We Moved Our Parenting Shelf

Hi Parents,

Just letting you know, that we recently relocated our Parenting Collection to the far left side of the Children's Play Area. You'll see it on your left, when you enter the area. We did this, because often when children are playing with the train table-it's hard for adults to get to those parenting books. We hope this helps out a bit.

Stay tuned for more news!

Best,
Adrienne

My Papa Diego and Me: Bilingual Book Review by Lorenzo

“My Papa Diego and Me: Memories of My Father and His Art”
“Mi papa Diego y yo, Recuerdos de mi padre y su arte”
By Guadalupe Rivera Marín
Artwork by Diego Rivera
J 759.972 RIV


Hola, madres y padres,
Buenas noticias! I have good news for everyone who would like to escape the chill of a New England day! Just slip between the covers of my libro favorito de enero, my favorite book for January: “My Papa Diego and Me/ Mi papa Diego y yo,” by Guadalupe Rivera Marín. You will find it on display with the new picture books.

Sí, that’s the one! The beautiful painting on the cover is by the famous Mexican painter Diego Rivera. ¿Qué? You say that you already know all about him? Bueno, OK. But, perhaps, not everything. Por favor, look inside! Unas sorpresas hermosas, beautiful surprises, are waiting for you. With each full page reproduction of Rivera’s paintings, Picos, the little girl who posed for “Picos con naranja” shares her recuerdos, her intimate memories and her love of Diego Rivera, who just happened to be her papá.

The paintings chosen by Dr. Marín (Picos) for this book record the life and customs in Mexico in the 20th Century: mothers and children working together in the flower market, children happily breaking a piñata at a fiesta; children walking in “La Procesión” celebrating Las Posadas. ¡Mira! Do you see the women braiding one another’s hair in “Mujeres peinándose?” Did you know that braids were required in those days? ¡Verdad! Really!

Bueno! Enough! I don’t want to tell you everything. I hope you will want to see for yourself. Rivera Marín has written in both Spanish and English so that niños of all ages can enjoy her special stories about the paintings and the secret, tender side of her famous papá.

Muralist Diego Rivera spent his life picturing his beloved Mexico. Por eso, it seems to be the perfect time to read Pico’s story, “My Papa Diego and Me/Mi papá Diego y yo.” Por favor, please join in EWML’s celebration of “Picturing America” by including this unique memoir(appropriate for all ages) about the “picturing” of Mexico, our North American neighbor just south of the border.

Qué se diviertan! Enjoy!
Su amigo,
Lorenzo

Children's Award Winners Annouced!

Hi Parents,

The American Library Association's committee for choosing the Newberry and Caldecott Awards has annouced the picks for 2010. Here they are:

Newbery Medal
"When You Reach Me," written by Rebecca Stead, published by Wendy Lamb Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books

Newbery Honor Books
"Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" written by Phillip Hoose, published by Melanie Kroupa Books/Farrar Straus Giroux, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group
"The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" written by Jacqueline Kelly, published by Henry Holt and Company
"Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" written by Grace Lin, published by Little Brown and Company Books for Young Readers
"The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg" written by Rodman Philbrick, published by The Blue Sky Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.

Caldecott Medal
"The Lion and the Mouse" illustrated and written by Jerry Pinkney, published by Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers

Caldecott Honor Books
"All the World" illustrated by Marla Frazee, written by Liz Garton Scanlon, published by Beach Lane Books
"Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors" illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Joyce Sidman, puslished by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Updates to our Website

Hello Parents,

Just wanted to let you know, that we recently went through our children's web guide page, and updated links, and added new ones. Take a moment to look it over. These are great websites for your kids to do research, or just explore.

http://www.ewml.org/jwebguide.htm

Best,
Adrienne Wilson
Children's Librarian

Lorenzo’s Favorites!

¡Hola! Madres and Padres!

Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Lorenzo El Magnífico; please, por favor, just call me by my nickname, Loro. I’ve just perched on your blog to tell you about our growing collection of books in Spanish and English for los niños (boys and girls) at EWML. Did you know that we have bilingual stories in every shape and form: board books, picture books, CD/Book combinations, CDs and DVDs? Best of all, you don’t have to be fluent in Spanish to share them with your niños. Most of the stories have phonetic spellings to help you try out the new words.

I hope you will add “A Piñata in a Pine Tree” by Pat Mora and illustrated by Magaly Morales to your reading list: it’s arrived just in time for the Christmas holidays and you will find it on the holiday display table. What fun! From the first to the twelfth day of Christmas, a secret amiga brings a little girl a piñata in a pine tree, two pastelitos, three tamalitos, four luminarias, etc. With burritos bailando, trompas girando and estrellitas saltando, who could ask for a happier celebration? The ocho (8) pajaritos serenando, are my favorites-of course. But then, a library loro (or parrot, as I’m called in English), would naturally favor eight little serenading birds. ¿Verdad?

Every page of “A Piñata in a Pine Tree” is exciting! There are gifts to discover and to count (phonetic spellings are part of the illustrations). And, ¡Sorpresa! The illustrator has painted a second, very important story that evolves without words in the background of each page. ¡Mira con cuidado! Look carefully, and you’ll discover the little girl’s greatest gift of all. No wonder there are doce angelitos celebrando on the twelfth day of Christmas! It’s my favorite new Christmas story. Hope you like it, too!

¡Felicidades!
Lorenzo