Book Giveaway: The Start to Our Next Giveaway Series!

Good morning, everyone!

I hope the news of our next series of Tuesday Giveaways can brighten your morning! For the next nine weeks, I will be posting each Tuesday about books you can win simply by reading and commenting on the post! Some of the books are bilingual or have a Spanish and English version. Some are accompanied by an audio recording of the author’s reading of the stories or sing-along music. Not to mention that the books span a variety of age groups. There is truly something for everyone in this series!

Before I detail the books available to win this week, I want to start by offering a huge thank you to the two amazing women who have made this giveaway series possible by donating copies of many of their books to the University of New Mexico Latin American & Iberian Institute: Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy. Without this outstanding display of generosity, we would not have been able to do this series of giveaways. In case you’re not familiar with these two authors, we want to give you some background information on their work. Let’s start with Alma Flor Ada. As her website shows, she has been recognized many times for her writing and dedication to community and culture:

Alma Flor Ada, Professor Emerita at the University of San Francisco, has devoted her life to advocacy for peace by promoting a pedagogy oriented to personal realization and social justice. A former Radcliffe Scholar at Harvard University and Fulbright Research Scholar she is an internationally renowned speaker.

Alma Flor Ada’s numerous children’s books of poetry, narrative, folklore and nonfiction have received prestigious awards; among many: Christopher Medal (The Gold Coin), Pura Belpré Medal (Under the Royal Palms), Once Upon a World (Gathering the Sun), Parents’ Choice Honor (Dear Peter Rabbit), NCSS and CBC Notable Book (My Name is María Isabel), International Latino Book Award (Love, Amalia; Dancing Home, and Yes! We Are Latinos) Marta Salotti Gold Medal (Encaje de piedra). In 2012 she received the Virginia Hamilton Award in recognition of her body of work for children. In 2014 the Mexican Government honored her with the prestigious OHTLI Award for her services to the Mexican communities in the United States.

As you will see over the next few weeks, many of her most acclaimed books are available as part of our Tuesday Giveaways. Alma Flor Ada also co-authored many of her books with F. Isabel Campoy, who is an equally well-known writer of children’s literature. Her website, too, hints at the range of her creative work and related outreach over the years:

Isabel Campoy (Alicante, Spain, 1946) is the author of numerous children’s books in the areas of poetry, theatre, fictional narrative, biographies, and art as well as of pedagogical books in the areas of Language Arts and English as a Second Language. Her work aims at providing children keys to interpret the world in a fun, challenging, and affirmative way. She is a frequent speaker in national and international conferences on issues of Transformative Education, Second Language Acquisition and Authentic Writing.

In a show of remarkable kindness and generosity, Ada and Campoy sent us an entire bookshelf of materials to share with you, our lucky Vamos a Leer readers! Each book is a treasure unto itself and we are so excited to pass them from our shelves to yours. We start this week by kicking off the nine-week Tuesday Giveaway series with three remarkable books that match our current theme of retellings of popular stories:

The first book is Gathering the Sun: An Alphabet in Spanish and English, written by Alma Flor Ada, illustrated by Simón Silva, and translated to English by Rosalma Subizarreta. This book is a retelling of the popular alphabet stories. According to Ada’s website, “The author’s many years of work with migrant families inspired this poetic ABC of the fields, in two languages, and Simón Silva’s magnificent illustrations, in bold colors, have created a work of art to be enjoyed by children and adults alike.” It is recommended for grades K-12.

This giveaway also includes the Gathering the Sun CD, which accompanies the book and includes songs in Spanish for every letter in the Spanish alphabet.

 

The second book is ¡Extra! ¡Extra! Noticias del Bosque Escondido, written by Alma Flor Ada and illustrated by Leslie Tryon. As her website describes, this book is a collection of retold, enlivened stories: “When the residents of Hidden Forest wake up and open their morning papers, they are in for a surprise. An enormous beanstalk has mysteriously sprouted outside of Jack Blake’s house, and Jack is nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, Pinocchio and Half-Chicken or Mediopollito have set out on adventures of their own, and Tortoise and Hare are off to the races. Will they all find their happy endings? Hidden Forest News has got the scoops. Written and laid out in newspaper format, this installment in the enchanting Hidden Forest series has received a new twist from Alma Flor Ada and Leslie Tryon. All of your favorite characters from Dear Peter Rabbit or Querido Pedrín, Yours Truly, Goldilocks or Atentamente, Ricitos de Oro; and With Love, Little Red Hen are back, but this time they are hitting the presses and making headlines!”

In the last book of this week’s giveaway package, we see a story akin to Ten Little Monkies retold. Our third book is is Ten Little Puppies/Diez perritos, written by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy, illustrated by Ulises Wensell, and translated to English by Rosalma Zubizaretta. According to Ada’s website, “This story has been adapted from a popular children’s song. Count along in Spanish and English as each one of ten adorable puppies disappears from the pages. Colorful and playful illustrations by artist Ulises Wensell, a vibrant rendition of the classic nursery rhyme by Alma Flor Ada and Isabel Campoy with a new and satisfying ending, and a delightful English adaptation by Rosalma Zubizarreta will make this edition an instant family favorite. The book offers several pages of nonfiction information about the ten puppy breeds featured. Puppies have never been so irresistible!”

If you’d like to enter to win this fun giveaway package, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear how these beautiful books will contribute to the lives of you and your students or family, or why you appreciate bilingual resources like these. One name will be drawn each week and I will contact the winner to get your mailing information.

We cannot say thank you enough to the two outstanding women who made this giveaway series possible! Thank you, Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy, for giving the gift of literacy and continuing to emphasizing the importance of incorporating Latin American content into our classrooms!

Hope you enjoyed reading about these great retellings of popular stories!

Until next week,

Charla

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Image: Photo of Alma Flor Ada. Reprinted from About Alma Flor Ada. 

Image: Photo of F. Isabel Campoy. Reprinted from About F. Isabel Campoy.