A great read for anyone learning to grapple with the musicality of two languages at once, the book more than makes up for...
Words and phrases are bent, massaged, twisted, and thrown together in tricky sequences in this bilingual book about a competition for performers of tongue twisters.
With all the text offered in first Spanish, then English, the tournament participants—including a soccer player, a cat-wrangling Grumpy Granny, and a chupacabra (the famed Latin American goat-sucking creature)—lay down a set of twisty verses. How twisty? "María Marufa was roofing her roof / When asked by a roofer: / 'What do you roof, María Marufa? / Do you roof your own roof or another's roof?' / 'No, I roof not my roof nor another's roof. / I roof the roof of María Marufa." Each text-heavy page of Spanish and English faces a full-page portrait of the tongue-twister creator on stage, which adds a nice dimension of characterization to each offering. But the book's format is so rigid that each introduction is exactly the same, and the winning entry may strike some as far from the best of the bunch. Luckily, the twisters are well-translated; whether in English or Spanish, they read smoothly, and an additional 14 bonus twisters presented in their original languages in the backmatter keeps the fun going.
A great read for anyone learning to grapple with the musicality of two languages at once, the book more than makes up for the paltry story with the bounty of tongue-twisting treasures on offer. (Bilingual picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-55885-832-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Trisha is ready to start at a new school, where no one will know she has dyslexia. At first, she is heartbroken to be in Miss Peterson’s special-ed class, aka, “the junkyard.” But Miss Peterson treats the children as anything but junk, showing them that everyone has a unique talent. Polacco’s trademark style is fully present here; her sensitively drawn alter ego shines with depth of feeling. When bullying occurs, Miss Peterson proves her students are worthwhile by planning a junkyard field trip, where they find valuable objects to be used in exciting ways. Trisha’s group repairs a plane, and the class buys an engine for it. Then a beloved class member dies, and the children must find a way to honor him. While the plot meanders somewhat, the characters are appealing, believable and provide a fine portrayal of a truly special class. Children will be drawn in by the story’s warmth and gentle humor and will leave with a spark of inspiration, an appreciation of individual differences and a firm anti-bullying message, all underscored by the author’s note that concludes the book. (Picture book. 7-10)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-399-25078-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2010
Best for readers who have clearly indicated they would like to take their writing efforts to the next level.
A young white girl writes and illustrates a story, which is critiqued by the narrator as it is created.
The girl begins her story by drawing a Hero. Then she thinks maybe a Heroine would be better. Then she decides both will work. She places them in “a good town, filled with good people, called our Setting.” The narrator, an unseen editor who lurks over the artist’s shoulder, tells the storyteller she needs to put in some Conflict, make the Evil Overlord scarier, and give it better action. This tongue-in-cheek way of delivering the rules of creative writing is clever, and paired with Le Huche’s earnest, childlike illustrations, it seems to be aimed at giving helpful direction to aspiring young creators (although the illustrations are not critiqued). But the question needs to be asked: do very young writers really need to know the rules of writing as determined by adults? While the story appears to be about helping young readers learn writing—there is “A Friendly List of Words Used in this Book” at the end with such words as “protagonist” and “antagonist” (glossed as “Hero and Heroine” and “Evil Overlord,” respectively)—it also has a decidedly unhelpful whiff of judgment. Rules, the text seems to say, must be followed for the story to be a Good one. Ouch.
Best for readers who have clearly indicated they would like to take their writing efforts to the next level. (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-2935-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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