by Linda Castillo
In honor of Veterans Day, I’d like to share a children’s book review of Captain Mama’s Surprise/La Sorpresa de Capitán Mamá written by veteran entrepreneur Graciela Tiscareño-Sato. She served as an officer in the active duty U.S. Air Force for nearly a decade and she is inspiring children to explore STEM careers like aviation in the Captain Mama bilingual (Spanish/English) book series.
The idea to create the first book, Goodnight Captain Mama, came to Graciela after a bedtime conversation the night before Veterans Day 2009 as she prepared to visit her son’s preschool the next morning. That special moment with her son was the impetus for the first book in a planned bilingual, aviation travel adventure series with Captain Mama and her kids.
In this second book, Marco and his sisters accompany their mom, Captain Mama to visit the KC-135 aerial refueling tanker on a field trip with his second grade class. The unforgettable field trip takes the students on a tour of the airplane understanding the functions of the unique parts and how the crew works together to accomplish a mission. The book is a great way to provide young children exposure to aviation careers with a technical vocabulary in English and Spanish. At the end of the book, children can participate in a STEM activity to learn basic aircraft terms and structure.
As a mother of two daughters, I want them to know that they can be whatever they aspire be – sky’s the limit! And what I love most about reading Graciela’s books to my eldest daughter is how they expand her imagination opening her mind to endless possibilities. I was driving her to school one day and we were talking about what she wanted to be when she grew up. She responded a pilot. I believe that reading books from the Captain Mama series during our story time planted the seed that she could be a pilot, a career option that my daughter may not have otherwise been exposed to so early on.
At this year’s 18th annual International Latino Authors Awards Captain Mama’s Surprise/La Sorpresa de Capitán Mamá received first place for Most Inspirational Children’s Book category. This is one book to add to your children’s home library collection and we can’t wait to read the next book in the series. Felicidades Graciela Tiscareño-Sato!!
Linda Castillo is the Founder and Executive Editor of www.ModernLatina.com. She writes on topics that empower and inspire Latinas including art, motherhood, green living, culture, travel, and issues transforming the Latino community. Linda has earned a B.S. in Business and a M.S. in Mass Communications from San Jose State University.