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This Month’s Book:
Maria Had a Little Llama / María Tenía una Llamita
Where is that llama going? To school of course! Maria Had a Little Llama/María Tenía una Llamita by author/illustrator Angela Dominguez provides a fun twist to the classic nursery rhyme, “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” The delightful illustrations in this book features majestic mountains, a lively Peruvian village, and a lovable llama. Enjoy this bilingual story in English, Spanish, or both languages!
Share the story with your child in both languages. Learning a second language activates brain growth in children and adults. Studies show that dual language learners receive the benefits of: focused attention span; better test scores; improved confidence and self-esteem. Give your child the gift of bilingualism – talk and read with your child in all the languages you say, “I love you!”
Activity 1: Llamas play an important role in Peruvian culture. Many children raise llamas as pets. Invite your child to talk about what kind of animal they would like to have for a pet.
Activity 2: On one of the pages, the book shows a map of where Maria lives. Invite your child to look at a map with you. Point out Arizona, and then find Peru. Explain that in Arizona, it gets really hot. Maria lives in the mountains, ask your child, “Do you think it’s hot or cold where Maria lives?”
Singing nursery rhymes like, “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” helps children learn new words, and hear the sounds and rhythm of language.
Activity: Support your child’s language development by singing your favorite nursery rhyme! Here is one of our favorites:
Diez Deditos / Ten Little Fingers
Dos manitas, diez deditos, Two little hands, ten little fingers,
Dos manitas, diez deditos, Two little hands, ten little fingers,
Dos manitas, diez deditos, Two little hands, ten little fingers,
Cuéntalos conmigo, Count them all with me.
Uno, dos, tres deditos, One, two, three little fingers,
Cuatro, cinco, seis deditos, Four, five, six little fingers,
Siete, ocho, nueve deditos, Seven, eight, nine little fingers,
Y uno más son diez. And one more makes ten.
Activity 1: As you read the story, help your child discover various characteristics of the village like: people with instruments, fruit vendors, different animals, farmlands, mountains, and traditional Peruvian clothing.
Activity 2: A couple pages in this book are wordless, pause and look at the illustrations. Invite your child to help you find the school, “la escuela.”
Enjoy more fun books featuring rhyme and llamas! We recommend:
- Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino
- Llama, Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
Explore non-fiction animal books to learn more about llamas!
- Life-Size Farm by Teruyuki Komiya – this book is filled with beautiful photos, and fun facts about llamas and other animals.
Activity 1: What does the llama say? I don’t know; do you know? Ask your child, “What sound do you think a llama makes?” Have fun making silly animal sounds.
Activity 2: Throughout the story we see village musicians playing traditional Peruvian instruments. Have fun with your child making homemade instruments. For instance, an empty oatmeal container makes a great drum. Pots, pans and wooden spoons make wonderful sounds too!
Join the Conversation!
Share your experience with the book, Maria Had a Little Llama/María Tenía una Llamita and be entered into a raffle to win next month’s C2C Book Club title! For example, you could:
- Tell us about your child’s favorite part of the story.
- Send a video of you sharing the book together.
- Send a picture of you and your child wearing a disguise.
Share your photos and videos with us on Twitter and Instagram and be sure to tag Make Way for Books. For example, you could write:
@mwfbaz We love singing and making music with our homemade paper plate maracas! #storytime