Photos courtesy of Monica de los Reyes.

Is there anything better than stories and snacks? Elissa and I were lucky enough to get both when we sat in on author Karina N. González’s bilingual storytime at the Connolly branch of the Boston Public Library last Friday afternoon. The event was part of their celebration of Día de les niñes/Día de los libros (Día). Longtime Horn Book contributor and children’s librarian Sujei Lugo hosts bilingual story hours regularly, sometimes featuring book creator visits.

Karina — who likes to arrive early to events to sign books with doodles — kept the K–1 audience engaged for the whole hour before, during, and after reading her book Churro Stand (also available in Spanish as El carrito de churros), illustrated by Krystal Quiles. Karina has experience working in schools, and it showed. She asked the kids questions about their lives that related to the book’s characters and plot and taught them new “fancy” words as she read her endearing story about a churro-selling mama in New York City. Afterward, the attentive audience was rewarded with bubbles, chalk-drawing, and, of course, churros from a local restaurant. At least one kid declared, “best library ever!” 

Though it’s impossible for us to pick a favorite library, Sujei’s children’s section of the Connolly branch is an extraordinarily cozy and welcoming space. Notably, she has shelves of Spanish language and bilingual Spanish-English options in all age-level and genre areas of the collection, and she’s actively building up other language offerings. If you’re in Jamaica Plain, it’s definitely worth checking out! Although you will likely have to procure your own churros nearby.