For a while now I've been very protective of my books in Spanish. My rapidly growing collection has been due to an unquenchable desire to fill my house with Spanish literature, and hopefully, capture my children's interest in the language. We are a mono-lingual household, mostly. Spanish is the preferred language but my husband and I often banter back and forth in English. I wonder if this confuses our kids, that we use English often when we're playfully conversing or just teasing each other. We don't seem to have ignited any passion for Spanish but they certainly don't hate it. My two older boys are proud to be bilingual. My youngest doesn't care and isn't saying much either way.
In our collection there are books that are loose-translations and books with translations that take themselves far too seriously. I have very few originally Spanish books. Off the top of my head I can only think of two or three but they are technically bilingual books. Then there's a smattering of Plaza Sesamo and Maya and Miguel and uninspiring non-fiction. At least for now I can say that I don't mind if the book is not originally Spanish, as long as it is translated with the message and the emotion kept in tact. I sometimes panic because no one is talking about Spanish children's literature in the classical sense. At least no one on my blog roll! These would be books with real staying power and original language and even good grammar.
For now I'll be looking into "El principito" (The Little Prince) on a friend's suggestion and enjoying my personal favorite, "Sarah, alta y sencilla" (Sarah, Plain and Tall). But maybe what I really need is to become more cultured myself and soak in some better grammar. "Don Quijote" is waiting.
