A lightweight way to familiarize English-speaking youngsters with a few simple Spanish words.
Six rhymes and six flaps introduce six animals by their Spanish names: gato, perro, pájaro, ratón, conejo, and ardilla (cat, dog, bird, mouse, rabbit, and squirrel).
On the left-hand page of each spread, one rhyming couplet and the first line of a second describe common behavior and characteristics of an animal. On the recto, a declarative statement printed on a flap offers a bit more description. Lift the flap to see the animal and to complete the rhyme with the animal’s name in Spanish; an English translation appears below. For example, on the left: “I wag my tail, then leap and bark / and run with you out in the park. / I jump and catch the balls you throw.” Then on the right: “I am your frisky brown [lift the flap] perro. // Perro means dog.” The final spread presents all six animals with their Spanish names and phonetic pronunciations. Sanchez’s illustrations are simple cartoon drawings decorated with visual clues to the animal being described (balls of yarn and paw prints for the cat, bones, chew toys, and balls for the dog, etc.). Similarly, each flap is shaped like an item associated with that animal (cheese for the mouse, a carrot for the rabbit). This very elementary introduction to some child-friendly vocabulary is the first in a planned series of Let’s Learn Spanish books for very young children.
A lightweight way to familiarize English-speaking youngsters with a few simple Spanish words. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: July 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-2667-2
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
A fun, utilitarian vocabulary builder that begs to be picked up and touched.
In the tradition of Pat the Bunny, this effort offers plenty of opportunity for tactile exploration.
Though it lacks the inventiveness, charm, and nontactile sensory provocations that make Pat the Bunny an enduring classic, this gives little hands plenty to grab, feel, touch, and experience. There are no “Paul and Judy” on hand to emulate, but the die-cut, fuzzy handprint in the middle of the thick, cardboard cover makes the book’s intent and methodology clear to its audience. So does the admonition, “Let’s Get Hands-on!” accompanying a photo of a little White child with fingers and palms covered in different colors of paint. The next page lists 10 different textures along with photographs of items that act as examples of each. Featured sensations are “fluffy, crinkly, smooth, bumpy, sticky, spongy, furry, rough, scratchy, [and] soft.” Each texture gets a two-page spread featuring several different items or creatures that feel that way and one large example with a die-cut hole and an embedded tactile element of the corresponding texture. The book features plenty of vocabulary, including three synonyms for each type of texture. There’s a descriptive sentence: “Fluffy things feel light and airy,” for example. Questions add an interactive element, inviting children to explore for themselves: “If you run your finger along something crinkly, what kind of noise does it make?”
A fun, utilitarian vocabulary builder that begs to be picked up and touched. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: March 23, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68010-656-5
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A cheery board book to reinforce the oneness of babykind.
Ten babies in 10 countries greet friends in almost 10 languages.
Countries of origin are subtly identified. For example, on the first spread, NYC is emblazoned on a blond, white baby’s hat as well as a brown baby’s scoot-car taxi. On the next spread, “Mexico City” is written on a light brown toddler’s bike. A flag in each illustration provides another hint. However, the languages are not named, so on first reading, the fine but important differences between Spanish and Portuguese are easily missed. This is also a problem on pages showing transliterated Arabic from Cairo and Afrikaans from Cape Town. Similarly, Chinese and Japanese are transliterated, without use of traditional hànzì or kanji characters. British English is treated as a separate language, though it is, after all, still English. French (spoken by 67 million people) is included, but German, Russian, and Hindi (spoken by 101 million, 145 million, and 370 million respectively) are not. English translations are included in a slightly smaller font. This world survey comes full circle, ending in San Francisco with a beige baby sleeping in an equally beige parent’s arms. The message of diversity is reinforced by images of three babies—one light brown, one medium brown, one white—in windows on the final spread.
A cheery board book to reinforce the oneness of babykind. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-938093-87-6
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Duo Press
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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