HOUSTON, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Leah Ann adopta un perico, a new Spanish-language children's book to be released this month by Houston's yo puedo! publishing ( ), is an engaging account of a young girl's decision to adopt a pet.
But more than that, it fills an urgent need for authentic Spanish-language literature for children three to seven years of age.
Author Connie Reza, who has been honored nationally for her innovative contributions in a distinguished career as a bilingual educator, is keenly interested in early-childhood education and the "windows of opportunity" that must be taken advantage of for optimal learning. These windows "represent important periods in which the brain responds to certain types of input to create or consolidate neural networks," writes David A.
Sousa in How the Brain Learns.
"When I wrote the book," says Ms. Reza, "I took into consideration what I know about recent brain research and how children learn to read.
" Music has consistently been proven to be a key component in brain development, with both therapeutic and educational benefits. To that end, Leah Ann also contains a CD with two songs. A narration of the entire book by Alma Pasten (a performance poet and native speaker) is included as well.
The lively music was composed and produced by guitarist Jose Neto, who most recently has been working with Stevie Winwood's band. The songs' thematic lyrics, by the poet and University of Houston professor Pedro Gutierrez Revuelta, are reprinted at the back of the book. Children may track the story through narration, or follow the story line through pictures.
Mei Chang's realistic, colorful illustrations bring Leah Ann's world to life.
The characters capture a typical Hispanic family as they pursue the American Dream. Leah Ann, the story's protagonist, lives with her abuelita, her hermanita Carisma, and finally her new pet parrot, which she names Picolin.
The details revealed about her family life encourage cultural and multicultural awareness. Other themes addressed in the book include animal protection and adoption, financial responsibility and savings, and ownership and sharing.
The book will be released on October 26th at the TABE Conference (Texas Association for Bilingual Education, ) in Galveston, Texas.
Connie Reza will be hosting a reception and book signing during the conference. TABE fully endorses and promotes the implementation of research-based two-way/dual- language programs and maintenance (late-exit) bilingual programs.
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