Awesome Spanish Books for Kids in Elementary
The best books to learn Spanish for elementary kids not only teach the language but motivate, inspire, and ignite the imagination.
Elementary students love to discover the world through books—it’s where they get first impressions and are introduced to new, interesting concepts.
Spanish learning books are proven to draw students’ attention and keep them engaged.
In this blog post, I will tell you all about eight awesome books to learn Spanish for elementary kids.
Join me as I explore the book’s theme and author, tell you where to purchase it, and share some activities you can enjoy with your Spanish students as you read together!
Table of Contents:
- Using Books To Learn Spanish for Elementary Kids
- The Little Prince (El principito) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- Everything Is a Song: Poetic Anthology (Todo es una canción: Antología poética) by Alma Flor Ada
- Traditional Games (Juegos tradicionales) by María Angélica Ovalle
- Xochitl and the Flowers (Xochitl, la niña de las flores) by Jorge Argueta
- Passing Pages: The Story of My Life (Pasando páginas: La historia de mi vida) by Sonia Sotomayor
- De Colores (Of colors) and Other Latin American Folksongs for Children by José Luis Orozco
- Piñatas and Paper Flowers: Holidays of the Americas in English and Spanish (Piñatas y flores de papel: Fiestas de las Américas en inglés y español) by Lila Perl
- Rainbow Weaver (Tejedora del arcoiris) by Linda Elovitz Marshall
- Find The Right Support for Your Kids To Learn Spanish
Using Books To Learn Spanish for Elementary Kids
Using books to learn Spanish is a successful strategy for supporting young language learners.
Spanish books for elementary-level students usually contain compelling storylines and vivid illustrations. They are ideal for repetition of sounds and words, character contextualization, use of numbers, identifying shapes, and for teaching valuable lessons.
As you support your children in their Spanish journey, you need ingenious methods to keep them motivated, and books do just the trick in a diverse way.
Elementary Spanish books are available in a variety of styles. You can find literary classics, poetry, biographies, and interactive storytelling.
As a parent or educator, when you read with your students, you’re able to ask questions, point to concepts, and have the children read and say vocabulary words in a real-world context. This is ideal for enhancing sentence building and reading comprehension.
With Spanish books, children start to build even more vocabulary and start to get familiarized with cultural norms, while getting exposed to constant Spanish immersion.
Here are my trusted recommendations for the best books to learn Spanish for elementary kids.
1. The Little Prince (El principito) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
El principito is an essential book for elementary students. Reading this masterpiece in Spanish is guaranteed to elevate your child’s imagination and language skills to a whole new level.
It’s no secret that the inspirational tale of El principito has traveled the world and conquered the hearts of many readers. It’s a highly entertaining story with lessons on morals that come in handy throughout all stages of life.
Being one of the best books to learn Spanish for elementary kids, El principito, tells the story of a little prince who visits several planets and has different observations about humanity in each visit. It’s a conversation starter for talking with kids about friendship, love, loss, loneliness, and other emotions.
I would recommend this Spanish book to children seven years or older. It has an advanced reading level and is highly supportive for language students to understand social scenarios, and reflections.
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Spanish Classroom Activities
- Combine reading about the planets in El principito with an entertaining lesson on Astronomy in Spanish Vocabulary.
- Listen to the dreamy tunes and words of Sofi Vargas in her song El principito.
2. Everything Is a Song: Poetic Anthology (Todo es una canción: Antología poética) by Alma Flor Ada
Todo es canción is by bilingual education advocate Alma Flor Ada. Her educational anthology is a collection of poems ideal for enriching vocabulary on body parts, numbers, food, vowels, nature, and more.
The book targets readers from seven to ten years old. The poems are well written and easy to read. Having them divided into categories and themes gives you many possibilities for combining this book with specific vocabulary lessons.
It also enables young students to understand the dynamics of poetry in Spanish as the author includes a small introduction to the literary art form.
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Spanish Classroom Activities
- Use the book’s section of “Mi cuerpo y yo” (My body and me) for an amusing lesson on Parts of the Body in Spanish for Kids.
- Sing a joyful round of Cabeza, cara, hombros, pies (Head, shoulders, knees, and toes).
3. Traditional Games (Juegos tradicionales) by María Angélica Ovalle
Juegos tradicionales is one of the best books to learn Spanish for elementary kids. It’s so diverse and result-driven, that you can even use it for preschoolers and children of all ages.
The book is a compilation of Spanish children’s games. It has fantastic visual content and encourages kids to practice conversation as they go through the rules of each game together.
These games are productive and make the perfect opportunity to take your Spanish classroom outside. It supports educators in teaching Spanish students commands, and verbs.
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Spanish Classroom Activities
- Play a round of the children’s game Gallinita ciega (Blind chicken) with an original and complete song. For playing the game you’ll need at least three students and a scarf for covering the player’s eyes.
- Enhance Spanish playtime with 10 Classic Schoolyard Games Kids Play in Latin America.
4. Xochitl and the Flowers (Xochitl, la niña de las flores) by Jorge Argueta
Xochitl, la niña de las flores is among those memorable and folklore-inspired books to learn Spanish for elementary kids.
It’s written for language students who are six to nine years old and comes in a bilingual format that makes it highly easy to read and follow.
The nostalgic tale narrates the story of Xochitl, a young girl from El Salvador who just relocated to the United States with her family. Initially, Xochitl misses her life back home, her friends, her garden, and her beloved family’s flower shop.
As they settle into American life, Xochitl and her family decide to start a new plant nursery to sell their plants on the street once again.
Throughout the story, Xochitl starts to build new connections and make friends. She understands a home is where the heart is and touches base on the different immigration tales of American society.
It’s a fantastic story for teaching children about overcoming challenges, building community, and the value of friendship. The side-by-side bilingual texts are excellent for strengthening reading comprehension and Spanish vocabulary.
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Spanish Classroom Activities
- Play and sing along El juego de las flores (The Flower Game) after reading this compelling story.
- Plan an outdoors Spanish lesson using our free printables and PDF in Gardening Tips and Ideas for Kids.
5. Passing Pages: The Story of My Life (Pasando páginas: La historia de mi vida) by Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Sotomayor is the first Latina woman to serve as U.S. Supreme Court judge. Her autobiography was written for readers four to eight years old, and makes one of the most inspirational books to learn Spanish for elementary kids.
The narrative focuses on Sonia’s love for books and how they’ve supported her to overcome different life challenges and reach her dreams. The book cultivates motivation for reading and embracing as a productive habit at a young age.
Pasando páginas is a wonderful teaching aide and can even support adults who are learning Spanish. It’s beautifully illustrated, it’s well written, and uses loads of Spanish vocabulary you can reinforce.
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Spanish Classroom Activities
- Have your students do a Show and Tell where on Sonia Sotomayor using Spanish adjectives and descriptives. You can use this Massive List of Spanish Adjectives while you give them a lesson on vocabulary for the activity.
- Tell your students more about Sonia Sotomayor and her impressive impact as a Hspanic woman, and leader.
6. De Colores (Of colors) and Other Latin American Folksongs for Children by José Luis Orozco
This is one of the most joyful, and vivid books to learn Spanish for elementary kids you’ll find.
De Colores is a compilation of Latin-American songs where kids learn rhymes, hand games, and traditional Spanish songs.
Singing and playing are engaging methods for learning a language. Kids get Spanish immersion as they have fun.
The colorful book also encourages appreciation for diversity and Latino culture. It’s an ideal book for children to start embracing the richness of the Spanish language. It comes with English-Spanish text and has songs for any mood, and occasion.
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Spanish Classroom Activities
- Prepare different exercises for kids to fill in the blank in the lyrics of the different songs in the book. This is a foolproof activity for testing your student’s Spanish listening, and reading comprehension.
- The title of the book comes from the song De Colores inspired by Cesar Chavez. Teach your elementary students all about this local hero with 11 Classroom Activities for Celebrating Cesar Chavez.
7. Piñatas and Paper Flowers: Holidays of the Americas in English and Spanish (Piñatas y flores de papel: Fiestas de las Américas en inglés y español) by Lila Perl
Piñatas y flores de papel is an unforgettable part of the different books to learn Spanish for elementary kids you can find in this list.
The book comes with English-Spanish parallel text that enables readers to further understand its concepts and complex descriptions. It’s for advanced elementary.
It tells the reader about the particular and different holidays children celebrate in Latin America. This book talks about carnaval, fireworks, día de muertos, and many more unique, colorful, and special Latin American celebrations.
It provides a great opportunity to teach language students about traditions and folklore, as they also get Spanish immersion.
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Spanish Classroom Activities
- Make cascarones in class, and create decorations inspired by the book’s stories to set a mood for reading it.
8. Rainbow Weaver (Tejedora del arcoiris) by Linda Elovitz Marshall
Tejedora del arcoiris is an essential part of this list of books to learn Spanish for elementary kids that comes with bilingual text. This makes it highly effective for language students to grasp vocabulary and complex social scenarios in the narrative.
It tells the story of Ixchel, a young Maya girl from Guatemala who wants to follow the women of her family in the tradition of weaving. However, her family struggles with finding time to teach her and purchasing materials for her. In spite of the hardships, Ixchel’s creativity allows her to come up with a fantastic solution.
I highly recommend this book, it shares many details and insight about Guatemala and Maya culture. It’s great for cultivating an appreciation for Latino heritage, and ultimately for improving Spanish-English reading comprehension.
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Spanish Classroom Activities
- Use the Spanish song El arcoiris and use our printables for an engaging lesson about the Rainbow in Spanish.
- Share more cultural insight about Guatemala with your Spanish students after reading about 10 Most Impressive Guatemalan Textiles.
Find The Right Support for Your Kids To Learn Spanish
I trust that after reading this unique list of books to learn Spanish for elementary kids, your children will be on the right track to fluency.
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