Cool Salsa

Growing up in a country where my parents are also from is something I have always taken for granted. I am from the United States, more specifically New York, and so are my parents. They are English speakers, and so am I. I attended public and catholic school in which both I learned to perfect my native language. I never struggled with learning English and never thought twice about it. Now I am studying to be an elementary teacher with a focus in English. What I have become more and more aware of is the children who do not come from English speaking parents, and the trouble they have when faced with learning the English language in public school. Different then students like myself, these children of immigrant parents do no have a basis of English education going into elementary school. Most were raised to speak their Native language and being immersed in an English taught school proves to be very challenging and frustrating for them. This can have intense negative effects on the progression and success of the students' academic career and it is very important for a teacher to familiarize themselves and understand this. The book Cool Salsa takes an interesting approach in dealing with these issues. Cool Salsa is a compilation of poems written by Latino poets of all different ages, cultures, and walks of life. Each poet does share though, the struggle of growing up Latino in America. Some poems are traditional, others are slang, some are funny and others are serious. Many are written in Spanglish (a mix of English and Spanish) and others have been translated from either Spanish or English. These poems take the reader through the experience of growing up Latino. We learn about speaking two languages, living two cultures, the challenges, the rewards, the memories and the dreams of these poets. I found this book to potentially be extremely helpful in dealing with diversity in the classroom. It truly grabs the essence of what it means to be an immigrant student. As a teacher I would really enjoy being able to read this book to my students or having them read passages from it in both Spanish and English. If my students are able to recognize and appreciate another language and culture I believe they will be more sensitive and accepting of their peers from that culture. If I do have an immigrant student from the Latino heritage I would have them read this book so that they can find familiarity with their struggles and learn a creative way to express their feelings. Even if I do not have an immigrant student I would like to use this book in my classroom to expose my students to culture and language anyway. The translations are easy and fun and the poems are personal and real. The only problem I found with this book is that some of the poems may be too mature for the lower elementary grades. Some of the language used like "niggerlips" and "spic" and "whitey" may be offensive and inappropriate for younger children. The reality of the matter is though that

I love this little book of Spanish and English poems that so well captures the experience of growing up bilingual and / or as an immigrant in the United States. Although that is not my personal experience, I have been an ESL teacher for 25 years, and Spanish is my second language. I have watched many students from a wide variety of first languages and cultures go through experiences similar to those expressed in the poetry. I think this inexpensive book is a great addition to the study of poetry in ESL, bilingual, or literature classes, and can inspire bilingual / bicultural students to express their own feelings and experiences in poetry.

....This book is really what it says it is, COOL SALSA...it goes in hot yet cooling to the senses, then slides warmly all the way down to the last page! This book in awesome for anyone who is interested in just reading something that isn't Americanized. These poems are true and real, great for children and Adults.Some of the greatest Latin Amertican writers are featured in this book like Sandra Cisneros, Oscar Hijuelos, Ana Castillo, etc. There are many books that I think about and this one is at the TOP of my list for children and adults to read, if you like poetry.

Great for offering multicultural poetry to students. Poems are mature and interesting and written in both Spanish and English.

This book was very enjoyable. I bought the book to give to my great neice. There is poem titled "God, Why am I brown?" My family has married a lot of anglo's so most of all our neices/nephews and the great neices/nephews are all very light coloring. But this one great neice came out dark with black hair. I feel pure joy and pride when I see her. But, she gets teased about being dark and has asked the question "why am I dark and the others are not". So when I read the poem, I knew I had to give it to her. It has given her pure joy. She is now OUR Aztec princess. She now has a good come back when asked why she is so dark. Thank you for the book. I hope you will publish more like it.