My Name Is Gabriela/Me Llamo Gabriela (Bilingual): The Life of Gabriela Mistral/La Vida de Gabriela Mistral

I wish there were more bilingual children's books like this superb story for children about the life of Gabriela Mistral, the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature (1945). I am a university professor of Latin American Literature, and I have been teaching Mistral's poetry to university students for more than 15 years. She is typically one of my students' favorite poets, and I have found that many of her poems -- especially those about children and motherhood - are also great for young ears. Mistral was a Chilean intellectual, writer, and diplomat, but above all she was a well-respected educator, who dedicated much of her life to teaching children and young adults. It is a shame that she is not better known in this country, but this book, with its gorgeous illustrations by John Parra, is a great step toward changing that. It will enthrall children of all ages. My children (ages 3 and 6) absolutely love it, as they do all of the titles by Monica Brown, who has succeeded like few others in putting together a series of top-notch bilingual children's books that are at once entertaining and very educational. I am waiting with baited breath for the next installment in the series! There are so many Latin Americans and Hispanics who deserve to be better known by US readers.

It is a pleasure to find a book in two languages that is so well done. The story is interesting and the illustrations are wonderful. Learning about a person, her background, and her talent is just the type of book we need to encourage children to read. It is my pleasure as a teacher to recommend this little treasure! Cecilia Armas

I bought this and a few other Luna Rising books for my students in Spanish one and two. The fact that they are bilingual makes them less intimidating. The illustrations are wonderful and they get a sort of mini biography of someone important in Latin American literature. Gabriela Mistral was also a children's and women's rights advocate although that is not heavily covered in the story they do tell you that she traveled the world helping children. I use this and other picture books to facilitate reading and language comprehension while at the same breaking away from the text book. For native speakers it is not particularly difficult, as it is a children's book, but for non native learners the language used is a bit challenging at times. Which is where the bilingual part comes in really handy. It also helps for the intermediate learners, when illustrating that translation is not always 100% word for word. Overall this book is great just to read in English or Spanish and as a teaching tool if you are up to the challenge.

This picture book is a wonderful book who shows us through colorful illustrations the story of a great poetess, Gabriela Mistral. As a Chilean and bilingual teacher, I am honor to read this book to my children and students.

Gabriela Mistral is the name Lucila Godoy Alcayaga gave to herself because she liked the sound of it. And this is her story; the story of the first Latin American writer (she was born in Chile) to receive (in 1945) the Nobel Prize for Literature. Monica Brown has successfully created a tribute to a woman that not only entertains children with the lyrical words of the story but also educates them about an historical figure. What makes this book even more special is that it is written in English on the left hand side of the page and Spanish on the right hand side. The illustrations are bold and drawn in a manner that is representative of Latin art. Armchair Interviews says: Children will be entertained and educated by this wonderful story. We highly recommend My Name is Gabriela. .