This is a bilingual (English and Spanish) book about a young Latino/American girl who visits her Grandma and Grandpa on Saturday and her Abuelita and Abuelito on Sunday. Both sets of grandparents share with her different experiences and traditions like pancakes and huevos rancheros (Mexican eggs). They also share ancestral history that is even more diverse, European, Latino, and Native American. It is apparent that the little girl has a rich cultural background that she and both sides of her family are very proud of. These roots combine as both sides of the family are joined together by the love of the little girl. This is a fun book that represents so many children in our society.

I Love Saturdays y Domingos is an insightful children’s book that helps highlight and comprehend multiculturalism. The story is about a young girl who has one set of grandparents who are European-American and one set who are Mexican-American. Her weekends consist of visiting them on Saturdays and Sundays (los Domingos). Through her visits she finds herself immersed in the different sides of her ethnic identity. She hears stories from her ancestors and learns about different cultural traditions from both her European roots and her Mexican roots. The bilingually translated book can be a great tool for students. The message addresses children who may have a unique combination of family heritages and stresses how their family can teach you a lot about their own ethnicity and individuality.

First or second grade, maybe even third. Another great book for an ESOL classroom! As Spanish speaking ELLs are getting used to the English language, hearing a story like this can really help them connect with the language without feeling like they need to disconnect from their native language. The little girl's story of what she does on the weekends with her two culturally different sets of grandparents mirrors each activity and event well. Everything being said in Spanish has already been said in English, so it would be easy to read in a classroom with native English and Spanish speakers. More and more mixed families are seen in our society so students have more chances of being able to relate to the little girl's family.

I Love Saturdays y Domingos by Alma Flor Ada highlights themes of love of family and heritage.

The story is written in first person from the perspective of a young girl who shares with the reader how she spends her weekends: Saturdays with her father’s parents and domingos with her mother’s (-her abuelos!) Both sets of grandparents love her very deeply and enrich her weekend with food and fun.

With her grandparents she eats scrambled eggs and pancakes; plays with a cat, Taffy; admires an owl collection; watches a movie about a circus; and looks at her grandfather’s aquarium. With her abuelos she eats huevos rancheros and drinks papaya juice; plays with the dog Canelo in the garden; feeds and counts baby chicks; visits the circus; sits on the pier and walks along the seashore.

What they have in common is that they tell her stories. Grandpa tells of delivering papers early in the morning as he grew up in New York City and how his parents came to America in a big ship from Europe. Abuelito tells of growing up on a rancho in Mexico, working the fields and being left in charge of his family at a young age.

She learns that her grandma’s parents came to California in a covered wagon on a long and difficult trip and abuelita’s family is Native American. She feels proud of her grandma’s grandmother who was born on the trail and became a teacher, but also feels a deep sense of orgullo for her abuelita’s Native American heritage because “Indians really know how to love the land.”The book culminates in a wonderful birthday surprise for our protagonist in which her grandparents and her abuelos collaborate together to make her something very special.

Though it focuses on a protagonist with a dual Anglo-Latino heritage, this story is great for children with other diverse combinations of heritage as well. It includes vocabulary words related to food and family, and important verbs as well as phrases of endearment that young readers can either relate to or learn from.

To read our full review including links to classroom resources, visit the Vamos a Leer blog at http://tiny.cc/vamosaleer