Would you fight for love?

The Picture Book of the Week is The Boy Who Loved The Moon, written and illustrated by Rino Alaimo.

About the Book:

The Boy Who Loved The Moon is about love, persistence, and truth. A lonely boy loves the Moon so much that he tries to find a win the Moon’s love in return. He goes to great lengths to find rare treasures to offer the moon, but the Moon is not interested. He decides to offer the Moon something she has never been offered before. Will he finally succeed?

Watch the short film version here:

Writing Prompt for Kids:

English:

Who or what do you love most? Draw a picture or write a poem about the thing you love the most.

Español:

¿A quién o a qué amas más? Haz un dibujo o escribe un poema sobre lo que amas más.

I would love to see your drawings or read your poems. If you would like to share, please send them to contact@alicia-salazar.com.

Happy Writing!

Do you believe in yourself?

The Picture Book of the Week is I’m A Unicorn, written and illustrated by Helen Yoon (helenyoon.com).

About the Book:

A young calf who was born with only one horn comes to the conclusion that he must be a unicorn. His book on unicorn facts and myths provides compelling evidence that he is right. However, when he is confronted with evidence to the contrary, he begins to doubt himself. Can he find the confidence to believe in himself?

Watch the book trailer here:

Writing Prompt for Kids:

English:

The main character of this story sees himself as a unicorn. How do you see yourself? Are you an astronaut, or a genius, or a unicorn like the calf in the story? Draw a picture of how you see yourself and explain the picture in one or two sentences.

Spanish:

El personaje principal de este cuento se ve como unicornio. ¿Cómo te vez tu? Eres un astronauta, un genio, o un unicornio como el ternero del cuento? Haz un dibujo de como te vez y explica el dibujo en una o dos oraciones.

I’m A Unicorn Prompt_English

I’m A Unicorn Prompt_Spanish

I would love to see your drawings. If you would like to share, send your drawings to contact@alicia-salazar.com.

Happy Writing!

Math problems aren’t just for school. Do you ever solve math problems at home?

The Picture Book of the Week is Look, Grandma! or Ni, Elisi! in Cherokee. It is written by Art Coulson and illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight and it is written in English and Cherokee.

About the Book:

Bo is a young boy who is excited about making redbird marbles to sell at the  Cherokee National Holiday celebration. He has lots of marbles, but he needs a container to put them in. Since his family’s table has limited space, he has to find a container that is just the right size. Bo searches all over the house. How do you think he solves his math problem?

Watch the writer, Art Coulson, describe the book:

Writing Prompt for Kids:

English:

Try to find an everyday math problem. It can be measuring ingredients to make a cake or dividing cookies between you and your friends, or something completely unique. Write out your math problem and illustrate it.

Spanish:

Trata de encontrar un problema de matemáticas cotidiano. Podria ser medir ingredientes para hacer un pastel o dividir galletas entre tus amigos y tu, o podrías ser algo completamente único. Desarrolla el problema y muestra un ejemplo con un dibujo.

I would love to see your everyday math problems. If you would like to share, send your drawings to contact@alicia-salazar.com

Happy Writing!

 

Are you afraid of the the night creatures?

The Picture Book of the Week is Benita and the Night Creatures or Benita y las criaturas nocturnas, written by Mariana Llanos and illustrated by Cocoretto. While it doesn’t have a lot of Spanish words, it is bicultural as is references Peruvian folklore. Plus it is available in both English and Spanish.

Will be released September 2023, just in time for Halloween.

About the Book:

Benita is a young girl who likes to read in bed before she goes to sleep. One night, while she is engrossed in her book, Cuco, a Peruvian night creature shows up and tries to scare her, but Benita just shushes him. Cuco enlisted help from another night creature and then another night creature, but nothing seems to scare Benita. Will they ever be able to scare Benita or will she and her book save the day?

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8888590027

Watch the book trailer here:

Writing Prompt for Kids:

English:

Are you afraid of night creatures? Draw the night creature you are most afraid of?

Español:

Tu le tienes miedo a las criaturas nocturnas. Haz un dibujo de la criatura que mas te espanta.

I would love to see your drawings. If you want to share, send your drawings to contact@alicia-salazar.com.

Happy Writing!

What are you hungry for?

The Picture Book of the Week is I’m Hungry/¡Tengo hambre!, a Spanish-English Bilingual picture book written and illustrated by Angela Dominguez.

About the Book:

Blue bird and T-rex are friends, so when T-rex complains that he is hungry, blue bird does what any friend would do: he tries to find T-rex something to eat. A banana? No. A fish? No. A salad? Nope. T-rex doesn’t know what he wants to eat until something occurs to him. What do you think it is?

Writing Prompt for Kids:

English:

What are you hungry for? Create a menu of all your favorite food using the page in the link.

Español:

¿De que tienes hambre? Crea un menu de todos tus platillos favoritos usando el documento en el enlace.

Menu

I would love to read your menus. If you would like to share, please send your menus to contact@alicia-salazar.com.

Happy Writing!

Whether your child is already bilingual or is learning a language (or you are learning a new language), this June, we are celebrating bilingual books with a bilingual book featured each week.

Have a great summer!

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Would you give porcupine a hug?

The Picture Book of the Week is I Need a Hug/Necesito un abrazo, written and illustrated by Aaron Blabey.

About the Book:

Porcupine needs a hug. He isn’t picky. He’ll take a hug from anyone, but everyone keeps running away from him — rabbit, moose, bear, even snake. What could possibly by wrong? What are they all afraid of? Will Porcupine ever get his hug? Would YOU hug him?

Writing Prompt for Kids/Tema de escritura para niños:

English:

Click on the link below, print out porcupine, and give him a hug. If you dare!

Español:

Haz clic en el enlace de abajo, imprime al puercoespín, y abrázalo. ¡Si te atreves!

I Need A Hug

Happy Writing!

Have you ever forgotten something? Something big?

The Picture Book of the Week is Arthur and the Forgetful Elephant, written and illustrated by Maria Girón.

About the Book:

Arthur, a young boy, thinks it is raining, until he looks up. Towering above him is an elephant who has forgotten everything…who he is…where he lives. Arthur decides to help the elephant by taking him on a day of play and adventure.

Will the elephant ever recover his memories? Will playing with Arthur help?

Writing Prompt for Kids:

English:

Think about something you have forgotten – doing your homework, feeding you pet, doing your chores. Write about what made you remember and why.

Español:

Piensa en una vez que se te olvido algo – hacer tu tarea, darle de comer a tu mascota, hacer to quehaceres. Escribe sobre que te hizo recordar y porque.

I would love to read your stories. If you would like to, please send your stories to contact@alicia-salazar.com.

Happy Writing!

Are you big or small? Compared to what?

The Picture Book of the Week is Am I small?/Io sono piccola?, written by Phillipp Winterberg and illustrated by Nadja Wichmann.

About the Book:

This week’s picture book is in English and Italian, but it has been translated into more than 200 languages since its publication in 2013. It is a story that will resonate with kids from 0 to 100. The story follows Tamia, the main character, as she questions her size compared to other creatures, and ultimately, the world and space. In the end, the answer to Tamia’s question, Io sono piccola? or Am I small?, is perfect.

Writing Prompt for Kids:

English:

Think about your size compared to the world around you. Are you big or small? Create a drawing of yourself and the thing you compared yourself with?

Español:

Piensa en tu tamaño comparado con el mundo a tu alrededor. ¿Eres grande or pequeño/a? Crea un dibujo de ti y del objeto con el que te comparaste.

I would love to see your drawings. If you would like to share, please send your drawings to contact@alicia-salazar.com.

Happy Drawing!