Spanish is the Language of My Family by Michael Genhart and John Parra - ADVISABLE

Spanish is the Language of My Family by Michael Genhart, illustrated by John Parra. PICTURE BOOK. Neal Porter Books (Holiday), 2023. $19. 9780823450046

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

A young boy is preparing for his first spelling bee. What makes it really special is that it is a Spanish spelling bee. Although he already knows how to speak Spanish, he is still learning how to spell some of them. His abuela helps him study and recounts when she was growing up how she was punished for speaking Spanish is schools. He feels lucky and honored to be able to represent his family in this competition. Now, will he win?

Genhart uses words in Spanish throughout the story. He also compared and contrasted how different schools' ideologies were when it came to speaking a language, other than English in the classroom throughout history. At the end, there is a great note, as well as more facts about how Spanish use to be prohibited in public schools. The protagonist is a young Spanish speaking boy. 

A. Criswell, English Language Arts teacher