Review: Let’s Play! – Lesson Plans

If you or your kids have ever wondered about the kinds of games kids play in other parts of the world, you’ll enjoy reading and playing through Let’s Play: Children’s Games from Around the World. This book by Nancy Dickmann and illustrated by Mónica Andino explores games from different countries that can be played alone, with two players, three to five players or larger groups.

Each game takes up a page and includes the name of the game, where it comes from, how many players are needed, any supplies that are needed, what type of game it is (active play, creative play, throwing, puzzle, board game, etc.) and how much space you need to play. This is handy if you have friends over at home or you’re looking for games the whole classroom can play, or even something to keep one child entertained.

There’s then a description of how the game works and sometimes more information about the name or different ways to play.

The games come from all over the world including the United States and the United Kingdom, Australia, Columbia, Ghana, India, Japan, Liberia and Turkey to name a few. There are also a couple of games from indigenous American tribes. There’s an index that lists all the nations represented so if you’re doing a unit study on a particular country you can look and see if there’s a game from the country you can play.

Let’s Play would be a fun book to have in the classroom for younger kids or at home if you regularly have kids over who are looking for something fun to do. Most of the games don’t require much in terms of materials or preparation, and they give kids a glimpse into how kids like them in other parts of the world have fun.

About the book: 64 pages, hardcover. Published 2023 by words & pictures. Suggested retail price $16.99.

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Summer Reading Printables and Tips for Parents

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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