Una Larga Travesía Hasta El Agua: Basada en una historia real (A Long Walk to Water Spanish edition), written by Linda Sue Park, reviewed by Amanda Davies

Summary:  This is a Spanish translation of the true story of Salva Dut, a young Sudanese boy, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. Salva is separated from his family and must walk for weeks in the search for water and food. The book also tells the fictional story of a young Sudanese girl, Nya. The combination of the true and fictional stories flesh out this difficult time in Sudanese history.

Straight Talk for Librarians:  This translation would be great for Spanish or MLL classroom libraries, as well as in middle or high school libraries. Students who speak Spanish as their first language as well as more sophisticated Spanish language learners could both benefit from this book being on the shelves. Because the English version is so easily accessible, it would also work in earlier Spanish language classes where students compare the two versions side by side.

 

El Dador/The Giver, written by Lois Lowry, reviewed by Amanda Davies

Summary:  In this Spanish translation of the dystponian classic, the main character, Jonah, discovers that not everything in his community is what it seems.

Straight Talk for Librarians:  This translation would be great for Spanish or MLL classroom libraries, as well as in school libraries. Students who speak Spanish as their first language as well as more sophisticated Spanish language learners could both benefit from this book being on the shelves. Because the English version is so easily accessible, it would also work in earlier Spanish language classes where students compare the two versions side by side.
 

Vamos! Lets Go Eat, written by Raul the Third, reviewed by Judy Hauser

Summary: Children will love this food adventure with fun and interesting characters. The characters are different representations of animals (the snake wearing a pant leg and a boot is a hoot!). Little Lobo and his friends prepare a food bike cart for a wrestling event and the story follows them as they gather food items to sell. The reader/listener will learn a lot about Spanish words and phrases, foods and the wrestling event. An excellent food glossary is included in the back of the book. Along with the great characters portrayed in the book the dizzying, colorful, wonderful illustrations will be a huge hit and children will take in every gem on every page. Highly recommended (beware: do not read while hungry!). 

Straight Talk for Librarians: A great book for learning Spanish words and foods for young children. The wrestling aspect of the book would be a good discussion topic.