Lucas and His Loco Beans: A Bilingual Tale of the Mexican Jumping Bean

by Ramona Moreno Winner, Mary McConnell (Illustrator), Ramona Moreno Winner

Lucas and His Loco Beans, a bilingual tale of Mexican Jumping Beans. Children from all walks of life, all races, all religions, will enjoy this unique window into the world of a Hispanic grandfather and his grandson. The passing down of a simple treasure (the pleasure of playing with Mexican Jumping Beans) will make your heart sing as the grandfather shares this special gift. The story is in English and Spanish making this a book available for wider distribution. 2003 IPPY Award and 2003 Latino Book Award Winner!


A bilingual tale of the Mexican Jumping Beans. Snappy, rhyming text in both Spanish and English. Great science supplement.

Genres: Science

32 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2002

About the author

Ramona Moreno Winner is an award winning author and publisher of bilingual books for children with multicultural themes. She entered the publishing industry in 1996 girded with lots of tenacity as well as skills in writing, public relations and marketing. Through trial and error, she has built a successful, small publishing company whose goal is to empower children and expand their knowledge of other cultures.

A member of the local Toast Masters Club, Ramona is a dynamic speaker and has traveled to different states presenting to children, teachers, librarians and parent groups. Her bilingual delivery allows a wider audience to enjoy her stories and learn her precious lessons. Ramona’s award winning titles include the following:

It’s Okay To Be Different! ¡Esta Bien Ser Diferente! Is a wonderful book that allows children to compare without criticism? Children learn the many differences they will find from one individual to the next. The fact that we eat and taste things in a manner unique to each person, that we smell things in our own unique way, and that we look different are all addressed in this book. Ramona encourages children to celebrate the differences in themselves and others by reminding them that it is Okay To Be Different! This book received a great review by Archbishop Desmund Tutu and sales at the United Nations Books Shop have been steady for several years.

Lucas and His Loco Beans, a bilingual tale of Mexican Jumping Beans. Children from all walks of life, all races, all religions, will enjoy this unique window into the world of a Hispanic grandfather and his grandson. The passing down of a simple treasure (the pleasure of playing with Mexican Jumping Beans) will make your heart sing as the grandfather shares this special gift. The story is in English and Spanish making this a book available for wider distribution. 2003 IPPY Award and 2003 Latino Book Award Winner!

Freaky Foods From Around the World – Platillos Sorprendentes de Todo el Mundo – An all-time favorite and the winner of the 2005 National Parenting Publications Gold Award and 2006 International Latino Book Award, is about a grandmother who cooks lunch for her grandson’s school friends. The menu is all but common. The children learn about foods from other countries. They learn a great lesson on tolerance and learn the value of trying new things.

The Wooden Bowl – El bol de Madera, a retelling of the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale #78. Diego teaches his parents a lesson on how to treat his aging grandfather; the way the parents treat the grandfather now, is how Diego will be treating them when they become elderly and in need of care. This story carries a message for all generations. 2010 National Parenting Publications Honor Award Winner and 2010 International Book Awards – Award Winning Finalist in two categories: Parenting/Family and Children’s Picture Books.


Ramona offers presentations on diversity and sensitivity to educators and students of all ages.
A world traveler, Ramona has shared her multicultural stories with children around the world. She has visited Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Seychelles, India, Kenya, South Africa, Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico and Portugal.

Ramona resides in Goleta, CA with her husband of 31 years and her two sons ages 17 and 24. She loves to read and is thrilled at the opportunity to learn something new. Her days are filled with her publishing work and caring for her family.

Reviews

[Megan Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful story. I am rating this book and hoping that author, Ramona Moreno Warner will see this post. I am a school administrator in IN; our state’s schools are closed until May 1st due to COVID-19. I would love your / publisher’s permission to record a shared read of this story for our elementary students with my high school son who is in Spanish three. I’d like to share your book with our school community to honor diverse literature and support Spanish speaking students.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful layout for this bilingual story. It could easily be used in the classroom for K-2 counting, plants grow, ELA, heritage lessons etc. I like the facts listing and translation review at the end.

[Jennifer Varela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This bilingual book is the best way to introduce different cultures to our children. Unlike other bilingual books, this book doesn't have one paragraph in English and the next in Spanish in order to translate it instead of learn it. It has Spanish words in between the English text which helps the reader predict what the word means. The illustrations can also help determine the definition of the word. If for whatever reason they still can't define the word in the other language they can look at the bottom of the page where they have the translation. I absolutely loved that this book was formatted this way because it made it really fun to read. I think it would be great to browse through books like these to include in my classroom because they are extremely helpful and fun.

[Constance · Rating 5 out of 5]

What fun! Vague memories of Mexican Jumping Beans come to mind as I read this cute story. Thank You Ramona Moreno Winner.

Google translate ~ Qué divertido! Vagos recuerdos de Frijoles Mexicana Salto vienen a la mente al leer esta historia linda. Gracias Ramona Moreno Winner.

[Georgette Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Not only is the story simple and engaging but informative. At the back of the book are scientific facts about the Mexican jumping bean, where it grows and why it jumps. I learned so many things I could pass on to my children!

[Aaron]

This book tells the story of a boy, Lucas, and his Mexican Jumping Beans. He and his grandfather find jumping beans and take them home. This book is bilingual, featuring both English and Spanish words. On each page, Spanish words are put by their English counterpart, adding to the bilingual nature of the book.

I think this is a great book for ELL students. It helps take familiar words and put them in both English and Spanish. It could also help with cultural awareness and teach students about a culture they have not experienced.

I think this is a great book to include in the classroom. Whether being used for ELL students or just as a regular book that can teach cultural awareness, this book could help students become more well-rounded as well as working on their decoding skills.