HOUSTON, TX—The Bank Street College of Education Children’s Book Committee named a Piñata Book to its Best Children’s Books of the Year in Spanish (2026 edition): Cascarones: An Easter Surprise / Una sorpresa de Pascuas (ISBN: 979-8-89375-015-7) by Alicia Salazar. Twenty-five titles reflecting the rich heritage and cultural traditions of the Spanish-speaking world were selected for inclusion.
The Best Children’s Books of the Year in Spanish is chosen annually by bilingual members of the Bank Street College’s Children’s Book Committee, graduate school and School for Children. It represents hundreds of hours of commitment to identify the best works in Spanish representing Latine culture.
In Alicia Salazar’s bilingual picture book for young readers, a young girl excitedly anticipates Easter and the joyous celebration of family and the holiday fun of making—and cracking on each other’s heads!—the Mexican-American tradition of eggs filled with colorful paper. Engaging illustrations by Aimee Del Valle show the family working together as the girl describes the process of making the eggs, from carefully draining the insides, to covering the holes with colored paper, dying them bright colors, inserting the confetti and decorating the shells. Kids will want to try making their very own cascarones to celebrate the special day.
ALICIA SALAZAR is the author of the Camila the Star series of books published by Picture Window Books, which includes Camila the Soccer Star (2022), Camila the Dancing Star (2022) and Camila the Baking Star (2021). She lives and works in Houston, Texas.
AIMEE DEL VALLE is a visual artist who works extensively in watercolors. She has illustrated two books for Kind-Kidz: Super Who?
Super Me! (2021) and The Kind Kidz Club (2021). She lives and works in France.
ALAÍDE VENTURA MEDINA is a Mexican writer and translator. She is the author of three novels: Como caracol (SM), winner of the Gran Angular Award); Entre los rotos (Random House), winner of the Mauricio Achar Prize, and Autofagia (Random House). She is a PhD candidate in Creative Writing in Spanish at the University of Houston.
Arte Público Press is the nation’s largest and most established publisher of contemporary and recovered literature by US Latino authors. Its imprint for children and young adults, Piñata Books, is dedicated to the authentic portrayal of the themes, languages, characters and customs of Hispanic culture in the United States. Books published under the imprint serve as a bridge connecting home and school to support family literacy and elementary education. Based at the University of Houston, Arte Público Press, Piñata Books and the Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage program provide the most widely recognized and extensive showcase for Latino literary arts and creativity. For more information, please visit www.artepublicopress.com.
