After the Storm
Después de la tormenta
BOOK DESCRIPTION
With the help of the Sun and the cooperation of Wind, Clouds, and Rain, a little seed grows up to be a beautiful plant. This story about the cycle of growth also lends itself to discussions of cooperation and interconnectedness.
One of the beloved titles of the series Stories the Year ‘Round, or in Spanish, Cuentos para todo el año. The complete stories of the series are:
SPRING
A Rose with Wings
A Surprise for Mother Rabbit
The Empty Piñata
PRIMAVERA
Rosa alada
La sorpresa de Mamá Coneja
La piñata vacía
SUMMER
How the Rainbow Came to Be
After the Storm
In the Cow’s Backyard
VERANO
Cómo nació el arco iris
Después de la tormenta
La hamaca de la vaca
FALL
The Kite
What Are Ghosts Afraid Of?
“Turkey for Thanksgiving?” “No, Thanks!”
OTOÑO
El papalote
El susto de los fantasmas
–¿Pavo para la Cena de Gracias? –No, gracias.
WINTER
The Golden Cage
I Don’t Want to Melt
It Wasn’t Me
INVIERNO
La jaula dorada
¡No quiero derretirme!
No fui yo
CDS AND CASSETTES DESCRIPTION
Facilitating that children listen to the stories as recorded by the author has a special value. They can hear in the author’s voice just exactly how exactly the author wished to convey the stories feelings and emotions, emphasis and suspense. I particularly like to read aloud and to record my readings so, for me, it was particularly joyful to record these twelve stories in English and Spanish.
The stories can be found in individual cassettes in English and Spanish, one for each book of the series, or in CDs in English and Spanish versions. Each of the CDs contains the twelve stories of the series.
A Special Bonus
Because these stories have been so beloved by children, I conceived the idea of given them an extra dimension. I have rewritten the 12 stories in Spanish in verse format. And Suni Paz, with her incomparable creativity, has put them to music. So the Spanish cassettes and CD contain not only the story as published in the book told by me, but also the story retold in verse form and sang by Suni.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The twelve books of this series are some of my best well known books among bilingual teachers and their students. They are also very dear to my heart since the inspiration for most of them comes from my own children’s childhood.
The major source of inspiration for this book came from my children’s interest in planting and gardening. No plot of land was too small for them to plant. When we moved to Mill Valley, California the house had a very small front garden, but they wanted to have fruit trees and we planted a tree for each of them. Later they discovered a very small strip of land between our home and the neighbors and planted potatoes. Frustrated by the fact that we did not have a backyard, only a small cemented patio they managed to find a large wooden box, which they filled with all sort of leaves and branches and some soil and were able to cultivate corn, pumpkins, onions and other vegetables.
Conversations about how plants grow were frequent and led to this story, which, as it has been pointed out to me by some of my young readers has a character that doesn’t give up easily, and persists, until it becomes a growing tree.
READERS’ RESPONSES
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