Bilingual Books/English And Spanish

Reviewed by Maria Otero-Boisvert, Spanish Language Library Services, LaGrange Park, IL -- School Library Journal, 10/1/2006

ARGUETA, Jorge. Talking with Mother Earth/Hablando con Madre Tierra: Poems/Poemas. illus. by Lucía Angela Pérez. unpaged. CIP. Groundwood/Tigrillo 2006. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-88899-626-8. LC C2005-906422-6.

Gr 3 Up–This literary offering stands out for its beauty and depth of expression. Argueta, a Pipil Nahua Indian, reaches deep into his childhood in rural El Salvador for memories and for his connection to Mother Earth. The poems alternate between bitterness and joy. Nahuatl words are peppered throughout, almost defiantly: “Tetl is my name./It means stone./But everybody knows me as Jorge./I like Tetl better./It is the Nahuatl name my grandmother gave me./Tetl/Tetl/Tetl/Tetl not Jorge. That is my name.” Poems about fire, wind, and water speak to those life-giving forces as friends and protectors. Pérez’s illustrations are colorful, detailed, and appealing, incorporating many indigenous icons, yet they fail to convey the strength of Argueta’s words. The selections can be shared aloud with youngsters or enjoyed independently. A unique and lovely collection.

Gr 2-4–This story spills over with life, laughter, food, and music. A girl arrives at her aunts’ house to spend a Saturday. She’s met at the door by Tía Dulce, who soon has her in the kitchen up to her elbows in flour, making meat empanadas. As the pastries go into the oven, glamorous Tía Rosa whisks Isabel upstairs for a beauty and dress-up session. Fully made up and attired in colorful clothing, jewelry, and Rosa’s high heels, the girl is ready for some dancing. It’s a good thing that her energetic Tía Clara gets home just in time to give her some salsa lessons. The party leads up to the appearance of the empanadas hot out of the oven. The full-page illustrations are bold and vibrant, depicting beautiful Latinas enjoying one another’s company. Recipes for empanadas de carne and picadillo are appended.

Gr 3-6–Joe Silva lives on Ruiz Street with his large and loving Hispanic family. He longs for a best friend and a new bike, and is terrified of David, a new kid in town. The big, tough guy is shabbily dressed, his actions are threatening, and he’s always seen riding a different old bicycle. The Silva kids and their friends can only come to the conclusion that he is a thief. As the story develops, Joe does make a new best friend, but the Ruiz Street kids keep having unhappy encounters with David. Eventually, it is revealed that he uses his aggression to hide his insecurities. When the friends accept him into the fold, he turns out to be a regular kid, living with his grandfather and helping out at the local junkshop (where he gets his bicycles). Bertrand brings to life this working-class Southwestern neighborhood full of large, struggling families. The kids get together to play pickup games of baseball, enjoy family celebrations, and ride their bikes to the town pool. The characters are well developed and appealing. The simple (and sometimes comical) black-and-white illustrations are interspersed at just the right intervals for this age group. The Spanish translation, which follows the English text, is fluent and reads well.

K-Gr 2–These titles explain the background, history, and current practices associated with these national holidays in terms that students can understand and appreciate. Full-color photos and archival reproductions appear on every spread. Major events such as the Civil War and the Declaration of Independence receive concise mention to provide some context. The Spanish texts are fluent and largely free of errors, although one may wonder why the translators in three out of the four titles omit the article “los” when referring to “Estados Unidos de América.” Nonetheless, these books are acceptable additions for most schools.

Gr 2-4–Tall tales or true adventures? Cousins Luz and Juan can’t tell if the wild stories their grandfather tells them of his own life-and-death battles with the infamous Chupacabras are fact or fiction. So they arm themselves with a trusty slingshot and a bag of marbles (that have been soaked in holy water for good measure) and venture out into the night-shadowed cornfields in search of the legendary bloodsucking stealer of children. When the demon makes a frightening appearance, Luz shoots her slingshot directly at its forehead. Before the children can celebrate, the monster yells out their names in a strangely familiar voice. It turns out that they have mistaken Juan’s dad for the Chupacabras. When they explain that they were only trying to verify Abuelo’s stories, the father merely smiles and urges them to run along home. Besides, he says, the Chupacabras only comes out when the moon is full. The English and Spanish texts appear on the same page, separated by a narrow illustration. The full-page illustration moves the action along nicely. An excellent choice for storytime and classroom sharing.

PreS-K–This simple, yet entertaining title makes use of a wide array of breeds to demonstrate the concept of opposites. The story begins with a girl waking up in her bedroom, which is decorated with canine posters, stuffed animals, floppy slippers, night-light, even a doggy alarm clock. As she looks out her window, an excited pack of dogs runs by. “Big dog. Little dog….Where are they going?” Glick must have had a grand time drawing urban street scenes filled with mutts as readers follow the child and her father to the bus stop. Wide dogs and narrow dogs, fast and slow dogs, clean and dirty dogs, smooth and curly dogs romp through the town. They visit the library, run around the town-square fountain, enjoy the playground slides, and even make time for a spot of grooming. Every few pages, the author asks, “Where are they going?” Finally, in one joyful leap, they all plunge wildly into a body of water, along with the youngster. What the book lacks in plot development it makes up for in the sheer exuberance of the watercolor cartoons. A must for dog lovers and a good choice for beginning readers in either language.

PreS-K–These titles teach basic concepts through full-color photographs against white backgrounds and simple declarative sentences. The only exception is Numbers, which includes words for the numbers and objects to be counted, such as blocks, teddy bears, and marbles. Big and Small focuses on animal opposites while Same and Different explores a wide range of familiar items. Shapes uses everyday objects to illustrate each shape. The final page of each volume offers a concluding test of new skills. Not particularly interesting or creative, these books accomplish their task in a straightforward manner. However, there are any number of titles available in both languages that do the same thing, and in a more engaging way.

K-Gr 2–A bewildered pup is left to his own devices to figure out his special role in his new farm family. He tries to board the school bus with the children but is pushed away. He fumbles his way from the field where the farmer is riding the tractor to the barn where the farmer’s wife is milking the cows. He follows the cat, who informs him that dogs don’t chase mice, and tries to perch on a hen’s nest only to be told that dogs don’t lay eggs. It isn’t until he hears a fox creeping toward the henhouse that he realizes his unique talent–he barks and alerts the farmer to the intruder’s presence. He’s a watchdog! The deceptively simple collage artwork is made of various papers and fabrics and painted with acrylics and watercolors. The text in either language is rudimentary and well adapted for the intended audience. A good selection for storyhours and for beginning readers.

PreS-Gr 2–Mercier achieves a perfect-pitch description of a bad storm. The story takes readers from the turbulent moments of high winds and heavy rains through the aftermath of power outages and cleanup. It honestly represents a child’s fears about the fury of nature but is quick to offer the reassurance of a mother’s embrace and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The stylish illustrations consist of collages in bold colors and fabric swatches. Both the English and Spanish texts are easy to read and child friendly.

PreS-K–These beginning readers have color photographs of children in commonplace settings to illustrate vocabulary words in both English and Spanish. Home features a Caucasian boy displaying the various items in his room–a bed, a clock, a rug, a lamp, a toy box, a teddy bear. Park shows an African-American girl looking at grass, a tree, a bird, a dog, a bench, and going down a slide. Play has a Hispanic girl interacting with various toys and sports equipment in a park setting. All of these children appear in flat, oddly isolated settings that are a little bit creepy. While the workmanlike quality of these books can’t be faulted, their lack of pizzazz is certainly an issue. Better books abound.

K-Gr 2–In these retellings of two traditional tales, both the English and Spanish renditions are fluent and literary in quality. Even the illustrations (although quite different in both technique and style) have a timeless air that complements the texts seamlessly. In the Aesop tale, the boastful hare zooms far ahead of the plodding turtle, but stops to gobble up a field of lettuce, take a nap under an oak tree, and stay overnight with family. Ever confident, he arrives at his destination the next day only to find that the tortoise has beaten him there. In Aladdin, the boy is sealed into a cave by an evil magician, whereupon he finds the enchanted lamp. He employs its powers unabashedly in order to win the hand of the princess and defeat the villain. While both texts require confident readers, these stories would work well as read-alouds in a classroom or storytime setting. First-class additions.