MakeMake: Spanish ebooks for children | Database Review

With a wide variety of titles available for children from kindergarten to 18 and a particularly rich collection for children aged 3 to 12, this digital library is an exciting resource that will help fill gaps in Spanish collections for young people. .

URLs nf.makemake.reallabs.com.co/

School level PreS Up

Cost Varies depending on number of titles selected for purchase and schools or branches.

Contents This database collection of over 1,200 Spanish language eBooks includes picture books, read books, and interactive books from over 50 Latin American publishers and is available for schools and public libraries. SLJ reviewed the school edition.

After accessing the database through the login screen, students view dashboards containing their information, avatar, badges earned, reading times, teacher recommendations, book clubs, and books favourites. Quick access is available for currently playing titles. A left navigation menu also provides links to badges and book clubs as well as the catalog of available books. Students can search using filters, with More options to refine by subject, such as Science and Fiction, or by type, such as Novel, Comic, or Picture Book. Rows of featured books are displayed and students can click See All for more titles in the categories. The titles presented include originals in Spanish and translations of works in English. There are English words sprinkled throughout, and there is an option to select ES/EN to change the interface language.

When clicking on a title, users are taken to the book’s Información básica page, which includes the title, author and contributors, publisher, and a summary. Rectangular icons identify the category of the book: La niña del pelo corto is classified as Lectores intermedios (Chapter Books), Materia Narrativa (Novels) and Libro album (Picture Books and Highly Illustrated Books). Users can choose to view a few pages or read the entire book. Next to the Información básica tab, there is one for Más detalles, for example, recommended ages, estimated reading time and skills included. Users can also use word tags that they can click on to find titles with similar topics. Towards the bottom of the book page, there are additional recommendations.

Users can preview a book; a small window appears and allows them to view the first pages. When you choose to read the entire book, a large window opens and fills the entire screen. A small hamburger menu at the top left lists sections of the book and allows users to jump between sections. Clicking the Discover+ button allows users to find guides with similar activities, reading comprehension questions, and titles in the database; Volver takes them back to the book’s information page.

Interactive books have a small square icon in the lower right corner that represents a hand clicking a button. While selecting these books, users can also switch to full screen and find similar titles using the Discover+ icon. These titles have music and animation and are read aloud to users, who can use the left and right arrows to move the story forward or backward.

The database is web-based and compatible with Mac, Windows, Android and Apple computers, tablets and phones. the pages adapt to the size of the device screen. Google Chrome is recommended for viewing.

Resources for students and teachers Statistics such as user sessions, time spent reading, and most read books and categories are included in the dashboards. Reading experiences are personalized, with each student having a favorite book reading dashboard and badges. Teachers can recommend books to students and create book clubs for them. Teachers can also view a full list of books they have selected for their students along with links to resources. The MakeMake blog includes posts that highlight suggested readings as well as links to other resources, such as YouTube videos. Many titles have free activity guides, and more are being added. The reading levels of Fountas and Pinnell will be indicated shortly.

Verdict With a wide variety of titles available for ages preschool to 18 and a particularly rich collection for ages 3 to 12, this digital library offers a great way for schools and public libraries to augment their Spanish titles for young people. , which are hard to find. acquire in physical formats. Multi-user concurrent access allows multiple clients and students to access titles at any time. Titles and collections are great for browsing, including curriculum and as resources for projects and lessons. Statistics allow teachers and librarians to gain insight into trends and usage of e-books. The layout is easy to navigate and visually appealing; titles and collections are easy to find, browse and view; and titles are of high quality and share history and information about people around the world. An exciting resource that will help fill the gaps in Spanish collections for young people.

Selenia Paz, formerly at the Harris County, TX Public Library.