The Legend of Roberti Cofresí: A Puerto Rican Hero is the second book which award-winning author Janet Balletta has written. Artist Estella Mejia illustrated both books in a colorful primitive style reminiscent of children’s drawings. Kids will enjoy the tale of the swashbuckling anti-hero Roberto Cofresí from Puerto Rico. Like Robin Hood, he confiscated treasure from the wealthy and shared it with those in need. Legend says the people of Puerto Rico conspired to help him avoid capture from the authorities. Today, Cofresí is revered in Puerto Rica as a popular hero.
Young readers will enjoy learning about Cofresí’s adventuring on the seas, seizing treasure and burying it. Some might imagine themselves as treasure hunters seeking Cofresí’s still undiscovered hidden treasure. Such grand adventures might spark an interest in acquiring the science.
Hispanic families will enjoy sharing this piece of their cultural history with their children. Anyone interested in broadening their multicultural awareness will also find The Legend of Roberti Cofresí: A Puerto Rican Hero an entertaining title to include on their child’s bookshelf.
Janet’s author profile from Amazon: Janet was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Colombian and Puerto Rican parents. She was raised Catholic, grew up in Queens, and moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 1993. She graduated from Barry University with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and American College of Education with master’s degree in Educational Leadership. Janet worked as an Administrative Assistant and K-2 ESOL Teacher for Palm Beach County Schools from 1993 to 2006. She currently lives and works as a bilingual second-grade teacher in Port St. Lucie, FL. Janet was inspired to write her first children’s book, The Legend of the Colombian Mermaid by her two daughters who also love mermaids. She recently won the Mariposa Award from the International Latino Book Awards for The Legend of the Colombian Mermaid translated into Spanish as La Leyenda de la Sirena Colombiana. It was also nominated for the Christian Literary Awards in November 2015. She launched her second children’s book, The Legend of Roberto Of Cofresi – A Puerto Rican Hero, a pirate story in Fall 2015. Janet is passionate about literacy and hopes her books will inspire children to develop an appreciation for bilingual and multicultural literature.
The Legend of the Columbian Mermaid
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Multicultural Children’s Book Day has 12 amazing Co-Hosts. View them here.
The Mission of Multicultural Children’s Book Day is: to spread the word and raise awareness about the importance of diversity in children’s literature. Our young readers need to see themselves within the pages of a book and experience other cultures, languages, traditions and religions within the pages of a book. We encourage readers, parents, teachers, caregivers and librarians to follow along the fun book reviews, author visits, event details, a multicultural children’s book linky and via our hashtag (#ReadYourWorld) on Twitter and other social media.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2016 Medallion Level Sponsors!
Patinum: Wisdom Tales Press, Story Quest Books, Lil Libros
Gold: Author Tori Nighthawk, Candlewick Press
Silver: Lee and Low Books, Chronicle Books, Capstone Young Readers
Bronze: Pomelo Books, Author Jacqueline Woodson, Papa Lemon Books, Goosebottom Books, Author Gleeson Rebello, Shout Mouse Press, Author Mahvash Shahegh, China Institute.org
Multicultural Children’s Book Day has 12 amazing Co-hosts and you can view them here.
Teachers, we invite you to spread the word to your teacher/librarian/classroom connections so; get them involved in this program. There is no cost to teachers and classrooms. You can help by tweeting the below info:
Teachers! Earn a FREE #MULTICULTURAL Kids Book for Your Classroom! #teachers, #books #teacherlife http://ow.ly/UUy96
The Classroom Reading Challenge has begun! Teachers can earn a free #Diversity book! #teachers, #books http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/?p=1796
Classroom Reading Challenge:Help spread the word on our Classroom Reading Challenge . This very special offering from MCCBD offers teachers and classrooms the chance to (very easily) earn a free hardcover multicultural children’s book for their classroom library. These books are not only donated by the Junior Library Guild, but they are pre-screened and approved by them as well.
