By Nika Reiter
Inside an unassuming storefront on NE Glisan St. and 71st Ave., Linda Letra’s pastel-pink walls buzzed with activity, as two employees unpacked scores of colorful books brought up from the largest Spanish-language book fair in the world. Open since 2023, Portland’s only Spanish-bilingual bookstore shares its curated collection with the community through partnerships with schools and local authors, as well as a new subscription book club for young readers and families. “It’s important,” said owner Rachel Kimbrow, “having a space that celebrates stories and offers a place of connection for writers and illustrators and readers.”
In addition to retail, Linda Letra boasts curation services, partnering with schools and districts to bolster their Spanish and bilingual libraries. Kimbrow said she has attended literacy nights at Lents Elementary, a book fair at Atkinson Elementary and events at other schools across the greater Portland metropolitan area.
Linda Letra also works with the Multnomah County Library in selecting and purchasing Spanish-language materials for circulation. The acquisitions librarian, said Kimbrow, has purchased books that Linda Letra selected from small publishers in Costa Rica and the US. Linda Letra’s end-of-year trip to the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) brought an even broader range of books to Portland from across the Spanish-speaking world.
The store offers books in Spanish, English and side by side, and at reading levels from early learning board books to high school level and beyond. Special collections include Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM), Social Emotional Learning (SEL), ESL – ESOL – ELD language learning resources and Migración – Immigration. Some books on the shelves have only been published outside the US, while others are by local authors, or even published by Linda Letra itself.
“Even in SE Portland,” Kimbrow said, “there are actually quite a number of Spanish-language authors, Latinx authors and illustrators that may not have the same stage as others.” Linda Letra has hosted book launches for some of them, including Ana Velez, author of The Three Little Guinea Pigs and the Andean Fox, and Michelle Maria Nicola, co-author of Cabello que baila, a realistic fiction book highlighting Afro-Mexican culture in Veracruz.
One of the store’s recent ventures is Club de libros, a monthly subscription book club for families and institutions that offers books and activities in one of two age ranges. Customers purchase a subscription for either board books (ages 0-3) or picture books (ages 4-7), and every month they receive one or two bilingual or Spanish books plus extras like toys or stationery for aspiring writers. Kimbrow emphasized the importance of bilingual books for young people, whether they are just learning to read English or Spanish, in a bilingual program or wanting to transfer reading skills from one language to another.
A SE Portland local, Kimbrow has a master’s degree in education backed by 20 years of classroom experience. She founded Linda Letra after her three years in Paraguay made her realize the need for Spanish-language books back home. She said, “I think there’s a lot of people in Portland who are interested in either learning Spanish or improving Spanish as a heritage language.”
She will present at the Oregon Association of Bilingual Education’s annual conference, hosted February 21 by the West Linn-Wilsonville School District. Its theme is “Raíces y Alas: Cultivating Justice Through Multilingualism.”
Linda Letra also plans to release in March a bilingual ABC book focused on STEAM. STEAM ABC CTIAM features “colorful collage illustrations” by local artist Hampton Rodríguez, additional art by Joamette Gil of Power and Magic Press and text by Kimbrow herself.
“I just think the world would be a better place if everyone had access to bilingual education,” said Kimbrow. “There have been times in our country, in our state, when speaking Spanish has been illegal or frowned upon, and being able to promote Spanish language, and celebrating it, I think is important for all groups of people.”
Linda Letra Bilingual Books
7101 NE Glisan St.
Open Tuesday-Thursday, 10 am-4 pm and Friday, 10 am-1 pm
linda-letra.com
Linda Letra owner Rachel Kimbrow poses with books she authored. Photo by Tris Tarwater.
