René Has Two Last Names / René tiene dos apellidos
RenĂ© Colato LaĂnez, Fabiola Graullera RamĂrez
eBook
(Arte PĂşblico Press, Sept. 27, 2015)
"On the first day at my new school, my teacher, Miss Soria, gave me a sticker that said RenĂ© Colato. The sticker was missing my second last name. Maybe Miss Soria's pen ran out of ink. I took my pencil and added it. Now it looked right: RenĂ© Colato LaĂnez." Young RenĂ© is from El Salvador, and he doesn't understand why his name has to be different in the United States. When he writes Colato, he sees his paternal grandparents, RenĂ© and Amelia. When he writes LaĂnez, he sees his maternal grandparents, Angela and Julio. Without his second last name, RenĂ© feels incomplete, "like a hamburger without the meat or a pizza without cheese or a hot dog without a wiener." His new classmates giggle when RenĂ© tells them his name. "That's a long dinosaur name," one says. "Your name is longer than an anaconda," another laughs. But RenĂ© doesn't want to lose the part of him that comes from his mother's family. So when the students are given a project to create a family tree, RenĂ© is determined to explain the importance of using both of his last names. On the day of his presentation, RenĂ© explains that he is as hard working as Abuelo RenĂ©, who is a farmer, and as creative as his Abuela Amelia, who is a potter. He can tell stories like his Abuelo Julio and enjoys music like his Abuela Angela. This charming bilingual picture book for children ages 4 - 8 combines the winning team of author RenĂ© Colato LaĂnez and illustrator Fabiola Graullera RamĂrez, and follows their award-winning collaboration, I Am RenĂ©, the Boy / Soy RenĂ©, el niño. With whimsical illustrations and entertaining text, this sequel is sure to please fans and gain many new ones while explaining an important Hispanic cultural tradition.