Our Top 10 Spanish Books for 4-Year-Olds in 2020

In the spirit of end of year top 10 lists and this crazy crazy year we've experienced, we thought it'd be fun to look back at the Spanish books that got the most air time at our house. 

Here were our 4 year-old son's favorites. We'd love to hear your favorites for 4 and 5 year-olds, too!

1. La gran fiesta de los olores by Pato Mena

This is such a fun book, and each time we read it, we notice something we missed before. It's the story of some moles who get together for a costume party, but instead of clothing based costumes, they use colognes/smells to "dress-up."

A few reasons why we love it:

• It's a super creative story that lets the little ones get in on a secret before the characters do. And funny for parents!
• Super fun to read-aloud and pretend to smell all of the different smells in the book.
• Beautiful, fun and bright illustrations.

2. En la estación espacial by Carron Brown and Bee Johnson

This is probably the #1 most requested book by our 4 year-old and part of a series that we've become dangerously obsessed with: The Shine-A-Light series from Usborne. A few reasons why we love it:

• It's an awesome way to incorporate more non-fiction into your Spanish reading with your kids! We learned some fun facts about how astronauts sleep at the space station, how they exercise, what they eat and more. 
• Each page basically has a hidden image that you can reveal by shining a flashlight behind the page. So interactive, and Lucas now asks if all of our books work like this.
• In general, this series does a good job of reflecting diversity, which is sadly so much harder to find than I'd expect.
• Some of the pages have short sounds written out which have been great for identifying letters and starting to practice reading really short words aloud.

Seriously, these books have brought us so much joy that I bought an Usborne membership exclusively so that I could save a little bit of money when ordering all of the books in this series (and one other series for Fifi's age that I can't seem to come by at the library). We've tried almost all of them, and our three favorites in addition to En la estación espacial are: (1) El cuerpo humano - so cool for kids to start learning about the human body! (2) En la biblioteca and (3) En la granja.

En la estación espacial is also available on Amazon. It's a tiny bit more expensive so if you'd like to explore a few, happy to share my discount by reimbursing for free shipping on orders over $35 through the Usborne link.

3. Te como a besos by Carmen Gil and Laure Du Fay

If I'm being honest, this book is on the list mostly because of how much I love it! But our little guy never complains about it either ;) 

Why it's a frequent read:

• It serves as such a good reminder of how much our attitude (good or bad) can rub off on our little ones. 
• Such a good reminder of the power of kindness
• Beautiful illustrations and fun to interact with the different characters!

4. La casa adormecida by Audrey Wood and Don Wood

This was a suggestion from one of our IG friends, and we're so grateful for it! You may have read it in English - The Napping House, and the Spanish version is wonderful too!

• Repeating and building verses which are awesome for language development.
• Super fun to read aloud with whispers, snores, and yawns.
• The old fashioned illustrations randomly make me feel young even though this book is really not that old. 

5. Como doblar un taco by Naibe Reynoso and Ana Varela

Such a fun and silly story from Con Todo Press about all of the different ways to fold a taco. We've loved it because:

• Rhyming verses! are so fun to read-aloud and great for learning early reading skills
• The translation is amazing - I seriously cannot believe Naibe was able to make this rhyme in both English and Spanish. Such a tough thing to do and she did it so beautifully!
• The illustrations are just the best! So fun and engaging!

6. El gran gran gran dinosaurio by Richard Byrne

Just love love love Richard Byrne books and was so excited to come across this translation! It's a bit pricey in the US, but if you can find a used copy, I'd highly recommend! 

• Another book where the kids are in on the surprise just before the characters figure it out.
• A solid message about sharing and making friends! 

7. Mi gatito es el más bestia by Gilles Bachellet and Silvia Masó Escobairó

This was one of the first books that Lucas was gifted from a dear friend when he was a baby, and it's fun to see his understanding of it grow. It's about a man who thinks he has a pet cat, but.... it might not really be a cat.

• A great story where the kids can get in on the joke!
• I feel like kids react so well to unexpected images and stories in front of them, and this has definitely been the case with this book! They just think it's fun and silly!

8. Viaje de brócoli by Pilar Serrano and Agnese Baruzzi

This book is a winner because it is independently responsible for our kids trying broccoli. It tells the story of how broccoli came to be, and it got ours curious enough to actually eat some! and not spit it out! Why we love it:

• Has a little bit of non-fiction worked in!
• Super fun illustrations of broccoli and even cauliflower!
• And to reiterate - got our kids to eat broccoli! SERIOUSLY!

9. Es hora de dormir, papá

Now that our kids love to pretend feed us dinner or put us to bed, this book is even sweeter and funnier. It tells the story of a little boy who is trying to get his very reluctant dad to sleep.

• Fun to read aloud and do pretend dad and kid voices!
• Makes you feel super nostalgic and want to treasure these moments when our kids are little, even though getting them to bed can be the most frustrating experience.

 10. Daniela y las chicas pirata by Susanna Isern and Gómez

A fun story about some very helpful pirates. In general, we love the stories from NubeOcho's Egalité series, which focuses on reflecting diversity and highlighting values like equality, teamwork. 

• Beautifully illustrated!
• A fun story that highlights positive values, reflects diversity and empowers our girls!

Vivan las uñas de colores is another good one from this series that serves as a good starting point to talk about bullying.

 

Let us know if you check any of these out and what you think! We'd also love to know some of your favorites!