MamaLingua GO! for Bilingual Families

Have you heard? MamaLingua has launched an amazing new website! 

MamaLingua GO! is a digital library offering an endless library with over 15,000 books from publishers around the world, especially Latin America and Spain. They have curated these books based on fluency levels on their carrousel. Mama Lingua is currently customizing reading plans on the learning platform side so anyone can engage with a reading plan and self learn. They are also collaborating with educators in Latin America making Spanish lessons affordable, authentic and a wonderful cultural experience.

Owner, Aileen Passariello says:

I have been heads down building this platform for the last two years in a goal to support families raising bilingual kids. After working with various dual language programs and families, the #1 question i heard was "How do I support my bilingual learner?" MamaLingua GO! has an unlimited amount of authentic Spanish books (English ones, too), virtual Spanish tutors, guided reading plans, and more. It is accessible with dyslexic features and text-to-speech supporting all bilingual learners, no matter the age, fluency, interest, or preferences. 

This is such a fabulous resource for families! If you're convinced you need this for yours, don't wait! Go and sign up today!

The Giveaway

We have TWO giveaways! MamaLingua has graciously offered a subscription to MamaLingua GO! for one reader (a $75 value), AND 5 Spanish lessons for another reader.

To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter below. 

¡Buena suerte!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Why We Stay at Home (Free eBook)

Check out this adorable eBook that is available for FREE! Written by two medical students from Southern California, Why We Stay at Home helps explain to kids why they are staying home during the pandemic. It's short and sweet and has great illustrations. I especially love that the main characters are children of color because we just don't see enough diverse children's books, especially on this topic.

Samantha Harris is studying to be a pediatrician and Devon Scott is going into orthopedic surgery. The cool thing is that this is just their first book in a series.

Click here to download your free copy of Why We Stay at Home: Suzie Learns about Coronavirus.

13 Free English & Multilingual Online Books for Children

It pains me deeply to read that parents are choosing to keep their children home out of fear resulting from the president's threat of mass raids. But I totally get it because I would, too. This means no summer camps or trips to the library. No bookstores for story time.

Or maybe you are a family on a budget and summer camps aren't on your list for this year so you are looking for free resources online to keep your kids busy learning...in an entertaining fashion, of course.

Or maybe you are just looking for ways to supplement your child's activities over the course of the summer.

If any of these sound like you, there are still ways to help maintain and even continue to develop your child's literacy skills at home during the summer.

I started looking for free online children's literature that you can access from home and was pretty excited about all of the ones that are available. Here's what I found:

1. International Children’s Digital Library - Available in 5 languages! Read my review here.
2. Read Conmigo - English and Spanish No longer available.
3. Unite for Literacy - 2 written languages (English and Spanish), PLUS 43 languages for narrated stories!! WOW!
4. Magic Keys - English only. Pretty simple
5. Free Children Stories - English only
6. The Library of Congress - English only
7. Magic Blox - Books in 6 languages!
8. Oxford Owl - English only. Free ebooks for kids 3 - 11yo
9. Storyline Online  - Famous actors read aloud children's books. English only. Includes teacher's guides
10. Open Library  - Mostly Classics
11. Project Gutenberg - Also mostly Classics. Available in 4 languages, but not Spanish.:(
12. Children's Books Forever - 12 different languages!!!
13. Aaron Shepard's World of Stories - Folktales, fairytales, legends and more

Also, don't forget that I have printable FREE Summer Camp @ Home Calendars for children ages 6 to 10ish! You'll find book recommendations and more.

Free Kindle Books from Amazon

Did you know that Amazon is celebrating World Book Day by giving away free books on Kindle?

As summer (and thus summer reading!) approaches, parents, please remember to model good reading habits for your children. If you're looking for some good reads... read on! And maybe if you have a teen who is looking ahead to summer reading, you'll be interested in this collection of nine FREE titles from authors around the world that are featured on Amazon.

The countries represented include:

• Mexico
• Spain
• Argentina
• Japan
• Norway
• Germany
• Netherlands
• Israel
• Sweden

Click here to visit the site and read more about each book. (aff) But you'll have to hurry to access these free titles because the offer is only good for a week.

Or to explore more books that feature other countries, check out Amazon Crossing, whose mission is to connect readers across cultures with books from around the world.

As a parent raising global citizens, I love, love, love it! And I want to read some of these myself!

Free Spanish eBook for K - 5th

Spanish teacher alert!

Parents and teachers of bilingual students, I'm so happy to tell you about a new free resource! This collaboration between 18 Spanish-language TpT authors is a goldmine for you. All of them are fantastic and brilliant at creating quality content for your bilingual or Spanish classroom. I was happy to contribute to it, as well.

The Spanish eBook 2017 for grades K - 5 is now available. It is jam packed with tips, inspiration, and FREE RESOURCES for your Pre K-5th Grade Spanish classroom! Each author contributed a free printable, an original teaching tip, and other fantastic products that they have available to help you have a stellar school year. Take a look...

Mundo de Pepita is hosting this year's eBook on her TpT page. So don't hesitate! Get over there and download your copy today.

Spanish Interactive eBook: Coco y Coca tienen miedo

Today, I'm delighted to share with you a new book written by my friend, Carolina DuFault. If you don't follow her blog, La Clase de Sra. DuFault, you should stop by and check it out. On it, she shares tips and information for the Spanish classroom.

Carolina also spends a lot of her time creating printables and eBooks, such as this one.

Coco y Coca tienen miedo is an interactive book that engages your child. Every page invites the reader to use his imagination to draw the characters or setting. The books is carefully designed to develop a child's reading comprehension and creativity. I love that children can read the passage at the bottom of the page, and then fill in the blank spaces on the pages to complete the picture.

I especially love that this activity allows children to see their own ideas and drawings become part of a book. What a great way to nurture a future author or illustrator!



The story itself is simple: Coco and Coca are two Doberman Pinschers who are very friendly and smart. But sometimes they are misunderstood. This book talks about prejudice and gossip, which we often give more attention to than what we should. Young readers will go on Coco and Coca's adventures and learn that there is more to a story than what you might think!

You can find Coco y Coca tienen miedo (afflink) on Amazon. And to check out more of her wonderful printables, visit Carolina's TpT store.

App Review: eBook Plaza

I'm raising a future writer.

My 12 year old has already written four books. I watch her each day sit down at her laptop and begin furiously typing, trying to get it all down before the ideas escape. And okay, maybe I'm a little jealous that she is so full of creativity that it appears to just flow out of her fingertips and a great wave of words.

So naturally, I'm using her love of writing to help teach her about all the skills she needs to be an effective writer. And I'm always on the lookout for tools that will help me teach her.

A few months ago, you may remember me sharing with you about the new online program - the PreK12 Plaza Summer Victory Challenge. The online program used engaging tech to get kids busy doing hands-on activities that challenged their ingenuity and their creative spirit.

Well now, PreK12 Plaza has expanded their program to include a new app your kids will love.

Name: eBook Plaza
Subject(s): Writing
Brief Description: A bilingual eBook app for students and teachers.
Price: Free
Language: Spanish, English
Ages: 6+ years
Device: iOS, Android, Kindle

eBook Plaza is an app that gives your child access to hundreds of eBooks at various reading levels in both English and Spanish. Your child can search for them by grade level.

In addition, your child/student can also create their own eBook. I love using the app to assign research projects to my kids. My daughter is working on an eBook about manatees and dugongs, which she's been learning about in science. She has to research them in books and take notes, then write her eBook from them. She also finds pictures or draws her own to supplement each page in her eBook.

Overall, she says that it is easier to create eBooks on the app than it was on the online version because:

• It's faster. For example, if she wants to add an image to a page, she can just snap a picture with her tablet and - boom! - it's there. No searching for files all over the computer and uploading.
• It's mobile. Now it's easy to create eBooks anywhere! So if she decides to write an eBook that documents the wildlife in our backyard, she can do it without having to go back and forth between the yard and her computer.

The app even allows your child to upload a voice/sound recording, so if you want to make the eBook available with a read aloud format, it just takes the push of a button.






My girl loves that she can see her eBooks available via the app, including the one she made at the end of the summer on the Olympics. She was especially excited to see that the latter has been viewed over 100 times. And it motivates her to write more and create new eBooks.

The end result looks great, too!

If you have a budding writer in your home, this is a great app for him or her.

And if you have a struggling writer, this is a great way to motivate them to write more. My son struggles with dysgraphia. He hates writing. But using this app is fun for him and he's started using it to write his own eBook. I love that he was enthusiastic about writing for the first time in a long while.

You can download the app here: PreK12Plaza (English) or Plaza Bilingüe (Spanish).

And here's one more cool thing: The creators of new ebooks will be entered on a contest for the opportunity to win an Amazon gift card. The contest starts today on Nov 8 and ends Nov 22. The winner(s) will be announced on Wednesday, November 23.

Please join us on Wednesday night for a Bilingual eBook Plaza App Twitter party!! Just follow the hashtags #ebookplaza #plazabilingue and/or our hosts @estilofamiliar & @prek12plaza.

And don't forget to follow PreK12Plaza on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest!

Back-to-School with PreK12 Plaza

This is part of a sponsored collaboration ̊with the PreK12 Plaza. However, all opinions expressed are my own. #PreK12Plaza

Now is about the time of year when I start getting emails from parents that are concerned about the start of school. Most want to know how to start homeschooling, but many are a little stressed. "Help! We haven't done anything all summer! How do I get my child ready for school?" is a common message in my inbox.

The second is what I want to focus on today because the reality is that kids who do absolutely no educational work during the summer lose up to 25% of what they learned during the school year. It's frustrating for teachers because they have to waste up to 6 weeks of the new school year reviewing material that their students already learned...and then forgot!

But at the same time, I think it is totally unfair (not to mention unrealistic) to expect children to spend their summer vacation sitting around doing school work. What a kill joy. Yuck.

Fortunately for us, summer learning doesn't have to be that way. (It doesn't have to be that way during the rest of the year, either, but that's another conversation for another day!) I'll be honest: I don't want to spend my summer cracking the whip and forcing my kids to fill out worksheets or workbooks. So instead, I turn to materials and resources that are fun, but still help to boost or maintain my kids' skills and knowledge. So I use educational board games, apps, outdoor activities, crafts, and more to keep my kids busy learning. 

One new tool we just found out about is the PreK12 Plaza Summer Victory Challenge! The online program uses engaging tech to get kids busy doing hands-on activities that challenge their ingenuity and their creative spirit. Once you open a (FREE!) account, you can then enter the dashboard and choose to "create" an eBook, video, game, printable, exercise, and more.

We've only been using it for a few days, but my daughter - who is getting into the swing of the Olympics - elected to create an eBook on the subject. She's been doing her research using an awesome Summer Games Unit I created, and has been putting together her project.

I love that she can use the software on the PreK12 site to "publish" her first eBook. She loves seeing her words come to life and I love all the research and preparation she puts into it. It's a fantastic way to boost her literacy skills. And she's also putting her artistic side to work as she creates images for the cover and the pages using clipart and creative commons photographs.

And I know that MommyMaestra readers will love the fact that the entire site is completely bilingual making it possible for both English- and Spanish-speaking children to participate.

The eBook is easy to create, but there are How-To Manuals in video and pdf formats in case you need them. You can also look at other eBooks to see how other students and educators have created theirs.

To make your own, you simply click on the yellow "Create" button at the top of the page, select "eBook," and then you'll be directed to a page where all of your books are stored. Click "Add Book" and then fill out the basic information such as subject, grade level, and more. You'll want to have an image for the cover already stored somewhere on your computer because it will ask you for it before you can move on to creating your pages. After you've created cover page, you'll then be able to create individul pages. Here's what my daughter's pages look like (pre-editing and spell check!):

The cool thing is that you can even add sound to your eBook, so if you child wants her readers to have the read-aloud option, she can simply upload an audio file for each page. We couldn't quite figure out how to reorder the pages or make copies of pages, so my daughter had to copy some of the text and make new pages that way.

Once you've completed your eBook, you can submit it for review and approval to be added to PreK12 Plaza's online library to help other kids learn about various subjects.

Overall, she has been having fun doing it and it's great to know that someone else also believes in my kids and is creating programs that help them grow and develop into future college students.

This program is also a great tool for homeschoolers. We started back to school already, and I'm excited to know that we can use this year round to create various learning projects in whatever subject we want.

So to get your kids using tech in a fun and educational way, why not head over to PreK12 Plaza to sign up for their Summer Victory Challenge and help your student get ready for going back to school?

Please join us on Wednesday night for a Bilingual Back-to-School Twitter party!! Just follow the hashtags #prek12plaza #bts and/or our hosts @estilofamiliar & @prek12plaza.

App Review: David Wiesner's Spot

Unusual apps that engage my kids are always a plus in my book. But this latest app from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is just so creative and unlike any other I've seen. Three-time Caldecott Medal winner, David Wiesner transports us to five fantastical worlds in Spot.

Name: David Wiesner's Spot
Subject(s): science, art
Brief Description: An interactive, wordless book app. 
Price: $3.99
Language: 
Ages: 0 - 12 years
Device: iOS

What my kids like:
My son loves the imagination behind this app. Who ever thought that the dust bunnies under the chair could lead to a newspaper article where the ink pixels are actually millions of ladybugs holding umbrellas? To use the app, he has to select an object then pinch and zoom to magnify it. Only the thing is that as the magnification increases, the image turns into a whole new world full of fantastical beings.

What I like:
I love the interface of illustration, imagination, and technology. I feel like it takes storytelling to a completely different level. This app nurtures my children's sense of curiosity. It is also nice that parents and educators can download guides to help expand the child's learning experience.

Really, Spot is hard to explain and simply must be experienced. So here's a quick look at the app and what your child will experience...

Free Spanish eBook from Bebe Lanugo

Our good friends over at Bebe Lanugo have just launched a new free eBook in Spanish for bilingual families! 

Volando con Quique is an adorable story about Quique (a resplendent quetzal and one of the Lanugo cast of characters) as he follows his papá, Don Juan, and learns all about the different types of Latin music. From merengue to mambo, your child will enjoy this lively story and the vibrant illustrations. 

This is a great little eBook for parents to read to young children, but also great for Spanish-language readers.

And you know what the best part is? It's FREE!

So head on over there and download your copy today!

Ofrendas: Celebrating Day of the Dead eBook

Last week, some amazing blogger friends of mine released this incredibly beautiful eBook for Day of the Dead. Ofrendas: Celebrating Day of the Dead includes recipes and crafts to make in honor of the holiday, all of them family friendly (with a few extra recipes for parents). The entire book is bilingual with full text in both English and Spanish. I hope you enjoy it and share with your amigos! Click on the image below to read it for free!

Mi Abecedario: Spanish Edition

This post contains affiliate links. 

If you have followed me over at the Latin Baby Book Club, then you'll know that I'm a bit of a nut about abecedarios. I don't know why. But I just love alphabet books in any language, really.  

So I wanted to share with you Mi abecedario (aff link) by Maria Parrish. The illustrations are insanely cute and I love the simple, but engaging layout of the book. It is currently only available as an eBook, so make sure your have a Kindle or Kindle for PC (it's free!) or Kindle for iPad or Android before you purchase it. 

This beautiful book is a great introduction to the Spanish alphabet for both Spanish-language learners and native speakers. Remember that if you have a child under 5 years old, you should be working with them at home to prepare them for entering kindergarten and starting school. ESPECIALLY if they are not enrolled in a preschool. Letter identification is a critical skill that they need to master before they can start reading. So why not teach them in a fun way with abecedarios?

You can find Maria's beautiful eBook here (aff) on Amazon.

And here is a sneak peek at some of the images in this beautiful book for children: 

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. I did receive a free digital copy of the book for review purposes. All opinions are my own. 

Celebrate Valentine's Day with Xist Publishing

This week we're all about Valentine's Day and sharing resources that both you and your children will love. To kick things off, I want to introduce you to Xist Publishing. The modern publishing company specializes in children's picture ebooks for technology devices such as Kindle.

I had the chance to take a peek at two of their Valentine's Day titles, Be Mine by Brenda Ponnay and I Love You! by Calee M. Lee.

Be Mine is a vibrant and lovely book for little children. It is part of the Little Hoo series that features the adorable owl on the cover. Each page has simple, yet rich, illustrations of various animals accompanied by phrases typically associated with love and Valentine's Day. Though the target age range is probably for children 5 and under, this book is also GREAT for beginning readers. My son enjoyed reading the text and I liked the opportunity it gave him to practice reading vowel dipthongs ("ow," "ou," "oo") and vowel digraphs ("ea," "ee," "ie," "ey"). Here's a sample...

Aren't they super cute?!?

I Love You! is another adorable picture book. Tricia Tharp's child-like illustrations are sweet and engaging for little readers. The story line describes all the different ways that the narrator loves their child. This book is also fits the category of an emergent reader, as once again the words are easy enough for a beginning reader to read and is a great way for them to practice different vowel and consonant combinations.

If you are looking for some picture books to read to your child, or books that your beginning reader can read to you, I recommend both of these. The inexpensive eBooks are available for instant download on Amazon.

Enjoy!

Disclosure: I received review copies of both these books. All opinions state above, however, are strictly my own.

Sponsor Love: Bish Bash Books

Please welcome our newest sponsor, Bish Bash Books!

Bish Bash Books is a new publishing company out of New York. They have embraced technology and focus on creating quality books in mulitple formats, including eBooks, storybook apps, podcasts, and even traditional bound paper books. The founders are parents themselves, who have been inspired by their own two sons and are working to create a company that focuses on three things: getting kids hooked on reading, nurturing the parent-child connection, and to provide all children with the opportunity to read.

I sat down with my 6 year old and we read their eBook, Boomerang Bear, a very sweet story about a young boy who thinks he's gotten too big for his teddy bear and does everything he can think of to lose him. But his Boomerang Bear keeps coming back! Until one day, he doesn't...

My son is 6 about to turn 7. But he has a teddy bear named Little Ben who holds a special place in his heart. He rarely sleeps without him. So this little story really caught his attention.

We both liked how the book offers a soundtrack that you can turn on or off. You can also set it to turn the pages manually or automatically. But maybe the best part is the option for a read aloud. I read the book to my son, but if he wants to hear the book over again when I'm busy, he can choose the read aloud option or read it himself. The read aloud option also comes with text highlighting, so each word being spoken displays a different color in the book - a great tool for beginning readers!

Boomerang Bear is best suited for children in preschool through 1st grade, though children younger and older may certainly enjoy it. And the best part is that there is a Christmas element to it and would make a great gift!

If you have an iPad (and I know many of you do!), and are looking to explore more eBooks for kids, you can download this and many other Bish Bash Books titles through iBookstore.

This book is available in English only. However, the company has reached out and is exploring the idea of offering Spanish editions of their books. I love that.

I know many of you have been asking me for Spanish-language resources. And we have had the discussion about how important translations are because they can make or break a good story. I would love to see more publishers of eBooks offering high-quality stories for Latino children in Spanish or English with Spanish text embedded. eBooks that are by Latino authors and high quality translators who know how to translate the feel of the story, not just word-for-word.

This is an untapped market and with so many Latino families using technology, I think we should encourage more companies like Bish Bash to explore our stories.

So take a moment to click over and look at their titles for little ones. You may find some others you like. And feel free to leave some words of encouragement below for them as they consider creating Spanish-language books.

Un abrazo!

The Little Chefs eBook

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I had been working on the Little Chefs Project. The project includes not only the Cook-Alongs, but also an eBook and recipes. I'm so pleased to announce that the Little Chefs eBook is now available online. This free, online book was written by 40 moms who share their tips, recipes, and ideas on cooking with kids.

As you can tell from the post my friend Becky shared yesterday here on MommyMaestra about the history of Calabaza en Tacha, I love learning about ways to use food and cooking to supplement school subjects. So my chapter in the ebook is focused on Teachable Moments, specifically on how to use food to teach history.

But the book also covers other areas and is divided into six chapters on the following topics:

- Feel Like a Kid Again
- Teachable Moments
- Everyday Fun
- Family Time
- Fun with Flavors
- Family Traditions

The book is not only a valuable resources with plenty of ideas on how you can use your kitchen with your children, but is also a visual treat. You can also find  the recipes mentioned in the book, and many others on Chef Boyardee's site. Before getting involved in this project, it never occurred to me that I could use Chef Boyardee cooking kits to create a variety of meals from a single boxed kit.

So far three Cook-Alongs have taken place, but there are still three more left! I hope you'll join us for these live recipe demos and online chats.

Enjoy this wonderful ebook. I know you'll find some great ideas to use in your own kitchen with your children.

Un abrazo...

Disclosure: I am working with The Motherhood and Chef Boyardee on the Little Chefs project.