Booklandia: One Oakland mom's mission to provide bilingual books to children

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- As part of our focus on Building a Better Bay Area we are highlighting community members who are doing their part to improve life for their neighbors. One mother in Oakland is combining her love for books and her strong Latino roots to improve education for kids around the Bay.

In 2016, Maceo Cabrera Estevez, an Oakland mom, founded Booklandia. Maceo struggled for years finding bilingual books for her children so, she took it upon herself to create an online subscription service and traveling bookstore that goes all across the Bay Area.

"My goal is to build personal libraries in people's homes of Spanish and bilingual books, and so I want these libraries to be inclusive and representative of the community at large," said Estevez.

Maceo says that her mission is not only for books to be bilingual but for them to also have a positive message. A positive message that she has taken a bit further.

"Booklandia is able to provide quality books to children all around the Bay Area and we not only work with families but also with schools, and we also have a donation program where children's who cannot buy the books can receive books through Booklandia"

According to the California Department of Education in 2017, over 42 percent of the state's public school students spoke a language other than English at home. Maceo hopes that her books awakens a new pride in those homes

Check out more stories about Building a Better Bay Area.