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Isla by Arthur Dorros

Summary of the Story

A young girl and her grandmother use their imagination to visit the Caribbean island where the grandmother grew up.

Introducing the Story

• Read the title of the book, pointing to the word Isla as you say it. Have children repeat the title.
• Point to the picture on the cover. Ask: What do you see? (A woman and a little girl are flying in the sky.) Explain that isla is the word for island in Spanish.

Reading the Story for the First Time

• Read the story, moving your finger under the words as you read. If necessary, refer to the glossary in the back of the book for help in pronouncing the Spanish words.
• After reading the story, ask: Do the little girl and her grandma take a real or an imaginary trip?

Recalling the Story

• After you have finished reading, ask children the recall questions below. Continue to ask these questions when you reread the book, until he or she knows the answers.

Reading the Story Again and Again

• Give open-ended prompts on each page. For example, ask: What is happening in this picture? Where are they now? Do less reading of the words to the story each time you read, leaving more and more of the "reading" or retelling to the child.
• Give prompts about objects or activities in the pictures. Ask: What are Abuela and the little girl sitting in? (They are sitting in a rocking chair.) Use your finger to point to what you are asking about. Evaluate the child's response. Expand it by giving more information. Ask the child to repeat the answer. If he or she needs help with a question, ask that question again the next time you read the book.

Extra Activities

• Have children imagine what it would be like to fly over other kinds of places. Start by asking: What would you see if you flew over the North Pole?
• Children can draw pictures of people in their families. Help them label the picture with the names of the family members.

Recall Questions
Ask the following questions to check children's understanding of the story.

1. What is the name of this book? (The book is called Isla.)
2. What do the main characters in this book do? (They take an imaginary trip to the island where Abuela grew up and where Rosalba's aunt and uncle and cousin live.)
3. What do they do in the backyard? (They play in a fountain.)
4. What do they see in the rain forest? (They see parrots, lizards, frogs, and lots of plants.)
5. What do they see in the harbor? (They see big ships.)
6. Why do they go to the market? (Abuela's family went there to sell pineapples when she was a little girl.)
7. What do Rosalba and Abuela make for supper? (They make a fruit salad.)
8. When do Abuela and Rosalba go home? (They go home at night.)

Prompts
Use the following questions after the second or third reading of Isla. There are questions for every one or two pages of the story.

1. What is happening in this picture? (Abuela is telling Rosalba a story about the island where she grew up.)
2. How do Abuela and Rosalba get to the island? (They fly.)
3. Where are they in this picture? (They are flying over the ocean.)
4. Who lives on the island? (Rosalba's aunt and uncle and cousin Elena live on la isla.)
5. Can you point to tio Fernando, tia Isabel, and Elena? (They are looking up to the sky with their arms raised.)
6. Have you ever gone to visit relatives? How did you get there?
7. Who is in the painting Rosalba and Abuela are looking at? (The painting is a picture of tio Fernando and a big fish he had as a pet for a while.)
8. What is happening in this picture? (Abuela, Rosalba, and Elena are playing in a fountain.)
9. What is happening in this picture? (Abuela and Rosalba are flying over the rain forest.)
10. What do they see? (a rainbow, parrots, and lots of trees)
11. What does Abuela show Rosalba? (a lizard)
12. Why are Abuela and Rosalba upside down? (They are flying like birds for the people in the town square below them.)
13. Where are Abuela and Rosalba now? (They are flying over the harbor.)
14. Can you count the big ships?
15. Is this New York City where Abuela and Rosalba live? (No, it is the city where Abuela and Abuelo used to shop for things for their store on the island.)
16. Where are they now? (They are in a country market.)
17. What else can you buy at this market? (You can buy pineapples, watermelon, clothes, plants, and other fruits and vegetables.)
18. Where are Abuela and Rosalba? (They are at the beach.)
19. Have you ever been to a beach? What did you do there?
20. Who are all the people in the picture? (The people in the picture are t?Fernando, Rosalba, Abuela, tia Isabel, and Elena.)
21. Where do Abuela and Rosalba get the mangoes? (They climb up the tree and pick them.)
22. How do you know it is nighttime in this picture? (The stars are out.)
23. Where are they going now? (They are going back home to New York City.)
24. What do you think of Abuela's bedtime story for Rosalba?

Vocabulary

The words listed below come from the story and its pictures. As you page through the book, ask the child to name the objects listed or talk about the actions portrayed. Words are listed for every two pages of story. Ask about other objects and actions shown in the pictures as you see fit.

• Abuela, Rosalba, rocking chair, doll, cat, rug
• flying, ships, island, New York City
• church, houses, horses, cows, chickens, waving
• hugging, roosters
• pointing, picture, fish, bathtub
• fountain, water, stones
• rain forest, parrots, trees, rainbow
• river, lizard, frog, snake, owl
• upside down, pointing, fountain, balcony
• harbor, ships, ice cream cart, juice stand, fruit stand
• city, skyscraper
• market, pineapple, watermelon, dresses, plants
• bathing suit, swimming, umbrella, tire
• floating, inner tube, raft, flippers, snorkel
• mango tree, picking, swing
• stars, fruit salad
• bridge
• bed