her baby, Patty Rodriguez came up with the idea behind Lil' Libros. Patty and her work have been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, CNN Latino, Latina Magazine, Cosmopolitan, People En Espanol, Cosmo Latina, and American Latino TV, to name a few. She is currently Sr. Producer for On Air With Ryan Seacrest-iHeartMedia, jewelry designer for MALA by Patty Rodriguez, and creator of Manolos And Tacos.
Ariana Stein, a graduate from California State University, Dominguez Hills, has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. Ariana spent the first eight years of her professional career in the corporate world. Her life changed with the birth of her baby boy. She immediately realized that bilingualism played a very important role in his future, as well as the future of other children.
Selena's career started at a young age when she became lead singer in her family's band, Selena Y Los Dinos. She went on to become an award-winning artist with albums like Amor Prohibido and Selena Live, and earned the title "Queen of Tejano Music." Your little one will learn that Selena's favorite food was pizza and that the most important people in the world to her were her familia and fans.
Unable to find bilingual first concept books she could enjoy reading to her baby, Patty Rodriguez came up with the idea behind Lil' Libros. Patty and her work have been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, CNN Latino, Latina Magazine, Cosmopolitan, People En Espanol, Cosmo Latina, and American Latino TV, to name a few. She is currently Sr. Producer for On Air With Ryan Seacrest-iHeartMedia, jewelry designer for MALA by Patty Rodriguez, and creator of Manolos And Tacos.
Ariana Stein, a graduate from California State University, Dominguez Hills, has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. Ariana spent the first eight years of her professional career in the corporate world. Her life changed with the birth of her baby boy. She immediately realized that bilingualism played a very important role in his future, as well as the future of other children.
22 pages, Board Book
First published January 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
April 16, 2023
Quick read for my toddler's.
January 20, 2020
I like reading many bilingual Spanish/English books that are written for children and youth. This book was a particularly enjoyable read. The Life of Selena/La Vida de Selena has wonderful background information about the music career of Selena Quintanilla. The physical book itself is very well made and is aesthetically pleasing. ¡Muy excelente!
January 15, 2020
Just the most basic facts presented for the beloved Tejano singer. Her tragic death is not mentioned. Spanish flows nicely. The most attractive part of the book are the bright illustrations that have an anime feel with big eyes and heads. Good for the youngest readers.
October 21, 2025
•The key themes of this book are introduction to learn about biographies. Acknowledging cultural icons, music, perseverance, and achieving your dreams.
•Audience: 4-8 years old
•I chose this book because it is a beautiful story that highlights the talented Selena Quintanilla. She was a beautiful person and talented woman.
•I would use this book in my classroom to inspire, motivate, and teach that perseverance promotes life. It is a positive representation for the Latino culture and promotes the beauty of following one’s dreams. I would use this book to teach cultural diversity and highlight icons that inspire our children to go after their dreams.
•Audience: 4-8 years old
•I chose this book because it is a beautiful story that highlights the talented Selena Quintanilla. She was a beautiful person and talented woman.
•I would use this book in my classroom to inspire, motivate, and teach that perseverance promotes life. It is a positive representation for the Latino culture and promotes the beauty of following one’s dreams. I would use this book to teach cultural diversity and highlight icons that inspire our children to go after their dreams.
October 22, 2020
This book is a very short, bilingual tale that highlights the important events in Selena's life. While this a very simple take, with each page only getting two sentences (one in English and then mirrored underneath in Spanish), I think it's a great reading exercise for kids learning one language or another with a very lovable topic in the center of it.
The art was very simplistic and didn't really draw my attention, but I did think that it was stylistically appropriate for supporting the vocabulary words that each sentence translates. I think it's cute and an easy read for little kids, even if it isn't that entertaining.
The art was very simplistic and didn't really draw my attention, but I did think that it was stylistically appropriate for supporting the vocabulary words that each sentence translates. I think it's cute and an easy read for little kids, even if it isn't that entertaining.
July 19, 2019
Got this for the future kiddo and it's SO. GREAT.
November 29, 2022
Author Patty Rodriguez and illustrator Ariana Stein worked together to create a unique blend of a biography and picture book. This colorful and bilingual book is sure to capture the attention of any young reader.
April 4, 2021
Solid. A little too old for Esther but a good bilingual tool.
May 3, 2018
3.5 stars
I liked the concept of a bilingual board book about Selena, but some of the facts about her life seemed rather random.
I liked the concept of a bilingual board book about Selena, but some of the facts about her life seemed rather random.
May 12, 2021
This is a great simple biography for young children. Each sentence is in English and Spanish.
It tells the story of Selena going from a young girl, to singing in a family band. She eventually becomes one of the biggest stars in the world, and a fashion icon. She passes away extremely young at the height of her fame.
The story successfully tells itself without getting two bogged down in details. This book is for kindergarten and lower, so the simplicity is key. We do get a sense for who Selena was without alienating that young audience with too much or too difficult of phrasing.
The pictures are awesome. The style is cartoonish and digital, but it is rendered in a way that seems more fun and stylized. A lot of digital art can feel soulless and this is not that. Selena's iconic outfits are drawn in a way that makes them instantly recognizable to adults and intriguing to kids seeing them for the first time.
For years, bilingual children were told to stop speaking their native language at home to meet English standards faster, so it is wonderful to see a book that teaches two languages side by side.
Especially one celebrating a Chicano hero like Selena.
It tells the story of Selena going from a young girl, to singing in a family band. She eventually becomes one of the biggest stars in the world, and a fashion icon. She passes away extremely young at the height of her fame.
The story successfully tells itself without getting two bogged down in details. This book is for kindergarten and lower, so the simplicity is key. We do get a sense for who Selena was without alienating that young audience with too much or too difficult of phrasing.
The pictures are awesome. The style is cartoonish and digital, but it is rendered in a way that seems more fun and stylized. A lot of digital art can feel soulless and this is not that. Selena's iconic outfits are drawn in a way that makes them instantly recognizable to adults and intriguing to kids seeing them for the first time.
For years, bilingual children were told to stop speaking their native language at home to meet English standards faster, so it is wonderful to see a book that teaches two languages side by side.
Especially one celebrating a Chicano hero like Selena.
May 19, 2018
Patty Rodriguez and Ariana Stein have teamed up to create two bilingual picture book biographies: Selena and Celia. It's refreshing to see two biographies of strong latina women written and illustrated by women.
The illustrations are bright and inviting--perfectly geared toward the EC audience. They go hand in hand with the adjacent text. After one or two sharings, young readers will be able to read the book independently with the support of the illustrations.
Surrounded by blank space, the sentences are are simple and clearly stated. However, there is no punctuation in the book. This missed opportunity to model correct sentence structure is a real problem. It's the difference between a 5-star and a 3-star rating.
Audience: EC-K
Connections: biographies, singers
The illustrations are bright and inviting--perfectly geared toward the EC audience. They go hand in hand with the adjacent text. After one or two sharings, young readers will be able to read the book independently with the support of the illustrations.
Surrounded by blank space, the sentences are are simple and clearly stated. However, there is no punctuation in the book. This missed opportunity to model correct sentence structure is a real problem. It's the difference between a 5-star and a 3-star rating.
Audience: EC-K
Connections: biographies, singers
March 25, 2018
Lil' Libros makes adorable bi-lingual board books. I was so excited about La Vida de Selena that I pre-ordered it the moment it came to my attention. When I picked up the Amazon package from my doorstep, you know I started singing "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" (while tearing the cardboard)! This was a self-gift/surprise for my daughter.
Starting with Selena's hometown and mentioning "Big Bertha" and Chris Perez along the way, "La Vida de Selena" gives quick bilingual facts with bubbly illustrations.
Starting with Selena's hometown and mentioning "Big Bertha" and Chris Perez along the way, "La Vida de Selena" gives quick bilingual facts with bubbly illustrations.
October 29, 2020
This is a great little picture book that shares the life of the famous Tejano singe Selena Quintanilla. It would be great in a preschool classroom to show Hispanics in a main character in a book. I truly loved this book and to see it brought to life for the younger generations of young Hispanic girls. I grew up admiring her and her music and fashion sense. To share her story with littles would be great.
September 14, 2023
This is a bilingual board book biography that introduces young readers to Selena, a famous musician. Simple text in both English and Spanish, paired with colorful and bold illustrations, offer bilingual children the opportunity to read an engaging biography. This is part of the Lil’ Libros Bilingual Biography series. Be sure to read the back story behind the creation of the series in the Goodreads summary. Highly recommended.
March 18, 2018
This is absolutely darling. The illustrations are sweet and the vocabulary is touching, especially to a fan of Selena's. I purchased this for my ESL class and bought an additional copy for my co-teacher, who grew up loving Selena in Texas. Highly recommended.
(The text is in both English and Spanish.)
(The text is in both English and Spanish.)
August 5, 2018
I have been attempting to make my nieces and nephew bilingual since they were born - which is hard because my Spanish isn't very good. I started buying the Lil' Libros books to at least help them (and myself) pick up a few words here and there. They love this Selena book and frequently pick it from the bookshelf for me to read to them. I will be purchasing all the Lil' Libros for my bookshelf.
April 6, 2020
Genre: Biography
Grade Level: Preschool-Kindergarten
A short story that is in English and Spanish. This tell us readers who and what Selena did before her life was taken away. I like the format the book is in because it shows both language on the same page and an image on the next. Although it is a short story, it describes her very well for children to understand about her.
Grade Level: Preschool-Kindergarten
A short story that is in English and Spanish. This tell us readers who and what Selena did before her life was taken away. I like the format the book is in because it shows both language on the same page and an image on the next. Although it is a short story, it describes her very well for children to understand about her.
October 24, 2020
This book is adorably illustrated in full color and highlights Selena's lasting impact on her career and growing up bilingual. I love this book because it teaches students the many advantages of knowing a second language. Growing up knowing a second language was something I loved sharing and its so fascinating to hear other people teach and learn another language by broadening your vocabulary.
November 29, 2022
The life of - La Vida de Selena is a picture book biography that has appealing illustrations. Throughout the book she tells the story of things she likes while having a Spanish language on the same page. This book is a great book to have in your classroom library to show diversity. The style she presents during the book is most informal it allows kids to truly appreciate the illustrations.
November 26, 2023
The font is pretty, the background colors are vibrant and pop, and the illustrations are cute. My criticism of the book, however, is that it doesn’t provide any context as to who Selena is, so readers who don’t know her won’t understand who she is or why she’s a noteworthy person by the time they finish the book.
December 10, 2018
Genre: Concept
Copyright: 2014
My favorite of Patty's! Selena lead a very complex life, so to be able to sum up her story in a way that young readers can understand is quite the feat! Beautiful illustrations and who can argue the great Spanish representation in this book?
Copyright: 2014
My favorite of Patty's! Selena lead a very complex life, so to be able to sum up her story in a way that young readers can understand is quite the feat! Beautiful illustrations and who can argue the great Spanish representation in this book?
January 4, 2020
As I have an interest in learning Spanish, reading this book helped me learn the basic vocabularies used in sentences. I think what I have learned here will surely be helpful to introduce someone or share what your friend is like to someone who speaks Spanish.
April 29, 2020
Es un libro precioso, con datos interesantes de la vida de Selena e ilustraciones muy bonitas.
Imagino que puede ser un gran acercamiento a los libros bilingües para mentes pequeñas, en especial si va acompañado por una buena dosis de Bidi Bidi bom bom.
Imagino que puede ser un gran acercamiento a los libros bilingües para mentes pequeñas, en especial si va acompañado por una buena dosis de Bidi Bidi bom bom.
April 22, 2021
I have read this book a lot of times to my daughter, her name is Selena and my mom bought this book for us once we had decided on her name. I really recommend this book to anyone it is a bilingual book in Spanish and English.
December 18, 2022
Crazy cute! Love that it's both in English and Spanish.
Wish they had added a little bit more about her and her impact; but, understandably, there's only so much one can fit into a board book for children.
Wish they had added a little bit more about her and her impact; but, understandably, there's only so much one can fit into a board book for children.
August 30, 2018
I was wondering how a board book could possibly address the full Selena story, but this one does, in a lovely way.
January 6, 2020
Such a beautiful children's book!
March 27, 2020
It's small quick book in bi language of English and Spanish, about the singer and songwriter Selena's favourite things and what's he adores.
March 28, 2020
Perfect biography for our youngest learners, and it’s a bilingual book!
May 4, 2020
Adorable biography and I love that it's written in a way to grow with a child's vocabulary.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews