René Colato Lainez

I absolutely loved this book. One of my favorite things about the book is that the entire book, including the title, is translated in both English and Spanish. That alone offers the opportunity for more students to be able to read and understand the book in their own language. The illustrations throughout the book were so powerful that it could have told the young character Rene’s story without any of the words. There is one specific illustration in the book that shows the pure fright on show more Rene’s face when he realized the possibility of having half of his identity stripped away from him. The book also offered a great representation of the possible feelings that people who come from many different ethnic backgrounds may have. Although he was assured that he would still be who he was without both of his last names, Rene was not comfortable with disowning a name that represented half of who he was. The big message of this story is that people who come from different ethnic backgrounds may take pride in every part of what makes them who they are and that others should respect and embrace them for it. show less

This story is told in the point of view of a young boy, José, who tells his emotional story of his Mother being deported back to Mexico from the U.S for not having immigration papers. José and his Father go to visit his Mother, where they bring her clothes and some of José's drawings, with the hopes that his Mother will recieve permanent residency soon. The oil paintings capture the essence of the story by showing detail of the emotions of the characters, and the locations of the story. show more This is a great book for teaching Spanish to young students, since it has the Spanish translation underneath of the English. This is a great visual tool for young students to compare the English and Spanish translations of words. This book has a sweet ending of José dreaming about crossing the border with his Mother, and them being a family again. I would definitely recommend this book for a lesson about immigration to students. show less

I really liked this book for many reasons. I liked this book at first because this was another book written in both Spanish and English, which would be a great book to include in the classroom with ELL students. I also liked this book because it is about a student who tells his classmates about his family and why he has two last names. This is a great way to show students about the Latin heritage and culture. This book can be very relatable to many students who are different from their show more classmates. I believe the big idea to this story is to not be afraid of who you are and to be proud of your culture. show less

This story has text in English and in Spanish. A little boy goes to stay with his grandmother but is very nervous b/c he doesn’t speak a lot of Spanish. The two bond over the game Loteria (similar to bingo). Abuela teaches him how to call the cards and by the end of the trip they are both more comfortable with each other and the others language.
This is a longer tale definitely better for older listeners. I like that it shows the two teaching each other. The illustrations are gorgeous. show more They are filled with bright colors that are very warm and give the story an even warmer feeling. show less