11 Latinas Stand Out in New Kids’ Book
By Veronica Navarro
I’ve talked about it before— bilingual books with great content are hard to come by. I promised to return with another round-up if I found something great in the bilingual book department.
Well, not too long ago, I attended the “Be Bold! Be Brave!” book launch.
Be Bold! Be Brave! is written by local mom, Naibe Reynoso and I’m finding myself having to tell you about it! The book is written in English and Spanish. It rhymes nicely and it’s translated WELL.
If that’s not enough, the book is dedicated to our girls, our Latina daughters. In other words, girls, like me, looking for someone with whom to identify, someone who looks and sounds like me.
The book was released April 18 but the launch party was held recently at Chiqui Social, one of the chicest and cutest childrens’ play places I’ve ever seen. When I arrived, I had no idea that I was about to discover a real connection to this new book.
We were treated to a reading of Be Bold! Be Brave! by the author herself. Among the pages in the book, Reynoso read a section that highlighted Chicana artist and activist Judy Baca. The reading immediately took me back to my days as a college student, landing the internship of my dreams working alongside Baca at the L.A. Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC).
SPARC is a non-profit organization that fights to restore and maintain murals throughout the city of L.A. Among them— Baca’s most famous (and largest) mural located in the San Fernando Valley.
I was lucky to have a Latina mentor in real life throughout my college years but having Baca’s story told in this children’s book, suddenly presented my daughters with the same mentor their mom had!
Be Bold! Be Brave! features 26 pages with stories of eleven Latinas that have left an impact in American society. Among them, Actress Rita Moreno, the late Tejano Music Star Selena Quintanilla, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Labor & Civil Rights Activist Dolores Huerta. The book features lively and colorful illustrations by Jone Leal.
I highly recommend this book. You can visit the website for more information and to order a signed copy by clicking here or you can purchase your copy on Amazon.