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SAY HOLA TO SPANISH by Susan Middleton Elya Kirkus Star

SAY HOLA TO SPANISH

By

Pub Date: March 1st, 1996
ISBN: 1880000644
Publisher: Lee & Low

Sunny illustrations and a rhyming text introduce 70 Spanish words in surprisingly straightforward English sentences: ""A dog is a perro,/a cat is a gato./You drink from a vaso/and eat from a plato."" In addition to providing translations for those who need more help than is supplied in the decidedly Western-flair illustrations, the glossary also insures that the newly bilingual get the pronunciation right. The progression of determinedly happy pictures begins to spring surprises midway through the book; these are sometimes simply amusing (a UFO appears over the increasingly chaotic action) and sometimes verging on the surreal (a fiesta-loving shark swings a bat). The text also includes words (burrito, pi€ata, mosquito) that are identical in the two languages. Outwardly, this book by two newcomers looks like a language lesson from Looney Tunes. Then--(approximately)sorpresa!--it turns out to be innovative, useful, and fun.