Me, Frida and the Secret of the Peacock Ring is available in Spanish now!

Bilingual Children’s Books: Spanish and English

3 reasons why having English and Spanish books

available to students is vital!

Being bilingual is a super power! I’ve visited many dual language schools throughout the United States and I’ve met some amazing students learning English as a second or third language.

1) Providing Spanish and English books in the classroom is a way of connecting students’ culture to their studies. Encouraging students to read  in whatever language they choose creates trust and promotes future reading.

2) Making Spanish and English books accessible to students and families means they can read together.

I always receive lovely letters and emails from parents or grandparents who are more comfortable reading in Spanish. In their notes, they thank me for the book being translated to Spanish because they get to read it along with their children/ grandchildren. What’s more precious than families reading together?

3) School demographics are changing.

My grandparents were Spanish speakers from Mexico and Texas. In Kansas, they faced  a lot of discrimination because they were Mexicans and they struggled with speaking English. Due to this, they impressed upon their eight children to only speak English. They feared Spanish would hold their children back in school–we’re talking 1940’s-1950’s. Punishment at most schools for speaking just a little Spanish was having your mouth washed out with a bar of Ivory soap. Augh! According to my grandma and aunts, Mexican girls, were often pulled out of class and used as babysitters for the younger students instead of being taught math or science. My abuelos wanted their children to succeed and to be educated. They didn’t want them held back in school or mistreated for not speaking English perfectly. This meant having to choose English over Spanish (and even the indigenous language my abuelo also spoke- he was trilingual).

The result was that the entire second generation of my Cervantes family became mostly monolingual, losing all Spanish fluency. My grandparents did what they had to do in that time and place to protect their children and make sure they were educated. ¡Que pena!

I have many favorite memories of time spent with mis abuelos, but some of my most cherished memories are Sunday mornings  spent in their home.  They’d blast their beloved records from Chente Fernández, Lola Beltrán and Pedro Infante. They’d sing along letting the Spanish words slide from their lips. I loved watching them sing and I cherished those Spanish songs and Sunday mornings.

My novels like Me Frida and The Secret of the Peacock Ring being published in Spanish  fills me with hope. To me, it means maybe as a society we’re finally learning and pushing back against a society that favors English-speaking monolingualism instead of valuing and celebrating children growing up multilingual. I know my abuelos would be so proud and happy about Frida, el misterio del anillo del pavo real y yo.

Learn more about Me, Frida and The Secret of the Peacock Ring.