By: Ashmar Mandou

Dual-language teacher, Laura Rodríguez-Romaní knows firsthand the importance of representation in the classroom. For five years she educated children in the 3rd through 5th grade and found it exceedingly challenging to acquire bilingual books. “They were difficult to come by,” said Rodríguez-Romaní. “I struggled to find enough resources so that my students were able to get their hands on English and Spanish books. Being an educator as well as being a mom, I became more passionate about the idea of providing ample resources to bilingual children who were struggling a bit in school and needed to find books that served as a representation of their culture.”

One day, Rodríguez-Romaní had the epiphany to create her own resource in the form of an online bilingual bookstore named, Los Amigos Books. “I was so excited about the idea because I would be able to build a community and source local books and provide a tool for students to learn and help them build a community,” said Rodríguez-Romaní. Los Amigos Books was launched in 2021 and just recently Rodríguez-Romaní expanded her business to opening a brick-and-mortar location in the Bucktown neighborhood over the summer. Inside her shop, families will be able to find dual-language books from international and local authors as well as partake in various monthly activities. “I grew up loving books, but often times I didn’t see myself represented. So, to be able to provide a physical space where families can come and visit, where children can see themselves in these books, where they can feel confident to speak the language, to be seen, and heard is an amazing feeling.”

Rodríguez-Romaní, aside from sourcing books for Los Amigos Books, she is currently a vendor for Chicago Public Schools, ensuring that schools have access to bilingual books. “Being bilingual is one of our greatest assets as a community. We are seeing more that we are need of a tremendous amount of resources and this is my way of providing that for my community. Los Amigos Books provides a great selection of Spanish and bilingual children’s books, as well as a collections of books tailored for adult readers. If you would like to learn more, visit www.losamigosbooks.com.