Alma Flor Ada

Stories to Celebrate Series
Series Cuentos para celebrar

12 books in Eng­lish
2 CDs in Eng­lish
12 Books in Span­ish
2 CDs in Spanish

Books Descrip­tions

Each of the twenty four books in this col­lec­tion is ded­i­cated to some of the most impor­tant hol­i­days and fes­tiv­i­ties cel­e­brated in the United States in the com­bi­na­tion of two books in one. The first part is an engag­ing real­is­tic fic­tion story beau­ti­fully illus­trated by a diver­sity of illus­tra­tors. The sec­ond part is a non-fiction piece that explains the his­tory and sig­nif­i­cance of the hol­i­day or cel­e­bra­tion. This sec­ond part is illus­trated with bright and unique pho­tographs that will allow chil­dren to wit­ness the celebration.

The cel­e­bra­tions depicted in the books give tes­ti­mony to the mul­ti­cul­tural tapes­try of the soci­ety of the United States. Cul­tures are far more than cel­e­bra­tions, but a look at the way in which dif­fer­ent peo­ple cel­e­brate can help us to dis­cover the com­mon­al­i­ties among peo­ple. Peo­ple from all cul­tures in the world cel­e­brate, and while the expres­sion of the cel­e­bra­tions may be dif­fer­ent, their essence is com­mon to all human beings, since all cul­tures cel­e­brate fam­ily, his­tor­i­cal sig­nif­i­cant moments, par­tic­u­lar achieve­ments, moments of hope.

This series will facil­i­tate that chil­dren develop an appre­ci­a­tion for the cul­tural diver­sity of the soci­ety of the United States. It fos­ters appre­ci­a­tion for the rich­ness offered by diver­sity and for the impor­tance of unity within diversity.

The fact that each book presents fic­tion and non-fiction texts may facil­i­tate chil­dren under­stand­ing their own dif­fer­ences and complementariness.

The titles of the series are:

VALUES

There are uni­ver­sal val­ues pre­sented in each book of the series. These are exam­ples of some of them

Fam­ily

Pow­wow, Han­nukah, Kwan­zaa, Chi­nese New Year, Mardi Gras, Hal­loween & Day of the Dead

Generosity/Solidarity

among fam­ily mem­bers: Kwan­zaa
among sib­lings: Christ­mas and Three Kings Day, Han­nukah
among friends: St. Patrick’s Day

Search for a just and equal society

Mar­tin Luther King, Jr. Day

Cel­e­bra­tion of one’s cul­tural identity

Cinco de mayo, Han­nukah, Pow­wow, Kwan­zaa

Pass­ing on a cul­tural inher­i­tance & its values

through cel­e­bra­tions : Thanks­giv­ing, Chi­nese New Year
through teach­ings: Kwan­zaa
through tra­di­tional sto­ries: Han­nukah
through music & dance: St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo

Appre­ci­a­tion of unity within diversity

Fourth of July, Mardi Gras

Rich­ness of a vari­ety of tra­di­tions within a mul­ti­cul­tural society

All books in the series

LESSON PLANS

Les­son plans and ques­tions to guide the Cre­ative Read­ing Dia­logue can be found at the San­til­lanaUSA web­site.

CDS DESCRIPTIONS

There are two CDs with the read­ings of the twelve sto­ries in Eng­lish and two CDs with the read­ings of the twelve sto­ries in Spanish.

The CDs will allow chil­dren to fol­low a pro­fes­sional read­ing aloud indi­vid­u­ally or in groups.

They can be ben­e­fi­cial to chil­dren learn­ing a sec­ond lan­guage, whether Eng­lish or Span­ish, since they will be able to read the book in their stronger lan­guage and then lis­ten to the record­ing in the sec­ond lan­guage, or vice versa.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Cre­at­ing this series with Isabel Cam­poy was a most mean­ing­ful project. We wanted to give all chil­dren the oppor­tu­nity to know more

READERS’ RESPONSES

If you have enjoyed read­ing or shar­ing these books, I would very much like to hear from you. Please click here to send your comments.