Children's Books discussion
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November 2014: Dual/Multi Language Stories (Discuss Our Club Reads Here)
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Alright, that seems fair. I better remember to do it :-)
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I would like to keep this thread just for our dedicated club reads as always. But if you decide to post reviews about other pertinent titles in the Master List and General Discussion thread you are welcome to post a brief comment here to that effect and the link to the Discussion thread. That would be great. Of course members are welcome to read and discuss there as well.
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I see we were posting simultaneously ;/). Anyway, yes, that's my feeling, too.
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Although the grandparents do have some different cultural traditions, I Love Saturdays y domingos clearly shows that while cultural differences do exist, they are often only skin-deep; both sets of grandparents also have a great deal in common.
I Love Saturdays y domingos would be a wonderful book to share with children whose families are multiethnic, or with children who are interested in knowing more about their own families' ethnic backgrounds. I could also imagine using the book in a pre-school or grade one to three classroom setting, perhaps for a social studies or immigration unit.
The little girl's descriptions of her Sundays (her domingos) with her Mexican-American maternal grandparents contain quite a number of Spanish words and expressions. Personally, I love this aspect of the book, as I think it makes the story much more authentic-sounding (it would also be strange, indeed, if the narrative were to feature only English words and expressions, as this might give a false impression of implied superiority of the English language, of European-American culture). As a person who loves languages, I really enjoyed not only the liberal use of Spanish throughout the text, but also trying to figure out the meanings of the Spanish words and expressions, and their English counterparts (for the most part, I was quite successful). However, I do wish that Alma Flor Ada had provided a Spanish/English glossary at the back of the book. Some of the Spanish vocabulary and expressions were/are not all that easy to figure out from just the context of the narrative itself and could likely prove a bit confusing and frustrating for both children and adults who do not speak or read Spanish, or whose knowledge of Spanish is limited.
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This richly and evocatively illustrated dual-language picture book (Maya Christina Gonzalez' brilliantly colouful, lushly descriptive depictions are redolent of the colours, the very feeling of Mexico, of Latino/Latina culture in general) tells the story of author Amanda Irma Pérez' own journey from Mexico to the United States in the 1950s (except that when she and her family immigrated to the United States, Amanda was five years old, while in the book, she is described as being a bit older, more like nine or ten years of age).
The diary pages poignantly and truthfully show Amanda's fears, her initial reluctance towards the concept of immigrating (how her younger brothers are simply excited about moving to America and all of its "temptations" while she realises that immigrating means leaving family, friends, the familiar, for a different culture, a different language).
In many ways I felt as though I was reading my own diary, my own personal story, because when we immigrated to Canada from Germany in 1976, it also seemed like my siblings and even my parents were nothing but excited and happy to be moving to Canada, while I was somewhat sad about leaving my friends, family members and worried about fitting in, about learning a new language, experiencing a hitherto unfamiliar culture.
Amanda's story, her and her family's journey of immigration is thus truly and basically both timeless and universal (the same questions, the same worries that Amanda confides to her diary pages are in the hearts of many present-day immigrants, migrants and refugees and were in the hearts of immigrants, migrants and refugees in both the recent and distant past). Recommended for anyone, but My Diary from Here to There/Mi diario de aqui hasta alla is especially recommended for children facing the prospect of immigration, of moving (particularly if they have questions, if they are concerned about immigrating, about culture shock, having to learn a new language etc.).
I also enjoyed the fact that My Diary from Here to There/Mi diario de aqui hasta alla is dual-language. I was pleasantly surprised at how much of the Spanish text I was able to read and understand (and I was quite amazed how much of my university Spanish I actually remembered, but also how much of the Spanish I was able to deduce by simply comparing the English and the Spanish texts). This makes My Diary from Here to There/Mi diario de aqui hasta alla not only a valuable and useful book for Spanish language instruction at the school level, I also believe that My Diary from Here to There/Mi diario de aqui hasta alla could be a great teaching tool for beginning Spanish courses at the college and university level.
When I took beginning Spanish courses at university, most of the assigned reading texts were dry, literary and often much too complicated for learners/readers with but a basic grasp of grammar and limited vocabulary. Making use of dual-language children's books would (could), in my opinion, make reading comprehension both easier and less frustrating, especially for beginners or those afraid or in awe of learning foreign languages (and anything that might make foreign language instruction more interesting and less frustrating for learners is a very, very good thing indeed).
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The little girl in this story visits her Grandma and Grandpa on Saturdays and her Abuelito y Abuelita on Domingos (Sundays). This book cleverly incorporates Spanish words by doing a kind of parallel story where the girl does something on Saturday (in English) and then on Sunday we see a similar activity or subject reflected but with Spanish words. Through it all, though, is the love she has for (and receives from) both sets of grandparents. In the end, a birthday party brings them all together, too. A very sweet and engaging story
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Her book A Nest in Springtime: A Mandarin Chinese-English bilingual book of numbers is a nice complimentary title.
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I hope you will be able to find one. The "story" is very simple, but it's pleasant and the illustrations are so nice. It's nice to have the added element of the dual-language in a counting and color book, and the board book element makes it especially nice for the littlest readers.
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The concept is fabulous. The writing style is fine. But I personally can't stand the illustrations, and a glossary/dictionary would have been very helpful. Most of the Spanish words can be derived from context, because the stories of the two days/the two sets of grandparents are told in parallel, but not all.
.... This time around, I noticed that the Sunday activities seemed slightly more exciting, the gift more generous, the history more dramatic. Especially watching a video of a circus vs. going to a real circus....
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For example, "The Rural Teacher" - http://www.granger.com//pix/FIA/MEX/0.... What's up with the armed man? What is going on in the background? Why does the author not acknowledge those elements that every child who looks at that picture is sure to wonder about?
I am moved by "Girl with Doll" - http://www.christies.com/lotfinderima.... I hope you can see the original in the book instead of just that link I found, as it's brighter & richer in the book.
I also know that at least some of the images were cropped - it sure would be nice if the thumbnails in the back were intact.
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I thought it was interesting how much the illustrations resemble the paintings of Diego Rivera. And I liked that this was a true story.
But I just can't make myself actually like the book. Sorry.
Our family loves I Love Saturdays y Domingos. Here is my review: I like this book a lot! It's great for so many of my students from hispanic or mixed backgrounds to read/hear a book that they can relate to. It's great for my own children who have English speaking grandparents and Spanish speaking grandparents. I love that it shows that while some parts of the culture are different, there are many commonalities and that both sides of the family love the grandchild. I love how at the end both sets of grandparents collaborate to give the little girl a very special birthday gift.The illustrations aren't my favorite...but they do seem similar in style to other bilingual (English-Spanish) books I have read.
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You don't have to be sorry that you did not like the book. I loved the book because the theme and the story was very much akin to my own experience when we immigrated to Canada from Germany, my parents and siblings excited, and I apprehensive and even angry at the thought of leaving culture, family and friends.
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Unfortunately, I am not able to get Water Rolls, Water Rises: El agua rueda, el agua sube. Will be curious to hear what you all think of it.
Summertime Rainbow: A Mandarin Chinese-English bilingual book of colors. Simple text introduces the colors using darling illustrations of animals and flowers and nature. While the text is definitely geared for young children, my children and I enjoyed using an online translation service to see which Chinese character corresponded with certain English words (I was interested to see if word order was more or less the same) and loved listening to the translation read the Chinese aloud.
My Papa Diego and Me/Mi papa Diego y yo: Memories of My Father and His Art/Recuerdos de mi padre y su arteMy children and I enjoyed (but didn't fall in love with) this book written by Diego Rivera's daughter. I found the stories interesting and appreciated hearing stories tied to the artwork. I found the painting La Familia and the story surrounding it especially touching. (I teach at an inner city school with many immigrants from Mexico. Often, as I have met with parents, I have learned that they grew up in small towns with little schooling available. Often, I learn that they completed only first grade or third grade or perhaps to seventh grade. They come here to give their children a chance for education and a better life.). The book was a bit long...we read it in two sittings. And yet, I still felt like something was missing and wanted more...because the stories are little snippets of memories, I left feeling like I hadn't really gotten to know Rivera very well...
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What a great idea, Jenny! :-)
Thanks. It was actually my 11 year old's idea...but it was a lot better to hear someone else read the Chinese than to try to pronounce the words myself, even using the guide in the back.
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Though the illustrations aren't my personal favorite style, I appreciated them and felt they helped convey the story and emotions.
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My Home Bay is a story where a young girl moves from Vancouver to Nova Scotia, and the attitudes she has about moving are similar to those Amanda feels. And while this is, indeed, a story of a move from one Canadian province to another, the distance traveled is actually further than what Amanda travels (but at least there is no language barrier). I think for many children, any kind of a move can be traumatic, even if one simple moves to another city or even from one neighbourhood to another in the same city.
I finally got Water Rolls, Water Rises: El agua rueda, el agua sube. Here is my review: The language is really beautiful in both English and Spanish. The paintings be Meilo So are gorgeous and complement the poems well. I appreciated that there is an author's note at the end...and that it gives information about the images and what inspired each one. Some of the locations pictured include Victoria Falls, the canals of Holland, the Grand Canyon, an oasis in the Sahara in Morocco and fishing boats off the coast of India. Well worth reading and savoring.
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Jenny wrote: "I finally got Water Rolls, Water Rises: El agua rueda, el agua sube ..."This book was one that I nominated and voted for, but wasn't able to get in time for the discussion. My local library finally purchased it and I put it on hold. Not sure how soon I'll get to read it, but I'm looking forward to it.
Yeah, I put it on hold it as soon as my library ordered it...and was only number 2 on the waiting list...but it obviously took awhile for the order to come in, be processed, etc. But it was worth the wait. (And since my children are in an English-Spanish dual immersion program, I try to share as many dual language books with them as possible.)
Children's Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Water Rolls, Water Rises: El agua rueda, el agua sube (other topics)Water Rolls, Water Rises: El agua rueda, el agua sube (other topics)
My Diary from Here to There/Mi diario de aquí hasta allá (other topics)
My Home Bay (other topics)
My Diary from Here to There/Mi diario de aquí hasta allá (other topics)
More...
It seems that this was a challenging month for votes and nominations. Many of our libraries do not have robust non-English picture book collections, and then among the voters it seems that our libraries each have primarily different offerings! Also, that the vast majority are Spanish language (apologies to those who were hoping for a broad spectrum of languages (I know I was) but we have to go with what our libraries have available...) I have ensured that at least one book has been selected from each of your lists, and hope that those members who did not vote will be able to find some of them, as well.
Here we go:
I Love Saturdays y Domingos
My Diary from Here to There/Mi diario de aquí hasta allá
My Papa Diego and Me/Mi papa Diego y yo: Memories of My Father and His Art/Recuerdos de mi padre y su arte
Water Rolls, Water Rises: El agua rueda, el agua sube
Summertime Rainbow: A Mandarin Chinese-English bilingual book of colors
No clear sixth/alternate this month, but of course members are always welcome to read more and post your thoughts in the Master List and General Discussion thread. Thank you! https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...