Say Hola to Spanish

Written by Susan Middleton Elya

Illustrated by Loretta Lopez

Published by Scholastic, Inc., 1998

Summary: This book cleverly uses a combination of English and Spanish words to teach basic Spanish vocabulary to children. 

A Note to Parents and Teachers: The book encourages children to try speaking Spanish, and through rhymes, humor, and colorful illustrations shows that learning to speak Spanish can be fun.  By the second and third time around, with the help of the rhymes and illustrations, English-speaking children might be able to start to predict which Spanish word or phrase comes next.  The great thing about this book is that it can be used for English learners as well.  English learners, with Spanish as their native language, will recognize key words as well as the illustrations, and may feel more comfortable reading this book rather than one that is solely in English.  Therefore, it can also teach Spanish-speaking students to read and speak English.  In addition, this book can be used in the classroom to build community because it can be a shared-reading experience for both English and Spanish speakers. 

Personal Note: This book is a great way to introduce Spanish to learners of all ages.  As an adult who is familiar with Spanish, I was still able to learn some new Spanish vocabulary as well as predict words that I was already familiar with due to the rhyming text. 

Old Hat New Hat

Written by Stanley and Janice Berenstain

Published by Random House, Inc., 1970

Summary: This book is about a bear who goes shopping for a new hat, and after being presented with numerous different styles, realizes that his old hat is just right for him. 

A Note to Parents: The descriptive adjectives complemented by detailed illustrations will help your child simultaneously build their vocabulary and make connections to the meanings of the words.  It also teaches the lesson of contentment and seeing the positive in what you already have. 

A Note to Teachers: This book is an excellent source in teaching descriptive words to your students.  It’s a great tool for your EL students to learn English vocabulary while you read the story to them because you can point to each hat as it is being described in the story.  As an exercise, you can have your EL students make visual connections with each hat and repeat the word back to you. 

Personal Note: This book was one of my favorites as a child because of the rhyming and humor within the text.  I also loved connecting each colorful illustration to its corresponding adjective as I read along.