I love the story, but this book does not include a glossary. The Spanish used is simple, but it's little more advanced than I am comfortable with. That being said, it would work well for most individuals looking for this type of book.


Note - includes a piñata.

Subjects
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Grandparents -- Juvenile fiction.
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Mexican Americans -- Juvenile fiction


A young girl enjoys the similarities and the differences between her English-speaking and Spanish-speaking grandparents.

www.hcpl.net

I Love Saturdays y Domingos is a wonderful story about a little girl who spends Saturdays with her Grandma and Grandpa, who come from a European-American background,and Sundays (los domingos) with her Abuelito and Abuelita, who are Mexican-American. Although her two sets of grandparents are from two very different cultures, they share a lot of similarities, including their wonderful relationship with their granddaughter. Another theme of the book is the value of family. Family can not only be good company, but they can also teach you a lot about yourself.

I plan on using this book to teach students about diversity. Through this book, they can begin to realize that seemingly diverse individuals can actually have a lot in common. In addition, this would be a wonderful text to use with students from multiracial families.

Summary-
I Love Saturdays y Domingos was written for primary students. The author, Alma Flor Ada did a wonderful job integrating the American and Mexican cultures into this picture book. A young girl talks about her experiences of visiting her grandma and grandpa's house on Saturdays and visiting her Abuelito and Abuelita on domingos (Sundays). When she talks about her Grandma and Grandpa the text is written in English and when she talks about her visits with her other grandparents the text is written in Spanish and English. The young girl looks forward to both visits and the descriptions of her times with each family accurately depicts both cultures. At the end of the story, Alma Flor Ada beautifully brings both sides of the family together to celebrate her birthday. Both cultures are honored as the family sings happy birthday in Spanish and English.
Review-
This multicultural picture book does a wonderful job of integrating the Mexican-American cultures. By having the child visit her grandparents and celebrating her birthday, many children can relate to her character. Although I speak very little Spanish I was able to understand the Spanish in the book because it parallels the English text. The ink and watercolor illustrations are eye-catching and also do a wonderful job of showing the characters feelings and love towards her family. I would highly recommend using this book with students as a way to discuss all families and even more specifically ethnically diverse families.

I love Saturdays y Domingos is great book about a child who has two seemingly very different sets of grandparents. Grandma and Grandpa are European-Americans, and the main character loves to spend her Saturdays with them. She does all sorts of fun things with both sets of her grandparents, though. On Domingos, she spends time with her Mexican-American grandparents, Abuelito y Abuelita, and we even get to read some Spanish on the days she visits them! Read this book to follow her adventures and stories with both sets of her grandparents and how she forms and appreciates her own identity as a European-Mexican-American and find out just how different, or similar, we actually all are.

This book is a great for a discussion on different cultural customs. It can also be used to teach children about diversity in families.

I loved this book! On Saturdays the character visits her grandma and grandpa, and on Sunday she visits with her abuelo y abuelita. This is great for multicultural students from Spanish backgrounds. Half of this book is in English and the other half is in Spanish; a great tool. It also compares the different things that the character does with each side of the family depending on the culture.

- A story about a mulicultural child who embraces both cultures
-Good for teaching diversity

Decent selection for a multiracial child. However, I thought the book catered to a stereotypical viewpoint. The European American family is more plastic- they collect fake chickens, watch elephants on television and look at fish in an aquarium. Whereas the Mexican American family raises chickens, looks at elephants in a zoo and goes fishing with the child.

A little girl spends Saturdays with her Grandpa and Grandma. They are her father's parents. Her Grandparents tell stories of coming to America from Europe, selling newspapers in New York City, and relatives traveling to California in a large wagon. They have a pet cat, play with balloons, and look at fish in a tank. Los Domingos the little girl spends time with her Abuelito y Abuelita. They are her mother's parents. They tell stories about Mexico, working on a rancho, and having ties to American Indians. They have a pet dog, fly a kite, and go to the circus. But they all come together to celebrate the little girl's birthday.

I really enjoyed this story. Children will be able to make connections to the grandparents, family stories, and traditions. There are lots of Spanish phrases, which adds to the cultural elements of the book and could inspire readers to learn more.

"I Love Saturdays y domingos" is about a little girl who goes to visit her father's side of grandparents on Saturdays and her mother's side of parents on Sundays. The father's side comes from a European-American heritage, while her mother's side comes from the Mexican-American heritage. The book describes the activities she does with her grandparents conveying it in both English and Spanish. This is a wonderful book for children who want to know more about their own families and can relate to the special times they spend with their grandparents. This book would also be useful when introducing beginning Spanish or with a student who is learning English when only speaking Spanish.

I Love Saturdays y domingos is a children’s book by Alma Flor Ada that centers around a young girl and how she spends her weekends. On Saturdays, the narrator spends the day with her European-American grandparents, and on Sundays, she spends the day with her Mexican-American grandparents. Through the author’s amazing use of juxtaposition, the audience gets to experience the both cultures and see how the two cultures are both similar and different as they follow the narrator and her grandparents to the circus and pier and learn about the history of the grandparents. As a literacy teacher, I would use this text to foster a curiosity about family backgrounds and history. It also incorporates Spanish in a way that is authentic. It is easy to discern the meaning of words through context clues and the author’s juxtaposition, and since the author is Spanish speaking, it adds to the authenticity of the language usage. The illustrator also does a really nice job of matching the images to the ideas that the author is trying to convey. I think students would respond well to this text because it affirms the importance of heritage and will encourage students to learn more about themselves. For the purpose of exploring various family units, this text is really great because it affirms both heritages of a multiracial child and her family.

Ages: 8 - 10


"I Love Saturdays y domingos" is a book about a multiracial girl who spends time with white grandparents on Saturdays and Mexican-American grandparents on Sundays. The book does an excellent job of showing cultural differences without presenting a value judgement. A significant portion of the book is in Spanish. The clever juxtaposition of English and Spanish is helpful for identifying common human experience.

The protagonist's voice comes through nicely and multiracial students will likely identify strongly with her. Non-multiracial students will also benefit from reading about a person from a multicultural family.

The illustrations in the book are okay but not anything special. One notable issue is the fact that the protagonist appears slightly different in different pictures and, as a result, fades into the background, which makes it harder for the reader to identify with her.

This book is truly multicultural because it presents multiple cultures. It does a great job of tying cultures together without implying that they are the same or should strive to be. It could strike up some very interesting conversations with students of all ages and also prompt readers to reflect on their own identities.