This slideshow demonstrates how to use Latino children’s literature, music, and cultural activities to connect with Latino youth & promote multiculturalism.

1. Lenguaje es Divertido
Fun with Language
Tools for Planning
Bilingual Story Time

2. Objective
To demonstrate how to use Latino
children’s literature, music, and cultural
activities to connect with Latino youth
& promote multiculturalism.

3. Outline
 Why bilingual story time?
 Audience considerations
 Choosing books
 Selecting music
 Cultural crafts & activities
 Professional Resources

4. Why bilingual story time?
 Latinos are the largest minority group in the
United States. They represent over 15% of the
U.S. population with 45.5 million people.
(2006-2008 American Community Survey)

5. Why bilingual story time?
 By introducing foreign language to
young children you will:
 Expose them to a new culture
 Enhance their confidence in their
communication skills
 Promote native-sounding pronunciation

6. Audience Considerations
 Infants:
 Board books, texture books, nursery rhymes, flannel
boards repetitive story lines
 Simple songs, fingerplays, & lap games
 Toddlers:
 Simple, short books with clear, bright pictures;
comprehension enhanced with props like puppets and
storytelling kits
 Songs, nursery rhymes, fingerplays, creative art

7. Audience Considerations
 Preschoolers:
 Complex picture books with participation, humor, or
dramatics
 Circle games, silly songs, rhythm instruments,
fingerplays
 School-age children
 Advanced books with various themes and topics, not just
the familiar
 Games, jokes, riddles, independent writing, designing
their own books, creative art

8. Do you need to know
Spanish to plan a bilingual
story time?
NO!

9. Choosing Books
 Code-switching books
 Chato and the Party Animals by Gary Soto
 Nacho and Lolita by Pam Muñez Ryan
 Fully bilingual books
 Rooster - Gallo by Jorge Elías Luján
 Hairs - Pelitos by Sandra Cisneros
 One, Two, Three – Uno, Dos, Tres by Pat Mora

10. Choosing Books
 Spanish books
 La Orgua Muy Hambrienta by Eric Carle
 El Ratoncito, La Fresa Roja y Mudura y El Gran
Oso Hambeinto by Don and Audrey Wood
 Hispanic heritage literature
 Juan Bobo Goes to Work by Marisa Montes
 Señor Don Gato by John Manders

11. Selecting Music
 Bilingual Music
 El Doble de Amigos-Twice as Many Friends by Sol y Canto
 Cada Niño-Every Child by Tish Hinojosa (songbook, too)
 Fiesta Musical by Various Artists
 Spanish Music
 Diez Deditos by Jose-Luis Orozco (songbook, too)
 ALERTA Sings & Songs for the Playground by Suni Paz

12. Cultural
Crafts & Activities
 Papel picado
 Straw streamers
 Mini-piñata demonstration

13. Professional Resources
• Websites:
– La Narradora ~ The Storyteller
www.bilingualstorytime.wordpress.com
– Barahona Center for the Study of Books
in Spanish for Children and Adolescents:
http://www.csusm.edu/csb/

14. Professional Resources
• Books:
– Bilingual Children’s Books by Doris Cruger Dale
– Picture Books by Latino Authors: A Guide for Librarians, Teachers, Parents, & Students by
Sherry York
• Crafts & Activities:
– 25 Latino Craft Projects by Ana-Elba Pavon
– Mexico and Central America: A Fiesta of Cultures, Crafts, and Activities for Ages 8-12 by
Mary C. Turck
– Hablo Español: Creative Activities to Teach Basic Spanish by Lynn Brisson
– 25 Bilingual Mini-Books by Helen H. Moore and Jaime Lucero
– A Bit of Everything: Games, Activities, and Cue Cards for Introducing Spanish to Young
Children by Lisa Sernett

15. Professional Resources
• Music, Rhymes, & Fingerplays:
– Play it in Spanish: Spanish Games and Folksongs for Children by Mariana Beeching de Prieto
– Diez Deditos: Ten Little Fingers & Other Play Rhymes and Action Songs from Latin America by
Jose-Luis Orozco
– Tortillas Para Mama & Other Nursury Rhymes in Spanish and English selected & translated by
Margot C. Griego, Betsy L. Bucks, Sharon S. Gilbert, & Laurel H. Kimball
– Grandmother’s Nursery Rhymes ~ Las Nanas de Abuelita by Nelly Palacio Jaramillo
– Hispanic Games & Rhymes – Rimas y Juegos en Español by Cynthia Downs and Gloria Erickson
– Bilingual Book of Rhymes, Songs, Stories, & Fingerplays by Pam Schiller, Rafael Lara-Alecio y
Beverly J. Irby
• Planning Resources:
– Programming with Latino Children’s Materials by Tim Wadham

16. Questions?
theblogginglibrarian@gmail.com
-or-
www.bilingualstorytime.wordpress.com