Biblioabrazo, a great blog in Spanish

Recently I discovered Biblioabrazo, a blog with just the right words to draw us in to their conversation about books: “Entra, la puerta está abierta para participar, leer, descubrir y pasar un buen rato juntos.” (Come in, our door is open to participate, read, discover and spend a good time together.) Doing just what they promise, along with their beautiful graphics, the blog showcases excellent books in Spanish which might be missed by people like me living in the United States. By signing up with your email, you can receive a post with captions of their blog entries which discuss beautiful picture books in Spanish. See their discussion posted on Jan 10th where Diario secreto de Pulgarcito, by Phillippe Lechermeier and Rebecca Dautremer is discussed. Note: After trying unsuccessfully several times to link Biblioabrazo's page here, I am opting to just post the link so you can copy & paste to get there. http://biblioabrazo.wordpress.com/2014/01/10/diario-secreto-de-pulgarcito-philippe-lechermeier-y-rebecca-dautremer/



However, the problem with the lack of availability of these great books in the United States continues. Here is the latest of the many answers I have received when I have tried to purchase books in Spanish:

So far, only a few bookstores or publishing companies will sell these books to interested book lovers in the United States. How can we build bridges to get these books to our children in the US who speak Spanish? According to a Pew Research Center survey done in 2011, "A record 37.6 million persons ages 5 years and older speak Spanish at home" in the United States. It is our duty, as librarians, book lovers, children's literature fans, to get these jewels in the hands of children.

Please share sites or companies who are willing to help us build the bridge to get these books into children's hands.

Read more about it!

This year I created a page for our school library and have been posting some articles found here and there which might be of interest to people who visit this blog.

Please go to https://www.facebook.com/la.biblioteca.de.fratney and give it a like, plus add a comment too.

La bibliotecaria de Auschwitz by Antonio G. Iturbe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Es el mejor libros que he leído desde hace tiempo. Este libro me habló de tantas maneras diferentes: a mis emociones, a mi conocimiento de la historia, a mi pasión por los libros y a mi corazón de bibliotecaria.

En la página 124 Antonio Iturbe escribe: "Empezar un libro es como subirse a un tren que te lleva de vacaciones." Sin embargo, este libro no te lleva de vacaciones: es una procesión por algunas de las verdades más tristes de la raza humana, por personajes históricos que no se dejaron vencer, por el amor al conocimiento, a la palabra escrita, al poder de la palabra para fortalecernos aunque sea con elementos de ficción.

Cargado de citas que quiero guardar y leer y leer, ésta, en la p. 14, sobresale:

"A lo largo de la historia, todos los dictadores, tiranos y represores, fuesen arios, negros, orientales, árabes, eslavos o de cualquier color de piel, defendieran la revolución popular, los privilegios de las clases patricias, el mandato de Dios o de la disciplina sumaria de los militares, fuera cual fuese su ideología, todos ellos han tenido algo en común: siempre han perseguido con saña los libros. Son muy peligrosos, hacen pensar."

y ésta:

"Se abraza a ese montón de hojas como a un viejo amigo... Los libros alineados forman una hilera minúscula, un modesto desfile de veteranos. Pero en esos meses han logrado que cientos de niños paseen por la geografía del mundo, se acerquen a la historia y aprendan matemáticas. También que se adentren en los vericuetos de la ficción y sus vidas se multipliquen por muchas. No está mal para ser sólo un puñado de libros viejos." p. 398

Gracias, Antonio G. Iturbe

View all my reviews

Loles by Aurelio González Ovies, illustrations by Julio Antonio Blasco

Editorial Pintar Pintar (Spain) continues to produce excellent quality picture books for children. The last one which has caught my attention is a poem about Loles,  a girl who hated books so much she would always erase the print in them. One day she is so, so sorry she decides to write everything she has erased. Packed with one hundred notebooks, one textbook, four hundred pencils, and lots and lots of deep thinking, she isolates herself. As she furiously writes, she goes on to discover her dreams, tenderness, the strength to overcome her fears, and more.

Take a moment to watch this beautifully crafted book trailer: Loles por Aurelio González Ovies, ilustraciones de Julio Antonio Blasco. Hopefully in the future we will be able to find this and more beautiful books from Editorial Pintar Pintar in the United States. Note: Should someone spot this book on this side of the ocean, please drop us comment. 

For more illustrations from the book see Issuu  and Facebook

El príncipe de la niebla by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Ruiz Zafón's use of the Spanish language is excellent, even when writing for a younger group.  The words chosen to craft the story make the reading pleasurable, though some areas of the plot lacked definition. This title will become part of our collection.

Una historia de fútbol by José Roberto Torero

 

I found this thin little book a week ago while browsing through a stack of books at a department store in Puerto Rico. Thinking that possibly third & fourth grade boys at school might enjoy it, I quickly purchased it. 

"Una historia de fútbol", originally published as Uma história de futebol, is narrated by Zuza, who chronicles the happy and sad times of his life in the year 1950. The book is funny and heart-warming and should be included in any school library.



As I go back to the store to buy three more copies I wonder how I missed this little gem. 

Here is a book trailer from Editorial Norma:
 Una historia de fútbol  
 

The best quote I've read today

"Picture books are for everybody at any age, not books to be left behind as we grow older. The best ones leave a tantalising gap between the pictures and the words, a gap that is filled by the reader's imagination, adding so much to the excitement of reading a book." Anthony Browne 

I would add that the best picture books leave a gap filled not just by the reader's heart. The best picture books leave us with that good feeling that can't be captured, bottled, or packaged. As I write this I think of so many picture books that I treasure, such as Cicatrices (Marcelo Birmajer),  Mr. Bow Tie (Karen Barbour), Un secreto del bosque (Javier Sobrino & Elena Odriozola), El pato y la muerte (Wolf Erlbruch), Sophie's Masterpiece (Eileen Spinelli), and Galimoto (Karen Lynn Williams).  Many more can be added here, can you think of some?