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Cinco Puntos Press

With roots on the U.S./Mexico border, Cinco Puntos Press publishes great books which make a difference in the way you see the world.

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Home > Cinco Puntos Press > Teaching Resources
Teaching Resources

PRE-K & KINDER | ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | MIDDLE SCHOOL | HIGH SCHOOL

“Your books are FABULOSO!   I am a librarian in an elementary school that has a large Hispanic population and a bilingual language program. I use your books more to read aloud from more than books from any other press. They were kindly donated by a friend who lives in New Mexico. In a time when the magic of reading is often lost to our children who view books and reading as an arduous task, your books delight and entertain and teach kids to want to read! GRACIAS!”
—Greta Mesics, The Estrella Library,
Healdsburg Elementary School, Healdsburg, California

Cinco Puntos has made a name for itself as a publisher of authentic voices in multicultural children’s literature. We take pride in our bilingual children’s books and the traditional folktales from various cultures in our books. Cinco Puntos’ books are perfect for the classroom! With the help of some outstanding educators, we have prepared teachers’ guides for many of our titles. Keep an eye out for this star — ⭐ — which indicates that the book, and often its materials, are in English and Spanish. For another bilingual resource, make sure to check out the Joe Hayes Storytelling Collection on YouTube, where Joe’s put up videos of many of his classic tales in English and Spanish. If you’re interested in scheduling a school visit from Joe Hayes, you can find more information here.

If you are interested in our “Shelter In Books” classroom sponsorship program, click here.

PRE-KINDER & KINDER

Front cover of ABeCedarios⭐ABeCedarios: Mexican Folk Art ABCs in English and Spanish
Written by Cynthia Weill and K.B. Basseches
Wood Sculptures from Oaxaca by Moisés & Armando Jiménez
✎TEACHING GUIDE
📸BEHIND THE SCENES PHOTOS
Want to know more about the creators of the beautiful ABeCedarios? The “Behind the Scenes” gives a quick introduction to the craftsmen from Oaxaca and how they make these delicate colorful animals. For the teachers’ guide to ABeCedarios, click here.

ENGLISH

Front cover of Colores de la vida⭐Colores de la Vida: First Concepts in Mexican Folk Art
Written by Cynthia Weill
Wood Sculptures from Oaxaca
📸BEHIND THE SCENES PHOTOS
Cynthia Weill returns to Oaxaca and visits with artist Rubi Fuentes for the amazing wood carvings in Colores. Check out the “Behind the Scenes” to see photos from Cynthia’s trip and learn how the book’s cover model “Leoncito” was created!

 

Front cover of Mi Familia Calaca⭐Mi Familia Calaca
Written by Cynthia Weill
Papier mâché figures by Jesus Canseco Zárate
✎TEACHING GUIDE

 

 

⭐Opuestos
by Cynthia Weill
Wood Sculptures from Oaxaca by Quirino and Martín Santiago
✎TEACHING GUIDE
This is the second book in the Mexican Folk Art Concepts series by Cynthia Weill. Here is a useful teacher’s guide to Opuestos, perfect to use in the classroom or at home.

 

⭐The Great and Mighty Nikko
Written and illustrated by Xavier Garza

 

 

 

ENGLISH

 

ESPAÑOL

 

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Front cover of All Around UsAll Around Us
Written by Xelena Gonzalez
Illustrated by Adriana Garcia

 

 

ENGLISH

Front cover of The Bee TreeThe Bee Tree
Written by Stephen Buchmann and Diana Cohn
Illustrated by Paul Mirocha
✎TEACHING GUIDE
The Bee Tree is the perfect resource for any classroom! Astoundingly beautiful illustrations illuminate this story based on the cultural tradition of honey hunters in the dense rain forests of Malaysia. This teacher’s guide has an abundance of information about pollinators, Malaysian culture, environmental studies, Asian studies, geography, ecology and the traditions of the indigenous honey hunters. The last section of the book has an educational trailer with information about all of these subjects.

Front cover of Chukfi Rabbit's Big, Bad BellyacheChukfi Rabbit’s Big, Bad Bellyache
by Greg Rodgers
illustrated by Leslie Widener
✎TEACHING GUIDE

 

 

Front cover of Crossing Bok ChittoCrossing Bok Chitto
by Tim Tingle
✎TEACHING GUIDE
The critics love Crossing Bok Chitto! The New York Times featured it along with numerous starred reviews from magazines like Publisher’s Weekly. This teacher’s guide was written by the author, Tim Tingle.

 

Front cover of Don't Say A Word Mamá⭐Don’t Say a Word Mamá
by Joe Hayes
✎TEACHING GUIDE

 

 

ENGLISH

Front cover of Little Gold Star⭐Little Gold Star / Estrellita de oro
A Cinderella Cuento by Joe Hayes
✎TEACHING GUIDE
Teachers’ Guide written by Kyann McMillie, first-grade dual language teacher and 2004 Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year, and Leticia Rivera, first grade dual language teacher. Lety and Kyann team teach at Canutillo Elementary School, Canutillo Independent School District, El Paso, Texas.

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ENGLISH & ESPAÑOL

Front cover of Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask⭐Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask
Written and illustrated by Xavier Garza

 

 

 

ENGLISH

 

Front cover of Mali Under the Night SkyMali Under the Night Sky
by Youme Landowne
✎TEACHING GUIDE

 

 

 

Front Cover of My Tata's Remedies⭐My Tata’s Remedies / Los remedios de mi tata
by Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford Illustrated by Antonio Castro L.
✎TEACHING GUIDE
Recipient of a 2016 Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Book Award. “[A]n intergenerational story about how a grandfather (Tata) heals and cares for his family, friends and neighbors. From his Tata, Aaron learns first hand the significance of healing with a tender touch of wisdom and medicinal herbs. Expertly rendered, realistic images encompass diverse expression, movement and emotion.”

ENGLISH

Front cover of SelaviSélavi
by Youme Landowne
✎TEACHING GUIDE
This book offers high appeal content and meaningful artwork for readers of all ages. For classroom applications, it serves as an effective discussion tool and is most suited for the upper primary or lower elementary grade reader. This guide was prepared by educator Helen Buchanan.

 

Front cover of ¡Si, Se Puede! / Yes, We Can!⭐¡Si, se puede! / Yes, We Can!
by Diana Cohn
✎COMMON CORE TEACHING GUIDE
✎3-5TH GRADE LESSON PLAN
Two educators developed a common core-aligned teaching guide for Si, Se Puede!, and Marcy Fink Campos also developed a lesson plan that is primarily for 3rd to 5th grade students.

 

Front cover of The Lovesick SkunkThe Lovesick Skunk
by Joe Hayes
✎TEACHING GUIDE

 

 

ENGLISH

Tell Me a Cuento / Cuéntame un Story
by Joe Hayes
4 Stories in English and Spanish
Teachers’ Guides written by Susannah Mississippi Byrd, in collaboration with Joe Hayes

  • ⭐”Mariposa, Mariposa”
  • ✎TEACHING GUIDE

ENGLISH

ESPAÑOL

  • ⭐“Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Oh! / Lunes, Martes, Miércoles, ¡Oh!”
  • ✎TEACHING GUIDE

ESPAÑOL

  • ⭐“No Way, José! / ¡No Ninguna Manera, José!”
  • ✎TEACHING GUIDE

ENGLISH

ESPAÑOL

  • ⭐“The Terrible Tragadabas / El Terrible Tragadabas”
  • ✎TEACHING GUIDE

ESPAÑOL

 

 

Front cover of Walking Home to Rosie LeeWalking Home to Rosie Lee
by A.LaFaye
✎TEACHING GUIDE
In this teacher’s guide, designed by literary specialist Yvonne E. Furniss, students can study the emotional and political aspects of Reconstruction, as well as the visual symbolism found in this beautifully illustrated children’s book.

 

Front cover of Walking the Choctaw RoadWalking the Choctaw Road
by Tim Tingle
✎TEACHING GUIDE
Walking the Choctaw Road won the Oklahoma Reads Oklahoma Statewide Literary Book Contest for 2005! Here is a link to the discussion guide that Oklahoma Reads Oklahoma created after Walking the Choctaw Road won first place.

 

Front cover of Watch Out for Clever Women⭐Watch Out for Clever Women / ¡Cuidado con las mujeres astutas!
by Joe Hayes
✎TEACHING GUIDE
Teaching guide developed by Taylor ffitch. This classic Joe Hayes bilingual collection was a Bluebonnet finalist when it first came out. The new edition includes five new fun tales! You can watch Joe tell the English version of one of these tales, “The Days of King Adobe” :

 

ENGLISH

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Front cover of Cecilia's YearCecilia’s Year
by Susan and Denise Gonzales Abraham
✎TEACHING GUIDE
✎CLASSROOM HANDOUTS
The Teaching Guide and Classroom Handouts for Cecilia’s Year have been prepared by authors Susan and Denise Gonzales Abraham with help from educator Helen Buchanan.

 

Front cover of Double CrossingDouble Crossing
by Eve Tal
✎TEACHING GUIDE
PROFESSOR DISCUSSION
Based on the experience of the author’s grandfather at the turn of the twentieth century, this novel starts off as an archetypal Jewish coming-to-America story. Raizel, 12, leaves the Ukraine with her father , a devout peddler who flees pogroms and conscription into the Czar’s army, intending to send for the rest of his family later. Eve Tal wrote this teacher’s guide including a brief introduction to Jewish history and a glossary of Judaism.
Two professors discuss Double Crossing from different perspectives in First Opinion-Second Reaction published by Purdue University. Take a look at the PDF here.

Front cover of Maximilian & the Bingo Rematch⭐Maximilian and the Bingo Rematch (Max’s Lucha Libre Adventures #2)
by Xavier Garza
✎TEACHING GUIDE

 

 

 

Front cover of Max & the Curse of the Fallen Angel⭐Maximilian and the Curse of the Fallen Angel (Max’s Lucha Libre Adventures #4)
by Xavier Garza
✎
TEACHING GUIDE
Teaching guide written by Amy Maples, Heather Matthews, Caitlin Metheny, Liz Garcia, and Julia Watts of the Center for Children’s and Young Adult Literature at the University of Tennessee Knoxville.

 

 

Front cover of Pig ParkPig Park
by Claudia Guadalupe Martinez
✎TEACHING GUIDE

 

 

 

Front cover of Remember DippyRemember Dippy
by Shirley Reva Vernick
✎TEACHING GUIDE

 

 

 

Front cover of Rise of the Halfling King

Rise of the Halfling King (Tales of the Feathered Serpent #1)
by David Bowles

illustrated by Charlene Bowles
✎TEACHING GUIDE
Teaching guide written by Heather Matthews, Julia Watts, Liz Garcia, Caitlin Metheny, and Amy Maples of the Center for Children’s and Young Adult Literature at the University of Tennessee Knoxville.

 

 

Front cover of Surprising CeciliaSurprising Cecilia
by Susan and Denise Gonzales Abraham
✎TEACHING GUIDE
✎HANDOUTS1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
The authors have written this great teacher’s guide and handouts for Surprising Cecilia, the sequel to Cecilia’s Year.

 

Front cover of The Blood LieThe Blood Lie
by Shirley Reva Vernick
✎TEACHING GUIDE

 

 

 

Front cover The Everything I Have Lost

The Everything I Have Lost
by Sylvia Zéleny
✎TEACHING GUIDE

Teaching guide written by Julia Watts, Heather Matthews, Liz Garcia, Caitlin Metheny, and Amy Maples. of the Center for Children’s and Young Adult Literature at the University of Tennessee Knoxville.

 

Front cover of They Call Me Güero

They Call Me Güero
by David Bowles
✎TEACHING GUIDE
Teaching guide written by Caitlin Metheny, Liz Garcia, Heather Matthews, Julia Watts, and Amy Maples of the Center for Children’s and Young Adult Literature at the University of Tennessee Knoxville.

 

Front cover of VatosVatos (book out of stock)
by Luis Alberto Urrea
✎TEACHING GUIDE
The rhythmic quality of the poem, “Hymn to Vatos Who Will Never Be in a Poem” and the visual richness of the photographs in this remarkable book provide an opportunity to introduce young adult readers to reading as a multi-modal and multi-sensory experience. Since the text in Vatos is minimal and the pictures literally are worth more than a thousand words, the book serves as an excellent tool for reducing anxiety and increasing comfort levels for those students who struggle with reading. This teacher’s guide, prepared by educator Helen Buchanan, provides activities and discussion prompts designed to increase oral and written language skills, develop visual literacy, and foster reading as a way to make connections.

 

HIGH SCHOOL

Front cover of Bloody SeoulBloody Seoul
by Sonia Patel
✎TEACHING GUIDE
This powerful YA was listed in the “In the Margins” Top Ten List of 2020, an honor which highlights works that are inclusive to marginalized youth. Teaching guide developed by Taylor ffitch.

 

 

Front cover of Gabi, A Girl In PiecesGabi, A Girl In Pieces
by Isabel Quintero
✎TEACHING GUIDE
This book has received five starred reviews as of its publication date! As Gabi prepares for her senior year of high school, she hopes to go to college, kiss a boy, pass her math class and (maybe) lose some weight. She soon realizes that her life is full of surprises, drama, and change. This teacher’s guide is aligned with CCSS standards for literature for grades 8-9. Download the teacher’s guide.

 

Front cover of House of Purple CedarHouse of Purple Cedar
by Tim Tingle
✎TEACHING GUIDE

 

 

 

Front cover of NextNext
by Kevin Waltman
✎TEACHING GUIDE

 

 

 

Front cover of Sammy & Juliana In HollywoodSammy and Juliana in Hollywood
by Benjamin Alire Saenz
✎TEACHING GUIDE
This book offers an opportunity for rich theme-based discussions. The story allows students to learn from Sammy as he experiences some of life’s difficult transitions which include: first love, friends moving, high school graduation, heartbreak, personal sense of loss, issues of alienation, and the death of both family and friends. This guide was prepared by educator Helen Buchanan.

 

Front cover of SlumpSlump
by Kevin Waltman
✎ TEACHING GUIDE

 

 

 

Front cover of This Thing Called the FutureThis Thing Called the Future
by J.L. Powers
✎TEACHING GUIDE
This teachers guide, developed by the author, contains beautiful images from South Africa along with discussion questions related to HIV and AIDS, traditional healing vs. western medicine, as well as role playing assignments related to civics and social science.

 

Front cover of Under WaterUnder Water
by J.L. Powers
✎TEACHING GUIDE
Developed by Taylor ffitch.

 

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With roots on the U.S./Mexico border, Cinco Puntos publishes great books which make a difference in the way you see the world.

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