Books that work equally well for both

There’s plenty of material at the Mazatlán Membership Library for either entertaining kids and grandkids or indulging the child in you. It’s fun to hunt among the shelves for colorful illustrated books, elementary primers, classics of children’s literature and young adult novels. Or you can sift through the stacks of videos, DVDs and CDs for things to watch or listen to together.

Cruising the shelves led two of our readers to perennial favorites. Volunteer Joe Spiro unearthed Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind and the Willowsfrom the “For Sale” bookshelves outside the library. He grinned as he plunked down his pesos, “This is the first book I remember reading on my own.” Member Basha Grunewald checked out one of the Carolyn Keene “Nancy Drew” mysteries for a visiting grandchild, giving her a chance to read it again, too. The collection also includes well-loved classics by authors such as Dr. Seuss (Green Eggs and Ham), Beatrix Potter (Peter Rabbit) and E.B. White (Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little).

Illustrated board books by Golden Books, Tiny Toons and Disney can help the littlest ones learn about the world and its creatures. Tots also delight in the “Touch and Listen” series that matches spoken words to common objects. A plus: Several of our members check out these educational materials for use in their English classes for primary school Spanish speakers.

The library also has a section of children’s materials in Spanish. I was delighted to discover two of my children’s favorites among the illustrated books available in Spanish translation, a Babar the Elephant adventure (Babar Va De Vacaciónes) and Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar(La Oruga Muy Hambriente). Particularly helpful for anyone learning Spanish is Los Recuerdos de Chave(Chave’s Memories) by María Isabel Delgado, about a child visiting his grandparents’ ranch in the country. Charmingly illustrated, the book has side-by-side pages in English and Spanish. The Spanish section also has two books on favorite activities for Spanish-speaking children, Juegos Populares(Popular Games), and Cosas Que Hacer(Things to Do.)

Teenagers have many choices, including Newberry Award winners like Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins the empathetic novels of Judy Blume. The library also has all but the last volume in the J.K. Rowling “Harry Potter” series. For Potter lovers, member Michael Anderson recommends the highly imaginative and funny books of Terry Pratchett , whose fantastical histories of adventures in “Discworld” he feels work equally well for younger and older people: “Eleven and 12-year-olds will love them, but adults can also read them and chuckle aloud.”

Starting April 1, the Mazatlán Membership Library will be open four hours a day, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday - Friday. The newly air-conditioned library is located in Olas Altas across from the Art Museum at Sixto Osuna #115E. Annual membership fees are $150-300 pesos. Linda volunteers at the library on Thursdays.