10 Spanish Children’s Books That Teach Life Lessons
Spanish children’s books are essential for your bilingual library at home.
How can we ensure that kindness, empathy, tolerance, and respect are not only part of our home library but also of our society’s future?
One surefire way is by instilling these crucial values in our children.
Spanish children’s books that teach life lessons are an entertaining way to immerse in the lyrical Spanish language while providing opportunities to discuss feelings and actions with your kids. Each of the stories on this list teaches powerful lessons to implement in your everyday lives.
For more great reading resources, check out 10 Websites Offering Short Stories in Spanish for Beginners. You’ll find links to loads of basic stories, many of which contain life lessons.
Now, let’s check out the list of recommended Spanish children’s books. ¡Vamos a leer!
10 Spanish Children’s Books with Valuable Life Lessons
1. Última parada de la calle Market
English title: Last Stop on Market Street
Life Lesson: How to appreciate the simple things that we often overlook.
Published: 2016
Language(s): Spanish
Available Format: Paperback
Every Sunday after church, Jackson and his abuela take the bus home to their house on Market Street. But today, Jackson isn’t happy about it. He asks out loud why they have to wait in the rain and why they can’t have a car like his friends. Why doesn’t he have an iPad like them?
Grandma opens young Jackson’s eyes and shows him the true beauty in the world that surrounds them—the spirit of the bustling city, the music of everyday life, and the magic of their neighbors. She teaches Jackson to appreciate the many things that we often overlook. This book won the 2016 Newbery Medal A 2016, among other prestigious awards and is a New York Times Book Review Notable Children’s Book.
2. Tejedora del arcoiris
English title: Rainbow Weaver
Life Lesson: How to turn frustration into creativity.
Published: 2016
Language(s): Spanish
Available Format: Hardcover
Ixchel is a Mayan girl who wants to learn her family’s tradition of weaving on backstrap looms, just as her mother, grandmother, and most Mayan women have done for more than 2,000 years. But Ixchel’s mother is too busy preparing her weavings for the market. If they sell, Ixchel’s family will have money to pay for her school and books. Disappointed, Ixchel tries weaving with blades of grass and bits of wool, but no one wants to buy the results.
She walks around her village and finds it littered with plastic bags. Suddenly, Ixchel has an idea! She collects and washes the plastic bags, then she cuts each one into thin strips. Sitting at her loom, Ixchel weaves them into a colorful fabric that looks like a beautiful rainbow.
3. Pablo Pineda: Ser diferente es un valor (Lo que de verdad importa)
English title: Pablo Pineda: Being different is a value (What Really Matters)
Life Lesson: How to celebrate each other’s differences.
Published: 2017
Language(s): Spanish
Available Format: Hardcover
Pablo Pineda is the first European with Down Syndrome to earn a university degree. A teacher, writer, and actor from Spain, he radiates charm, persistence, and the will to learn. Pablo’s unique and powerful story reminds us that everyone has different abilities. This book won the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award and International Latino Book Award.
4. Hablar y resolver
English title: Talk and Work It Out
Life Lesson: How to achieve peaceful conflict resolution.
Published: 2015
Language(s): Spanish & English
Available Formats: Kindle, Paperback
Children and adults alike need to learn the process of peaceful conflict resolution. What’s the best way to solve problems between people? By talking them over and working them out.
With the clear, simple language and supporting illustrations in this book, children learn to calm themselves, identify the problem, listen, think of solutions, try one out, and evaluate the results. The book also teaches that it’s okay to agree to disagree when a solution isn’t possible and includes conflict resolution skill-building games and role play scripts.
5. ¡Me gustan tus botones!
English title: I Like Your Buttons!
Life Lesson: The importance of being friendly and kind.
Published: 2016
Language(s): Spanish & English
Available Format: Paperback, Hardcover
Kind words can be contagious. Cassandra’s simple compliment to her teacher initiates the domino effect of kindness throughout her community. Teachers and students at school, adults at work, and families at home are in a good mood, because kindness is contagious! By reading this Spanish children’s book, kids will witness how quickly kind words and actions can spread. It’s easy to be a friendly person, even while learning a new language.
6. Esperando el Biblioburro
English title: Waiting for the Biblioburro
Life Lesson: The importance of literacy and culture.
Published: 2011
Language(s): Spanish & English
Available Format: Hardcover
This is the inspiring true story of a teacher and librarian who created a mobile library to bring books to children in rural Colombia. On most days, teacher and librarian Luis Soriano Bohórquez packs his two donkeys, Alfa and Beto, with books and makes his way over mountains and through valleys to visit children in far-flung villages. This book illustrates the importance of literacy and culture. Based on the work of a remarkable man and his burros, this story celebrates the impact of the biblioburro (“donkey library”).
7. Anti Princesas 1: Frida Kahlo para chicas y chicos
English title: Anti-Princesses 1: Frida Kahlo for Girls and Boys
Life Lesson: How to be authentic and express your true self.
Published: 2014
Language(s): Spanish
Available Format: Paperback
A combination of vivid illustrations and historic photos explores the life of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo in a child-friendly manner. Frida dedicated her life to creating beauty and expressing her most authentic self despite the challenges and pain she faced. Engaging nonfiction text is accompanied by rich visuals and activity pages to help readers learn life lessons from an extraordinary woman.
8. Sonia Sotomayor: La juez que creció en el Bronx
English title: Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx
Life Lesson: How to flourish with what you’ve got.
Published: 2011
Language(s): Spanish & English
Available Formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback
Read the inspiring and timely story of Sonia Sotomayor, who rose up from a childhood of poverty and prejudice to become the first Latin American to be nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. Growing up in the Bronx, Sonia didn’t have a lot, but she had what she needed—her mother’s love and her own determination. With little sunlight and a small plot from which to grow, Justice Sotomayor bloomed for the whole world to see.
9. Lado a lado, La historia de Dolores Huerta y Cesar Chávez
English title: Side by Side: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chávez
Life Lesson: How to make positive changes in society.
Published: 2010
Language(s): Spanish & English
Available Format: Paperback, Hardcover
Discover life lessons from two important individuals who fought for farmworkers’ rights in this historical nonfiction book. Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez teamed up, and together they motivated the workers to fight for their rights and, in the process, changed history. This book illustrates how their early lives led into their life work. Kids will be inspired by this story about the power and impact of ordinary but dedicated citizens. It offers opportunities to open discussions about work and career, feminism, and friendship.
10. Los Zapatos de Anabel
English title: Anabel’s Shoes
Life Lesson: How to be grateful for what you have.
Published: 2018
Language(s): Spanish & English
Available Format: Paperback
This book teaches a timeless life lesson: to be truly grateful for what you have. This illustrated bilingual story centers on a young girl on a journey through a forest full of friendly animals. She learns lessons related to the kindness of others and appreciating what she has. This is the perfect Spanish children’s book for parents to read with their children and discuss essential life lessons.
Reading is Inspiring!
I hope you have enjoyed this list of recommendations and will spend some special quality time reading these books with your child.
What other great Spanish children’s books that teach life lessons should be included on the list? Let me know in the comments below!
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