La Princesa and the Pea by Susan Middleton Elya, illustrated by Juana Matinez-Neal, is an award winning picture book that is a great example of sprinkling Spanish throughout an English story. I am a big fan of Susan Middleton Elya’s picture books and I use them quite often in my bilingual storytimes. They are easy to follow and are great for focusing on Spanish vocabulary. This story gives a Latino twist to the classic “Princess and the Pea” tale by having it take place in Peru.

The influence of Peru art and culture can be clearly seen throughout the story through the bright textiles of the indigenous clothing that the characters wear. I really enjoyed reading this book as I find the art style quite captivating. There is also a handy glossary at the beginning of the story to help pronounce the Spanish words and a small excerpt at the end that talk about which villages in Peru inspired the look of the characters!

I recommend this book for a family or preschool storytime as it might be a little to long for some of our younger storytime goers.