A fun book that will help children navigate the breakfast table in two languages.
A bilingual English/Spanish children’s book celebrating food and family.
Young Sam is excited because today’s the day that his mother promised to cook him his very favorite breakfast. This premise serves as a vehicle to introduce young readers to some common English and Spanish phrases as Sam goes through his morning routine of washing his face (“lavando la cara”), saying “good morning” to his mom (“Buenos días mami”), and talking about various foods (“naranja,” “leche”). Unfortunately, as the book progresses, Sam finds that his mother hasn’t cooked him his favorite breakfast of milk, eggs, orange slices, and toast. Instead, she’s made him pancakes and juice. In the end, though, it turns out that she’s playing a simple trick. His mother gives the pancake breakfast to his siblings and gives him his preferred breakfast after all. This book pairs simple English and Spanish sentences together, allowing children to easily see the relationship between the two languages. The story’s subject matter is a good choice, as it will help children relate the words they’ve been learning to real life. Although the cartoonish illustrations, which depict Sam and his family as blue humanoids with antennae, aren’t spectacular—most are simple drawings set against a monochrome background—they’re amusing enough to keep children engaged. The book comes with flashcards of simple, useful phrases to help children practice certain sentences. It also comes with a DVD that features an excellent video reading of the book. (Two other videos, featuring English and Spanish conversations between a mother and child, aren’t quite as interesting.) What stands out about this book is how it presents children and parents with an opportunity to bond over language learning. By reading the book to each other, practicing phrases with flash cards, or watching the DVD, it will provide them with a great way to begin exploring English or Spanish together.
A fun book that will help children navigate the breakfast table in two languages.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-0-9858763-0-2
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Technoria
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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