Braids (Trencitas)
Braids / Trencitas by Kathleen Contreras. Illustrated by Margaret Lindmark. Lectorum, 2009. 32 pgs. ISBN 978-1-933032-27-6.
Book Review
Abuela weaves colorful tales as she weaves Isabela’s hair, “Our stories, like our braids, bind us forever,” inspiring her granddaughter to create and write stories of her own. Isabela is saddened, yet inspired, when she realizes her storytelling grandmother doesn’t know how to read, and sets out to teach her using her family’s traditional Mexican bingo game of La Lotería, This endearing tale of a modern Latino family, reminds us how special intergenerational bonds are and what a gift literacy is for us all. (Grades 1-3)