3B. Children’s Books in Spanish

Curate a selection of books in Spanish in your children’s section/room — either as a stand alone or within the foreign language collection of children’s titles.  

If your bookstore offers a global perspective, you should soon — if not already! — have a very small collection of children’s titles in different languages. Children’s titles in Spanish should be part of your children’s room or shelves, in addition to also being represented in your general selection of books in Spanish, working them in thematically.

Note: 

Publishers and wholesalers who specialize in foreign language books and bilingual early readers have “Can’t Miss” impulse titles that are obvious choices for foreign language collections. You do not need to have more than 1–2 copies of anything to strengthen your section.

Barefoot Books: Super cute and sell great! Board books to introduce babies (0–3) to culture and language through best visuals: Arabic, Bengali, French, Haitian creole, Portuguese, Spanish, and Vietnamese

Lil’ Libros: These are also super cute and sell great! Board books to introduce babies (0-3) to Latin culture through icons, traditions, fables and so forth. 

Star Bright Books: Includes many more languages — more educational, less impulse titles.

For children’s books in Spanish, start with bilingual board books and early readers to represent and sell. Middle school titles are usually readily available at media centers and school libraries and do not sell as well at retail level. Contact local schools to partner with for required & suggested reading lists in Spanish, and look to collaborate for author appearances or participate at school book fairs.

4. Considerations for Curation

Some people in your local Spanish speaking community may be interested in US bestsellers in  translation. Similar to the divide among the indie bookselling community regarding “literary” and  “genre,” some Spanish speakers may want to read English language books translated to their language, rather than more literary titles originally written in Spanish. These books can be easier to stock, but creating more access overall to original Spanish should always be a consideration.  

• Looking for books that have been published as English translations originally written in Spanish can be helpful. Once you find an author that has been translated from Spanish to English, research to see if they’ve published any titles in Spanish.

Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin, originally published in Spanish then  translated. A number of Schweblin’s books in the original Spanish are available from  Penguin Random House. 

5. Spread the word about your books in Spanish

Partner with a local organization, church, or community center and/or a local author to start building your Spanish speaking community. Host an event in Spanish, or a bilingual event, to create more  accessibility. Do you have a local translator? Can you provide Spanish closed captioning in other languages for your virtual events? Think about what opportunities you can create to foster greater access to your store for Spanish speakers. Promote your Spanish titles on social media and in your store newsletter. Create displays. Add signage and shelftalkers in Spanish. 

EXAMPLE: Word Up Community Bookshop/Librería Comunitaria’s dedicated page with regular Eventos en español | Events in Spanish.

6. Connect 

Connect with other bookstores! Here are examples of independent bookstores that have a robust selection of books in Spanish for inspiration. 

• Books & Books in Coral Gables, FL 
• Word Up Community Bookshop/Librería Comunitaria in New York, NY 
• Libélula Books & Co. in San Diego, CA 
• La Revo Books in Greenfield, WI 
• Cellar Door Bookstore in Riverside, CA 
• ¡Viva! Los Libros in Chicago, IL
• Hipocampo Children’s Books in Rochester, NY
• Julia de Burgos Bookstore in Philadelphia, PA
• Palabras Bilingual Bookstore in Phoenix, AZ
• Mil Mundos Books in Brooklyn, NY 
• El Book Stop in Hormigueros, PR 
• Los Amigos Books in Chicago, IL 
• MiJa Books in Long Beach, CA  
• Dreamers Books + Culture in Houston, TX
• Casa Camino Real in Las Cruces, NM

7. Be open to consignment

Connect with local authors who may have publishers abroad, or are independently published. As you build relationships with local authors and host events for them, you’ll be indicating your interest in Spanish language titles  and attracting other Spanish-language authors and publishers. 

Consignments can be a great way to test the market and build community relationships. There are several ways to handle consignments. The ABA Resource Library has a sample Consignment  Application. Some stores like Vroman’s and Boulder Bookstore have consignment fee structures to support their local author programs.

8. Gather your translation resources 

Staff that are bilingual or multilingual are an asset to your store and your community. 

If you have any bilingual booksellers, support them speaking Spanish and/or answering bilingually and consider ways to compensate and support the skills staff members bring to the store through translating.

If you’re not fluent in Spanish, don’t worry! For booksellers who don’t speak/read Spanish, using a translation app may be an effective way to search for a particular title in Spanish that a customer is looking for.

9.  Center Latin American authors and dialects

Understanding Spanish dialect differences and regional variations is an important foundation to  developing a section of books in Spanish. There may be a variety of needs in your community. Generally, Latin American Spanish is more common in the US. There are important distinctions between Spanish spoken in different countries, but generally this will cover Mexican Spanish, Central American Spanish, Caribbean Spanish, Colombian Spanish, and Cuban  Spanish — the languages spoken by many US families, immigrants, and community members. 

It can be helpful to look to countries with vibrant literary and publishing ecosystems alongside Spain, including but not limited to Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia.

10. Support the books 

Buying Spanish language books is only one step in this process. Think of different ways to  support the Spanish language books and your Spanish speaking customers! 

• Create a Spanish language section (or multiple!).  
• Add Spanish shelftalkers.  
• Display and market Spanish language books. Include them in other parts of the store, displays, newsletters, and social media.
• Add bilingual signage throughout your sections and store.  
• Hire Spanish speaking booksellers. Train your booksellers to sell books in Spanish! Spanish books can be handsold in any language. As a bookseller, you know books.
• Train your staff on microaggressions and create an inclusive store environment. You don’t want to send mixed signals about your support of Spanish speaking customers.  

Hiring Spanish speakers to help with buying Spanish titles can be very beneficial, facilitating an easier exchange with Spanish publishers and offering valuable insights into the market.  However, you do not need to speak Spanish to be a great buyer of books in Spanish. Do the research.

If you have staff members who can speak and read in Spanish, see if they would be open to being paid to read for a storytime or support events in Spanish. Check in with local community members/customers who may be willing to volunteer to come in and read! Prioritize events in Spanish with Spanish speaking authors.

11. Apply for grants 

There are often grants available to help schools purchase Spanish language books. Research grant opportunities and ways to work with schools to fill these orders and make these books  available to students. 

12. Communicate with publishers

Publishers would love your insights. Let your sales reps know the kinds of books that your Spanish speaking customers are asking for.