WEBVTT 00:00:21.169 --> 00:00:24.730 Hello, I'm Patrick Adams. And I'm Caroline Legere. 00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:28.519 And this is Librarians of Littles, a podcast 00:00:28.519 --> 00:00:32.539 where we discuss books, give makers space ideas, 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:36.299 and give some tips and tricks for working with 00:00:36.299 --> 00:00:38.880 our youngest learners in the library setting. 00:00:39.579 --> 00:00:44.320 Today we are going to be sharing two books that 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:48.539 we felt would be good reads during Hispanic Heritage 00:00:48.539 --> 00:00:50.939 Month. Hispanic Heritage Month starts in the 00:00:50.939 --> 00:00:53.039 middle of September and goes through the middle 00:00:53.039 --> 00:00:57.439 of October and so it's an important time for 00:00:57.439 --> 00:01:01.179 us to recognize that we have some amazing authors 00:01:01.179 --> 00:01:05.209 and illustrators with Hispanic heritage and we 00:01:05.209 --> 00:01:07.930 can share those with our students because many 00:01:07.930 --> 00:01:12.069 of our students also have Hispanic heritage in 00:01:12.069 --> 00:01:16.150 their families. And so being able to highlight 00:01:16.150 --> 00:01:21.230 the wonderful works of these authors and illustrators 00:01:21.230 --> 00:01:24.689 and sharing those with students and letting them 00:01:24.689 --> 00:01:27.950 see themselves in those authors and illustrators 00:01:27.950 --> 00:01:32.290 and in the stories is such a powerful thing to 00:01:32.290 --> 00:01:35.870 be able to do for our students. Our first book 00:01:35.870 --> 00:01:39.890 today that we'll be discussing is a classic. 00:01:40.329 --> 00:01:46.049 It is Mango, Abuela, and Me. It was written by 00:01:46.049 --> 00:01:50.670 Meg Medina. It is illustrated by Angela Dominguez. 00:01:51.150 --> 00:01:55.810 And it was published by Candlewick Press in 2015. 00:01:56.790 --> 00:02:01.609 This book received many, many awards and ended 00:02:01.609 --> 00:02:05.969 up on quite a few lists. So the awards that it 00:02:05.969 --> 00:02:09.469 received included the ALSC Notable Children's 00:02:09.469 --> 00:02:14.009 Book for 2016, International Latino Book Award 00:02:14.009 --> 00:02:18.449 for 2016, it was the second place winner, Skipping 00:02:18.449 --> 00:02:22.310 Stones Honor Awards Multicultural and International 00:02:22.310 --> 00:02:27.530 Honor for 2016, the Pura Belpré Award, Author 00:02:27.530 --> 00:02:32.699 and Illustrator Honors for 2016, the CCBC Choice 00:02:32.699 --> 00:02:35.979 Selection for 2020. I'm sorry, I think that's 00:02:35.979 --> 00:02:40.379 2016. This book was also on 10 state lists, including 00:02:40.379 --> 00:02:43.800 lists for Connecticut, Illinois, North Dakota, 00:02:44.680 --> 00:02:49.840 Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin. 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:54.419 So multiple, multiple awards for this wonderful 00:02:54.419 --> 00:03:00.180 book. The author, Meg Medina, is an award -winning 00:03:00.460 --> 00:03:04.939 award -winning author and New York Times best 00:03:04.939 --> 00:03:08.180 -selling author of picture books, middle grade 00:03:08.180 --> 00:03:13.419 and young adult fiction books. She was the 2023 00:03:13.419 --> 00:03:17.680 -2024 National Ambassador of Young People's Literature. 00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:22.240 And when Meg is not writing, she works on community 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:24.719 projects like supporting girls, Latino youth 00:03:24.719 --> 00:03:28.340 and literacy. She lives in Virginia with her 00:03:28.340 --> 00:03:32.900 family. Some of her other books include Evelyn 00:03:32.900 --> 00:03:37.960 de Rey is Moving Away, which was illustrated 00:03:37.960 --> 00:03:43.259 by Sonia Sanchez. Tia Issa Wants a Car, illustrated 00:03:43.259 --> 00:03:49.599 by Claudio Munoz. No More Senora Mimi, illustrated 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:52.659 by Brittany, I'm gonna, this one's the one I'm 00:03:52.659 --> 00:03:56.379 gonna mess up. I think it's Chiquise. Sounds 00:03:56.379 --> 00:03:59.520 great. Good job, Brittany Chiquise. And then 00:03:59.520 --> 00:04:03.479 she's also written the entire Mercy Suarez series 00:04:03.479 --> 00:04:09.099 and many, many other books as well. And the illustrator 00:04:09.099 --> 00:04:12.860 is Angela Dominguez. She was born in Mexico City 00:04:12.860 --> 00:04:16.040 and grew up in North Texas. She now lives on 00:04:16.040 --> 00:04:18.860 the East Coast. She is an author and illustrator 00:04:18.860 --> 00:04:21.360 of children's books. She is a New York Times 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:29.740 bestseller. I feel like I should know how to 00:04:29.740 --> 00:04:32.379 say that. That's a pretty big award. Anyway, 00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:38.019 I know. Sorry. And a two -time Pura Belpré illustration 00:04:38.019 --> 00:04:42.100 honoree. Some of her other books include Kaya 00:04:42.100 --> 00:04:47.060 and the Bees written by Maribeth Bolts, the Lola 00:04:47.060 --> 00:04:50.839 Levine series written by Monica Brown, Galapagos 00:04:50.839 --> 00:04:55.730 Girl written by Marsha Diane Arnold. Quiero Ayudar, 00:04:55.810 --> 00:05:00.730 Let Me Help by Alma Florada, Just Help, How to 00:05:00.730 --> 00:05:05.170 Build a Better World by Sonia Sotomayor, and 00:05:05.170 --> 00:05:10.589 Marda Big and Small by Jen Arena. I didn't know 00:05:10.589 --> 00:05:13.329 there was a Just Help. I knew there was a Just 00:05:13.329 --> 00:05:17.009 Ask, and now I need to look up a Just Help. okay 00:05:17.009 --> 00:05:21.250 i love just ask i got distracted sorry okay no 00:05:21.250 --> 00:05:23.850 that's it i'm i saw the same that's about the 00:05:23.850 --> 00:05:25.629 same thing i was like oh i need to look at that 00:05:25.629 --> 00:05:28.529 one because that sounds awesome too so i'm on 00:05:28.529 --> 00:05:31.509 the same page with you yeah uh -huh just ask 00:05:31.509 --> 00:05:33.910 is like one of my favorite books in the land 00:05:33.910 --> 00:05:39.860 okay anyways moving on yes So the summary for 00:05:39.860 --> 00:05:43.680 this book is that when a Spanish -speaking grandmother 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:47.860 or abuela moves into her young English -speaking 00:05:47.860 --> 00:05:51.740 granddaughter in this case Mia, into her bedroom, 00:05:52.180 --> 00:05:54.180 there is a difficult language barrier keeping 00:05:54.180 --> 00:05:57.000 them from connecting with each other. Through 00:05:57.000 --> 00:05:59.680 some hard work, both begin to learn each other's 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:02.019 language, and they begin to communicate about 00:06:02.019 --> 00:06:05.339 their days. When Mia goes to a pet store, she 00:06:05.339 --> 00:06:07.819 sees a parrot that reminds her of the feather 00:06:07.819 --> 00:06:11.180 her grandmother had shown her, and so Mia and 00:06:11.180 --> 00:06:15.959 her mom get the bird for the abuela. Mango the 00:06:15.959 --> 00:06:19.569 parrot then begins to practice both Spanish and 00:06:19.569 --> 00:06:23.910 English with Abuela and Mia. And everyone slowly 00:06:23.910 --> 00:06:26.149 becomes better at communicating with each other 00:06:26.149 --> 00:06:30.949 through hard practice. Mia and her Abuela also 00:06:30.949 --> 00:06:34.250 begin to build a strong, loving relationship. 00:06:34.949 --> 00:06:38.730 And this is just such a heartwarming, wonderful 00:06:38.730 --> 00:06:43.699 story. I really, really loved it. It's just a 00:06:43.699 --> 00:06:47.100 beautiful story of that love between a grandparent 00:06:47.100 --> 00:06:50.899 and their grandchild. And being able to find 00:06:50.899 --> 00:06:56.439 that common ground to communicate. It's gonna 00:06:56.439 --> 00:06:58.519 be, it's one of those books where the pictures 00:06:58.519 --> 00:07:03.699 just show so much of the story. The story is 00:07:03.699 --> 00:07:05.920 wonderfully written, but the illustrations just 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:09.399 add so much more to that story. It's beautiful. 00:07:10.490 --> 00:07:13.870 You can see the feelings on the characters' faces, 00:07:14.029 --> 00:07:15.930 the beautiful colors that are throughout the 00:07:15.930 --> 00:07:21.370 story. It's just wonderful. The lesson, if this 00:07:21.370 --> 00:07:24.110 is done with a pre -k class, it might end up 00:07:24.110 --> 00:07:27.189 being a little bit longer story, but I think 00:07:27.189 --> 00:07:31.079 that's okay. I will say... Personally, before 00:07:31.079 --> 00:07:34.079 I do this, I always have to practice with I have 00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:36.360 to find one of my Spanish speaking coworkers 00:07:36.360 --> 00:07:39.040 and I have to practice all of the Spanish words 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:41.519 and phrases so that I don't stumble over them 00:07:41.519 --> 00:07:44.819 miserably when I'm reading them story time because 00:07:44.819 --> 00:07:49.019 I am I Barely passed Spanish in high school with 00:07:49.019 --> 00:07:55.360 a C. So I need But that's just a personal note 00:07:55.360 --> 00:07:57.699 for me, I know I need that and so I take the 00:07:57.699 --> 00:08:01.269 time to make sure I say it a few times and practice 00:08:01.269 --> 00:08:03.370 it so that it sounds correct. Cause otherwise 00:08:03.370 --> 00:08:05.129 you will have those kids that speak Spanish and 00:08:05.129 --> 00:08:07.069 I'll be like, what? Like they'll call me out 00:08:07.069 --> 00:08:12.009 on it. But this is like, it's truly just a beautiful 00:08:12.009 --> 00:08:15.850 story about this grandmother who is leaving her 00:08:15.850 --> 00:08:19.689 home and leaving behind so many memories. And 00:08:19.689 --> 00:08:23.029 so this little granddaughter finds this, gets 00:08:23.029 --> 00:08:26.899 this bird for her to help her. feel more at home 00:08:26.899 --> 00:08:29.920 and they they're able to learn each other's language 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:33.320 and it's just a really good story. I love it 00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:37.559 a lot and I would strongly suggest using it during 00:08:37.559 --> 00:08:41.039 the Hispanic Heritage Month. I think it's a great 00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:43.919 story. The author and illustrator both having 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:48.379 the Hispanic background is I think it just works 00:08:48.379 --> 00:08:51.899 to help the story feel authentic because you 00:08:51.899 --> 00:08:56.620 know they use a lot of those oranges and reds 00:08:56.620 --> 00:09:00.259 and greens in the pictures and just the vocabulary 00:09:00.259 --> 00:09:04.279 that's used. It just, all around, it's just a 00:09:04.279 --> 00:09:07.860 perfect story. I agree. Everything you said, 00:09:08.019 --> 00:09:10.879 it's just really good. The colors are lovely. 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:15.379 It does kind of evoke kind of a tropical feel 00:09:15.379 --> 00:09:17.779 with all the bright colors that they use. It 00:09:17.779 --> 00:09:21.240 feels very South American with all the coloring 00:09:21.240 --> 00:09:25.980 in there. I do love that they peppered in all 00:09:25.980 --> 00:09:30.639 those Spanish phrases. And it just feels very 00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:33.340 authentic. Like you said, I think probably because 00:09:33.340 --> 00:09:35.620 the author and illustrator have that Hispanic 00:09:35.620 --> 00:09:39.500 background, that helps so much. It's the best. 00:09:40.500 --> 00:09:43.279 Yeah, I enjoyed it a lot. It's a great one. It's 00:09:43.279 --> 00:09:46.009 a classic for a reason. Yes. So I would definitely 00:09:46.009 --> 00:09:48.289 give this a five out of five bookmarks. I think 00:09:48.289 --> 00:09:51.789 it's a great one to use at any age level. I'm 00:09:51.789 --> 00:09:55.169 going to be using it with pre -K and with my 00:09:55.169 --> 00:09:57.149 fifth grade students this year, just because 00:09:57.149 --> 00:10:00.470 I think it's that great a story. Yeah. It was 00:10:00.470 --> 00:10:05.549 really good. And so if we're going to do a makerspace 00:10:05.549 --> 00:10:07.690 activity with this, this one I came up with, 00:10:07.690 --> 00:10:09.370 I think it's more of a craft, but I think it 00:10:09.370 --> 00:10:13.110 would be fun. And I think it, especially in pre 00:10:13.110 --> 00:10:15.220 -K, this is a skill that we've mentioned before 00:10:15.220 --> 00:10:19.320 that kids need. I think that if you wanted you 00:10:19.320 --> 00:10:22.460 could give the students of like a printed page 00:10:22.460 --> 00:10:24.980 that has a picture of a parrot on it or you could 00:10:24.980 --> 00:10:27.299 just give them a blank page and have them do 00:10:27.299 --> 00:10:31.320 this to make it. But taking construction paper, 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:34.639 colorful construction paper and having the students 00:10:34.639 --> 00:10:37.799 tear that construction paper into pieces to make 00:10:37.799 --> 00:10:42.820 kind of like a collage parrot using like those 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:45.399 Colors like from the book like the oranges and 00:10:45.399 --> 00:10:47.740 reds and greens and have them tear apart the 00:10:47.740 --> 00:10:51.559 paper I think with pre -k having a an outline 00:10:51.559 --> 00:10:54.480 of a parrot would definitely help them to to 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:56.659 form the full picture But if you get to like 00:10:56.659 --> 00:10:58.980 the older kids and you wanted to try this You 00:10:58.980 --> 00:11:00.620 could just give them the blank sheet and be like 00:11:00.620 --> 00:11:05.500 make a parrot with this And so this is a it would 00:11:05.500 --> 00:11:08.960 be a fun way to just have them use either construction 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:11.080 paper or tissue paper, something like that, where 00:11:11.080 --> 00:11:13.100 they can just add a little bit of glue to it, 00:11:13.159 --> 00:11:16.340 put it on the paper and have that vibrant color 00:11:16.340 --> 00:11:20.919 on the page. And this is also where I point out 00:11:20.919 --> 00:11:23.679 that I love for this kind of activity, I love 00:11:23.679 --> 00:11:27.679 taking a sponge in one of those plastic soap 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:31.220 dishes, and you pour it in the glue onto the 00:11:31.220 --> 00:11:33.419 sponge, and then the kids can just take the paper 00:11:33.419 --> 00:11:35.539 and touch it to the sponge and you don't have 00:11:35.539 --> 00:11:39.299 glue everywhere. So that's always a good tip 00:11:39.299 --> 00:11:42.120 to make sure that we're not making a giant mess 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:44.379 while we're doing projects like this, but I love 00:11:44.379 --> 00:11:46.759 to be able to do that kind of thing. And like 00:11:46.759 --> 00:11:50.299 we've mentioned before, a lot of these kids go 00:11:50.299 --> 00:11:53.639 straight into like how to use scissors and how 00:11:53.639 --> 00:11:56.679 to hold a pencil, but the tearing and pinching 00:11:56.679 --> 00:12:00.019 with those pointer and thumb, that's a skill 00:12:00.019 --> 00:12:02.379 that isn't being used as much. And so I think 00:12:02.379 --> 00:12:05.200 giving the students some practice with that for 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:07.899 this activity. would be very beneficial and helpful 00:12:07.899 --> 00:12:11.759 for them too. I agree with all the things you 00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:13.779 said. I think that's a, that's a great activity 00:12:13.779 --> 00:12:17.220 and I love using those fine motor skills and 00:12:17.220 --> 00:12:20.679 I forgot about the, the glue trick and I still 00:12:20.679 --> 00:12:24.399 think it's brilliant. Brilliant, I say. So I, 00:12:24.419 --> 00:12:26.639 yeah, I think otherwise you get that one kid 00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:28.659 that's going to be wearing the bottle of glue. 00:12:29.299 --> 00:12:33.139 Uh huh. Uh huh. It's going to happen. It's true. 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:37.830 So yeah. Yeah. Great way to protect your library 00:12:37.830 --> 00:12:40.230 and protect its books and still have fun and 00:12:40.230 --> 00:12:45.710 do a fun little craft. Yeah, like it All right. 00:12:45.809 --> 00:12:49.389 So this week for our library of littles managing 00:12:49.389 --> 00:12:53.710 tip This is where I point out one of the cool 00:12:53.710 --> 00:12:56.309 things that I enjoy doing every year with my 00:12:56.309 --> 00:12:59.370 students. So This is something that I actually 00:12:59.370 --> 00:13:02.210 do with I have my fourth and fifth graders helped 00:13:02.210 --> 00:13:04.990 me out with it. But then all of the students 00:13:04.990 --> 00:13:07.629 end up using this is I go to the store first 00:13:07.629 --> 00:13:11.049 and I buy or get donated depending on the year, 00:13:11.809 --> 00:13:14.370 the paint sticks from Home Depot. So I just get 00:13:14.370 --> 00:13:17.429 like a bunch of paint sticks. I usually try and 00:13:17.429 --> 00:13:21.769 get between like 80 and 100 of them. And then 00:13:21.769 --> 00:13:25.980 the first couple weeks of school, during Makerspace 00:13:25.980 --> 00:13:28.159 time after the students have done the lesson. 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:30.639 My older student, my fourth and fifth grade students, 00:13:30.679 --> 00:13:34.700 I pull out the markers and I let them decorate 00:13:34.700 --> 00:13:39.120 those paint sticks with school appropriate decorations. 00:13:39.460 --> 00:13:42.100 I have a lot of them that choose to put like 00:13:42.100 --> 00:13:48.139 our school mascot or some of the... student -wide 00:13:48.139 --> 00:13:50.500 statements that we have, like our mission statement 00:13:50.500 --> 00:13:53.840 or the campus values and that kind of thing on 00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:55.840 them. They decorate the paint sticks or some 00:13:55.840 --> 00:13:59.039 of them just choose to draw silly characters 00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:01.259 and stuff like that, whatever. So they take the 00:14:01.259 --> 00:14:04.360 time to decorate all those sticks. The reason 00:14:04.360 --> 00:14:06.200 we take the time to decorate all those sticks 00:14:06.200 --> 00:14:09.080 is those sticks become our shelf sticks, especially 00:14:09.080 --> 00:14:13.159 used by our younger learners, pre -K, kindergarten, 00:14:13.320 --> 00:14:16.370 first grade, second grade. Because specifically 00:14:16.370 --> 00:14:18.309 in our picture book section, if you take a book 00:14:18.309 --> 00:14:20.429 off that shelf, those shelves are so full of 00:14:20.429 --> 00:14:24.129 books that the other books on the shelf quickly 00:14:24.129 --> 00:14:26.370 close in on them and we've lost where that book 00:14:26.370 --> 00:14:29.730 came from. And I always teach my students that 00:14:29.730 --> 00:14:31.470 they should open up the book and look inside 00:14:31.470 --> 00:14:33.850 before they decide if it's a good book for them. 00:14:34.110 --> 00:14:35.950 And quite often they'll open it up and realize 00:14:35.950 --> 00:14:38.409 it might not be. So trying to get the book back 00:14:38.409 --> 00:14:41.720 on the shelf even close to the same place. can 00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:44.580 become challenging. So I take those shelf sticks 00:14:44.580 --> 00:14:47.620 and I teach the students how to use those. They 00:14:47.620 --> 00:14:50.399 slide that shelf stick on the shelf next to the 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:53.240 book that they want to look at. And when they 00:14:53.240 --> 00:14:55.340 take the book off the shelf, the stick stays 00:14:55.340 --> 00:14:58.539 in that space on the shelf so that they can open 00:14:58.539 --> 00:15:00.980 up the book and look inside and decide if it's 00:15:00.980 --> 00:15:03.639 what they really want. If it's not, the stick 00:15:03.639 --> 00:15:05.639 is already holding their spot for their book 00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:07.480 to go back. So they'll slide the book right next 00:15:07.480 --> 00:15:09.580 to the stick again. It's back on the shelf. They 00:15:09.580 --> 00:15:12.200 take the stick out and are able to keep looking 00:15:12.200 --> 00:15:15.500 for the book that will be. the best choice for 00:15:15.500 --> 00:15:18.299 them. This process takes a lot of practice, it 00:15:18.299 --> 00:15:21.279 takes a lot of work, but in the end it does really 00:15:21.279 --> 00:15:23.559 help make sure that the shelves are not falling 00:15:23.559 --> 00:15:25.600 apart. I don't have a ton of just random books 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:28.120 on the ends of shelves or on top of shelves because 00:15:28.120 --> 00:15:30.620 the students know how to put them back correctly. 00:15:31.259 --> 00:15:36.139 I usually start the process by having like one 00:15:36.139 --> 00:15:39.929 of my book carts full of books. and having each 00:15:39.929 --> 00:15:42.210 kid come up and practice using a shelf stick 00:15:42.210 --> 00:15:45.110 on the book cart so they can pull a book off 00:15:45.110 --> 00:15:47.129 and put it back using the stick and making sure 00:15:47.129 --> 00:15:49.470 the stick stays on the shelf while they take 00:15:49.470 --> 00:15:52.789 the book off and that kind of thing. But it's 00:15:52.789 --> 00:15:57.269 something that the kids, this year, we started 00:15:57.269 --> 00:16:02.470 a little late checking books out. And so my first 00:16:02.470 --> 00:16:03.830 graders were like, where are the shelf sticks? 00:16:03.830 --> 00:16:05.570 And I had to go and grab last year's because 00:16:05.570 --> 00:16:09.830 we hadn't gotten them. new set decorated yet. 00:16:10.110 --> 00:16:12.750 But they have come to be like, Nope, that's what 00:16:12.750 --> 00:16:14.470 we use to make sure we get our books back where 00:16:14.470 --> 00:16:16.549 they belong kind of thing. And so it's a fun 00:16:16.549 --> 00:16:19.429 process. I like that my fourth and fifth graders 00:16:19.429 --> 00:16:25.690 get to be creative. And then they're like a lot 00:16:25.690 --> 00:16:27.509 of them, their younger siblings and stuff get 00:16:27.509 --> 00:16:29.789 to see their work. But they also know that they're 00:16:29.789 --> 00:16:32.730 helping the little kids with being able to keep 00:16:32.730 --> 00:16:35.590 the library together and organize. And so it's 00:16:35.590 --> 00:16:39.129 like, helping across grade levels with each other 00:16:39.129 --> 00:16:42.090 and it's a really cool process that and at the 00:16:42.090 --> 00:16:45.149 end of the year I do let the fifth graders especially 00:16:45.149 --> 00:16:47.429 because it's their last year on campus but if 00:16:47.429 --> 00:16:49.429 they want their shelf stick that they decorated 00:16:49.429 --> 00:16:51.230 at the beginning of the year they can take that 00:16:51.230 --> 00:16:53.450 with them at the end of the year because we're 00:16:53.450 --> 00:16:54.970 gonna have new ones that we decorate the next 00:16:54.970 --> 00:16:58.090 year anyway so it's a fun little thing that we 00:16:58.090 --> 00:17:00.629 do the kids get to take some ownership over the 00:17:00.629 --> 00:17:04.049 library and helping out and it's a great process 00:17:04.049 --> 00:17:07.500 that I really I really, really look forward to 00:17:07.500 --> 00:17:10.319 and my students as they get older, they know 00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:13.119 that it's when they're in fourth and fifth grade, 00:17:13.180 --> 00:17:15.059 they're the ones that get to decorate them. So 00:17:15.059 --> 00:17:18.140 it's a cool process. Yeah, I love that they get 00:17:18.140 --> 00:17:20.839 to take part in that. That's wonderful. I love 00:17:20.839 --> 00:17:23.779 that idea a lot. I think I do have some shelf 00:17:23.779 --> 00:17:25.880 markers that are just like there in my library, 00:17:25.880 --> 00:17:29.660 but I like the idea of them making their own. 00:17:30.180 --> 00:17:34.630 And the ones that I've got are hard plastic and 00:17:34.630 --> 00:17:38.789 they're starting to like Bend a lot and they 00:17:38.789 --> 00:17:42.490 might be done So yeah, I might do that soon, 00:17:42.490 --> 00:17:46.309 too I do and like we had the librarian that was 00:17:46.309 --> 00:17:48.829 at my campus before me used the hard plastic 00:17:48.829 --> 00:17:51.650 ones and they're not bad They work. It's just 00:17:51.650 --> 00:17:55.480 yeah, I like that these First off, I know I'm 00:17:55.480 --> 00:17:57.079 only going to use them for about a year at a 00:17:57.079 --> 00:17:59.019 time, so I don't have to worry about them bending 00:17:59.019 --> 00:18:01.420 or breaking or anything like that. But yeah, 00:18:01.420 --> 00:18:04.140 I just like that the kids get to be a part of 00:18:04.140 --> 00:18:06.539 that process and take some ownership. It helps. 00:18:07.299 --> 00:18:13.240 Yeah. Yeah, it does. I like it. Well, our other 00:18:13.240 --> 00:18:15.640 book that we're going to talk about today is 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:19.180 called Abuelo the Sea and Me. It was published 00:18:19.180 --> 00:18:23.519 by Roaring Brook Press in 2024. The author is 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:27.279 Ismay Williams and the illustrator is Tatiana 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:32.480 Gardel. This book is a Pura Belpré illustrator 00:18:32.480 --> 00:18:36.380 honor. for 2024. It got the Librarian Favorites 00:18:36.380 --> 00:18:40.539 Award in 2025, a Teacher Favorites Award in 2025, 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:44.500 and it's an ALSC Notable Children's Book for 00:18:44.500 --> 00:18:50.500 2025. The author Ismay Williams is an award -winning 00:18:50.500 --> 00:18:54.119 author who focuses on writing about multicultural 00:18:54.119 --> 00:18:58.799 characters. She is a co -founder of the non -profit 00:18:58.799 --> 00:19:03.509 Latinx Kids Book Festival. And she's also a pediatric 00:19:03.509 --> 00:19:07.950 cardiologist and scientific researcher. She practiced 00:19:07.950 --> 00:19:10.230 and taught at Columbia Medical University for 00:19:10.230 --> 00:19:12.470 15 years, and she currently sees patients at 00:19:12.470 --> 00:19:15.529 a children's hospital in the Bronx. She lives 00:19:15.529 --> 00:19:18.130 in New York City with her husband and three daughters. 00:19:19.069 --> 00:19:21.589 Yeah, looking at her website, like you see, like 00:19:21.589 --> 00:19:23.690 all this stuff like she highlights, like I'm 00:19:23.690 --> 00:19:26.230 an author and these are my books and I'm a writer, 00:19:26.329 --> 00:19:28.069 writer, writer. And at the end, it's like. By 00:19:28.069 --> 00:19:31.970 the way, I'm also a cardiologist. Wow. That's 00:19:31.970 --> 00:19:37.170 impressive. That's cool. I don't know how she 00:19:37.170 --> 00:19:40.009 finds time to read or to write books, too. But 00:19:40.009 --> 00:19:44.670 I know. I mean, I know just like the way it was 00:19:44.670 --> 00:19:46.369 written. It was kind of like a footnote. Like 00:19:46.369 --> 00:19:48.730 you want me because I'm an author. OK. And she 00:19:48.730 --> 00:19:51.089 like does school visits and stuff and like does 00:19:51.089 --> 00:19:54.230 the author thing. Like she's like in it to win 00:19:54.230 --> 00:19:57.950 it with writing books. Like that's awesome. By 00:19:57.950 --> 00:20:02.549 the way, also taught at Columbia, no big deal. 00:20:03.190 --> 00:20:06.029 Yeah, this tiny little hospital you may have 00:20:06.029 --> 00:20:12.589 heard of before. I know. She's only written two 00:20:12.589 --> 00:20:14.589 other books, but they're both a young adult novels. 00:20:15.910 --> 00:20:19.210 One is called This Train is Being Held, and the 00:20:19.210 --> 00:20:21.869 other is called Water in May. And when I was 00:20:21.869 --> 00:20:24.150 reading the description for Water in May, it's 00:20:24.150 --> 00:20:28.009 about a teenage girl who gets pregnant and her, 00:20:28.009 --> 00:20:33.089 um, the fetus has congenital heart defects. And 00:20:33.089 --> 00:20:35.710 I was like, Oh, she's a cardiologist. It's probably 00:20:35.710 --> 00:20:39.309 really accurate. That's all. Okay. That's cool. 00:20:39.910 --> 00:20:43.750 Uh huh. That's so cool. I love when authors can 00:20:43.750 --> 00:20:47.210 take something that they know a lot about and 00:20:47.210 --> 00:20:50.029 include it in the story just to give it that, 00:20:50.049 --> 00:20:53.269 that sense of realism. That's really cool. So 00:20:53.269 --> 00:20:59.009 yeah, that's awesome. Cool. Yeah, it is. All 00:20:59.009 --> 00:21:02.190 right. And the illustrator is Tatiana Gardel. 00:21:02.650 --> 00:21:06.369 She was born and raised in Brazil. She earned 00:21:06.369 --> 00:21:13.170 a BFA in painting from Universidad Federal de 00:21:13.170 --> 00:21:18.289 Rio de Janeiro and an art education license from 00:21:18.289 --> 00:21:25.250 the Universidad Candido Mendes. She focuses on 00:21:25.250 --> 00:21:28.349 painting at the start of her career. I'm sorry. 00:21:28.430 --> 00:21:30.509 She focused on painting at the start of her career 00:21:30.509 --> 00:21:33.009 and later began illustrating children's books. 00:21:33.369 --> 00:21:35.769 She enjoys working with both traditional and 00:21:35.769 --> 00:21:38.710 digital mediums with watercolors and colored 00:21:38.710 --> 00:21:40.990 pencils being her favorite traditional tools 00:21:40.990 --> 00:21:44.769 to use. And she currently lives in New York City. 00:21:45.390 --> 00:21:48.390 Some of her other books include Painting the 00:21:48.390 --> 00:21:52.859 Sky with Love by Mary E. Heck. Is it hack or 00:21:52.859 --> 00:21:59.279 hate? I read it hack. Okay. And then, uh, Xavier's 00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:04.279 voice by Ashley Franklin, the first day of peace 00:22:04.279 --> 00:22:10.539 by shots. I'm sorry. By Todd Schuster with Maya. 00:22:10.940 --> 00:22:16.940 I have no idea. Yeah. Yeah. I checked the spelling 00:22:16.940 --> 00:22:25.259 on that a couple of times. Well done, okay And 00:22:25.259 --> 00:22:29.200 this book goes through a year of a young girl's 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:33.460 life as she visits the sea at various times with 00:22:33.460 --> 00:22:40.440 her abuelo and in her visits to the ocean with 00:22:40.440 --> 00:22:44.440 her grandfather they her grandfather's like each 00:22:44.440 --> 00:22:48.490 time they visit the sea he tells her about a 00:22:48.490 --> 00:22:52.329 different memory he had. He immigrated from Havana 00:22:52.329 --> 00:22:56.869 and he'll he kind of goes through and he's like 00:22:56.869 --> 00:22:59.990 they're walking on the beach and he's like yeah 00:22:59.990 --> 00:23:04.190 this is hot weather and if I was back home I 00:23:04.190 --> 00:23:06.430 would be eating ice cream that tasted like and 00:23:06.430 --> 00:23:08.970 he would and he insert they the author did a 00:23:08.970 --> 00:23:13.079 great job of inserting Spanish words into the 00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:15.079 text. I don't remember what they are off the 00:23:15.079 --> 00:23:18.480 top of my head. I'm not gonna lie. But then like, 00:23:18.680 --> 00:23:21.140 so he'll say, you know, I wish I was eating this 00:23:21.140 --> 00:23:24.660 kind of ice cream in Cuba. And the little girl 00:23:24.660 --> 00:23:27.000 will be like, oh, he's, he would like to eat 00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:28.920 mango and coconut ice cream. And so it's like, 00:23:29.059 --> 00:23:31.819 it's a kind of a subtle way to have the translation 00:23:31.819 --> 00:23:37.880 made for you without overtly like talking down 00:23:37.880 --> 00:23:43.200 to the audience. as you're reading it. So I really 00:23:43.200 --> 00:23:45.180 liked that part, how it was kind of, it felt 00:23:45.180 --> 00:23:49.420 kind of authentic with that, where it was the 00:23:49.420 --> 00:23:51.160 translations are kind of being provided, but 00:23:51.160 --> 00:23:55.819 not overtly, I guess, if that makes sense. Kind 00:23:55.819 --> 00:23:59.180 of letting the reader figure it out and be explained 00:23:59.180 --> 00:24:02.519 without being condescending. So that was kind 00:24:02.519 --> 00:24:05.240 of nice. The illustrations are lovely. There's 00:24:05.240 --> 00:24:08.420 definitely a reason this book got the Pura Belpre 00:24:08.420 --> 00:24:12.769 for illustration. It's just very calming, very 00:24:12.769 --> 00:24:17.130 simple illustrations, not too overwhelming. It 00:24:17.130 --> 00:24:20.950 was just a really nice, heartwarming story. I 00:24:20.950 --> 00:24:24.569 enjoyed getting to kind of hear all the different 00:24:24.569 --> 00:24:28.950 experiences the little girls Abuelo had with 00:24:28.950 --> 00:24:33.630 his time back in Havana versus his time in America. 00:24:34.690 --> 00:24:37.109 The way it's written too, it sounds very much 00:24:37.109 --> 00:24:41.569 like we know that the Author lives in New York. 00:24:42.329 --> 00:24:45.210 So and just because there is like it does have 00:24:45.210 --> 00:24:47.569 in the winter Like it has snow on the beach. 00:24:47.569 --> 00:24:50.869 So I'm assuming this is supposed to be set maybe 00:24:50.869 --> 00:24:55.250 in New York or something where There is off the 00:24:55.250 --> 00:25:00.809 coast over there up north where there are You 00:25:00.809 --> 00:25:05.710 do have snow on the beach up there but yeah, 00:25:05.710 --> 00:25:10.049 it was a really nice kind of calming story, kind 00:25:10.049 --> 00:25:15.029 of shared some nice experiences from other cultures. 00:25:15.450 --> 00:25:17.950 And at the very end, on the very last page, it 00:25:17.950 --> 00:25:22.890 does have a photograph of the author with her 00:25:22.890 --> 00:25:25.089 grandparents and then the illustrator with her 00:25:25.089 --> 00:25:27.529 grandparents as well. So that was kind of a nice 00:25:27.529 --> 00:25:30.609 touch that it added, that it's kind of somewhat, 00:25:30.650 --> 00:25:34.130 at least loosely, based on their own personal 00:25:34.130 --> 00:25:38.170 life experiences. yeah it was a nice story i 00:25:38.170 --> 00:25:40.769 liked it it was it was very sweet it was very 00:25:40.769 --> 00:25:44.470 cute and i liked how it went through like the 00:25:44.470 --> 00:25:47.650 entire year and like even by the end of it it 00:25:47.650 --> 00:25:50.049 talks about how like her hand has gotten bigger 00:25:50.049 --> 00:25:53.190 because she's grown and it fits her grandfather's 00:25:53.190 --> 00:25:56.609 hand tightly and more secure like it was just 00:25:56.609 --> 00:26:00.809 a cute sweet story and The illustrations, the 00:26:00.809 --> 00:26:05.069 images are just so beautiful. They're just really 00:26:05.069 --> 00:26:09.769 just warm and amazing. And I was just like, they're 00:26:09.769 --> 00:26:13.269 kind of almost breathtaking because of how, how 00:26:13.269 --> 00:26:15.990 beautiful it makes the skyline look. And like 00:26:15.990 --> 00:26:19.210 they're little, little things in the clouds. 00:26:19.269 --> 00:26:22.190 Like at one point the clouds are shaped like 00:26:22.190 --> 00:26:24.430 dolphins and marlins, which is something that 00:26:24.589 --> 00:26:27.390 the grandfather had mentioned in like the previous 00:26:27.390 --> 00:26:29.549 season and stuff like that so like it was kind 00:26:29.549 --> 00:26:31.009 of there were some cute little things throughout 00:26:31.009 --> 00:26:34.230 the book that the students will notice and catch 00:26:34.230 --> 00:26:37.869 on with too which was was really fun and when 00:26:37.869 --> 00:26:40.190 i was when i was doing research for this book 00:26:40.190 --> 00:26:46.490 i did find this book on youtube on kid lit Yes, 00:26:46.769 --> 00:26:49.910 and it's it's the actual author reading the story. 00:26:49.910 --> 00:26:52.250 I was gonna mention that next. I'm glad you said 00:26:52.250 --> 00:26:54.450 that Yeah, I found that and I was like, that's 00:26:54.450 --> 00:26:57.569 awesome. That's cool. Yeah, and she was all calming 00:26:57.569 --> 00:27:03.369 when she read it to what it was like Yeah Yeah, 00:27:03.450 --> 00:27:06.009 and she explained more a little bit about you 00:27:06.009 --> 00:27:07.990 know, some of the things that you see in the 00:27:07.990 --> 00:27:10.869 book and some of the imagery and such Yeah, that 00:27:10.869 --> 00:27:14.609 was a really good Reading that she did on kid 00:27:14.609 --> 00:27:23.309 lit TV. Yes Her website similarly has a lot of 00:27:23.309 --> 00:27:27.390 excellent resources for teaching like a lot of 00:27:27.390 --> 00:27:30.069 the time I feel like when maybe not a lot of 00:27:30.069 --> 00:27:33.869 time there are times when I see some things that 00:27:33.869 --> 00:27:37.009 some authors post online for teachers to use 00:27:37.009 --> 00:27:41.809 in the classroom where I'm like I think you had 00:27:41.809 --> 00:27:45.509 good intentions but this is just a coloring page 00:27:45.509 --> 00:27:49.190 or this isn't necessarily developmentally appropriate 00:27:49.190 --> 00:27:52.190 for what you're going for or like you know they'll 00:27:52.190 --> 00:27:54.190 give you like five things and i'll be like i 00:27:54.190 --> 00:27:59.930 would use this one maybe maybe. Her website had 00:27:59.930 --> 00:28:06.490 like five really good quality. Like activities 00:28:06.490 --> 00:28:10.019 that you could do. that went along with this 00:28:10.019 --> 00:28:12.740 book that were I was kind of impressed with it. 00:28:12.819 --> 00:28:15.700 Like all of them were like, I would I could see 00:28:15.700 --> 00:28:19.680 using any of these in the classroom. And yeah, 00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:22.759 and actually for the makerspace activity, I decided 00:28:22.759 --> 00:28:27.480 on it was one of the things that was on her website, 00:28:27.759 --> 00:28:31.200 which was draw a favorite memory with a family 00:28:31.200 --> 00:28:35.809 member. And like on her website, it has. if you 00:28:35.809 --> 00:28:37.869 use the worksheet that she has it has like a 00:28:37.869 --> 00:28:40.450 blank spot at the uh at the top with a little 00:28:40.450 --> 00:28:42.230 frame around it or whatever that's like draw 00:28:42.230 --> 00:28:46.690 your memory here and then it has just like two 00:28:46.690 --> 00:28:50.609 lines my memory is and then fill in the blank 00:28:50.609 --> 00:28:53.109 like it was kind of perfect for pre -k it had 00:28:53.109 --> 00:28:56.029 that like the perfect sentence stem and then 00:28:56.029 --> 00:28:59.950 it had like one inch spot for the kids to write 00:28:59.950 --> 00:29:03.140 like it was Like a decent amount of space, but 00:29:03.140 --> 00:29:05.319 not too overwhelming. Like a lot of the time, 00:29:05.500 --> 00:29:07.240 I feel like authors try and do that. And it's 00:29:07.240 --> 00:29:09.319 like, uh, that's a little visually overwhelming 00:29:09.319 --> 00:29:11.519 for me. I'm not going to give it to a pre -K 00:29:11.519 --> 00:29:13.660 kid, but this one, I was like, I would do that. 00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:17.720 Yeah. There was a lot of really good stuff. Yeah. 00:29:17.839 --> 00:29:21.220 She had another one that was like, um, a five 00:29:21.220 --> 00:29:23.700 senses activity of things that I can see at the 00:29:23.700 --> 00:29:26.819 beach, things that I can smell at the beach, 00:29:27.000 --> 00:29:30.700 things like, and it was just very. It was simple 00:29:30.700 --> 00:29:32.900 enough that it wasn't overwhelming that I would 00:29:32.900 --> 00:29:36.619 definitely use any of those in the classroom, 00:29:36.619 --> 00:29:39.299 actually. So, highly recommend looking at her 00:29:39.299 --> 00:29:43.119 website. I might actually do this a little bit 00:29:43.119 --> 00:29:46.720 later in the year. Actually, maybe next week, 00:29:46.859 --> 00:29:50.099 because next week is the real... I know we already 00:29:50.099 --> 00:29:53.579 recorded our Grandparents' Day episode, but next 00:29:53.579 --> 00:29:58.240 week is actually Grandparents' Day. That might 00:29:58.240 --> 00:30:00.619 be a fun one to do with just drawing a favorite 00:30:00.619 --> 00:30:05.059 memory with any family member and kind of making 00:30:05.059 --> 00:30:09.119 it more inclusive that way. So that'd be a good 00:30:09.119 --> 00:30:14.259 idea. Yeah. All right. Well, thank you all for 00:30:14.259 --> 00:30:16.500 joining us today on this episode of Librarians 00:30:16.500 --> 00:30:18.619 of Littles. And we hope you found some fresh 00:30:18.619 --> 00:30:21.839 ideas for inspiring our youngest readers. Please 00:30:21.839 --> 00:30:24.099 be sure to subscribe and connect with us on social 00:30:24.099 --> 00:30:27.369 media. Happy reading. Thank you for listening 00:30:27.369 --> 00:30:30.609 to this episode of Librarians of Littles. We 00:30:30.609 --> 00:30:32.930 hope that you've enjoyed it. Check back each 00:30:32.930 --> 00:30:37.079 Wednesday for a new episode. Librarians of Littles 00:30:37.079 --> 00:30:40.059 is a podcast produced and hosted by Patrick Adams 00:30:40.059 --> 00:30:44.279 and Caroline Legier. Editor, Patrick Adams. Our 00:30:44.279 --> 00:30:47.519 theme song is performed by JD Adams. You can 00:30:47.519 --> 00:30:50.759 follow us on Instagram at Librarians of Littles. 00:30:51.140 --> 00:30:55.039 You can follow us on BlueSky at littleslibrarian 00:30:55.039 --> 00:30:59.640 .bsky .social. And you can send us your emails 00:30:59.640 --> 00:31:04.039 at librarianoflittlespodatgmail .com.