COLORADO – Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy today announced five winning picture books that exemplify the early literacy practices READ, WRITE, TALK, SING, and PLAY. Winners were selected from a 25-title shortlist put forth by the awards committee.
The 2025 CLEL Bell Award Winners are:
LEER/READ – El rescatador de plantas: The Plant Rescuer, de Matthew Rivera (Author) Editorial : VINTAGE ESPAÑOL INFANTIL JUVENIL.
ESCRIBIR/WRITE – Si yo fuera escritora, de Mrinalini Maldonado (Author), Doris Meng Yan (Illustrator) Editorial : Editorial Destellos
HABLAR/TALK –Grandma’s Hair Is Ankle Length / El cabello de Abuela le llega hasta los tobillos, de Adriana Camacho-Church (Author), Carmen Lop (Illustrator) Editorial : Pinata Books
CANTAR/SING – La Cucaracha: A Bilingual Book of Harmony, de Nayeli Reyes (Author), Citlali Reyes (Illustrator) — Editorial :Lil’ Libros Fecha de publicación.
JUGAR/PLAY –El pañuelo de mamá , de Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Author), Joelle Avelino (Illustrator) Editorial : Beascoa
The Spanish CLEL Bell Picture Book Awards are an annual recognition of five high-quality Spanish picture books that provide excellent support for early literacy skills for young children. A winner is chosen in each of 5 categories that support early literacy: READ, WRITE, TALK, SING, and PLAY.
Spanish CLEL Bell Award Criteria:
- Originally published in Spanish
- Published as a bilingual Spanish and English title
- A quality Spanish translation from an originally English title
- Theme or content related to one of the five early literacy practices: Read, Write, Sing, Talk, or Play
- Distinction or uniqueness in presentation of relevant theme or content
- Supports and/or models parent and caregiver engagement with their children through early literacy practices
- Ability to appeal to parents or caregivers and their young children (ages birth-5) of diverse family situations
- Excellence in writing, illustration, and design
- Excellent book production (quality paper, binding, cover, etc)
- Fiction and nonfiction are eligible.
