The Alphabet

The Alphabet features illustrations of toys, musical instruments, and other commonplace items in bright cheerful colors. Each page showcases a letter of the Spanish alphabet (ñ and ll). The author has chosen items that begin with the same letter in both languages (e.g., airplane/avion, flower/flor, juice/jugo). The use of exotic creatures native to South and Central America such as the ñandú and the quetzal give this book a uniquely Latin flavor.

Numbers

Numbers also uses wonderful illustrations of exotic animals, from the iguana on page one to two toucans,three turtles, four frogs, etc. All the numbers, one through 10, are assembled at the end, and readers are invited to repeat their names in both languages. The final pages list the numbers up to 20 with both their English and Spanish names. This well executed series belongs in all homes with young children, public and school libraries serving a very young clientele. Also appropriate for bookstores.

Colors and Shapes

Colors and Shapes features illustrations of multicultural children holding up outsized shapes in different colors (e.g., red circle, yellow square, blue oval, etc.). The English words appear in the top left-hand corner, while the Spanish words appear in the bottom left-hand corner. The final page depicts a busy classroom scene and invites readers to identify shapes and colors from the scene.

I Want to Be...

Because of demographic changes in the American population due to continuing increases in immigration from Mexico and Latin American countries, the need for bilingual reading materials for children is also growing in both urban and rural communities throughout the country. Me+Mi Publishing has newly published four outstanding bilingual (English/Spanish) picturebooks for children which are engagingly written and enchantingly illustrated by Maria Espluga. The text is a single line delivered in both English and Spanish on each full page. The theme of these four delightful picturebooks is evident from their titles: I, farmer/Yo, campesino; I, astronaut/Yo, astronauta; I, ballerina/Yo, bailarina; and I, sailor/Yo, marinero. Although each of these superbly produced bilingual picturebooks are available separately, school and community libraries would be well advised to acquire all four of them for the benefit of their bilingual and multicultural collections for young children.

Let's go to the zoo!

Bilingual books are a critically important part of family, school and community urban library collections. The are of immense value for those children for whom English is a second language, as well as those young readers wanting to learn Spanish in addition to their own native born English language. One of the premier publishers of English/Spanish bilingual books for young readers is Me+Mi Publishing. Among their new 20-page board book titles for children ages 4 to 8 is Let's Go To The Zoo!/Vamos al zoologico! by Gladys Rosa-Mendoza. Colorfully illustrated, fun and informative this 'teaching book', takes the reader on an engaging tour of the zoo and naming its denizens in both languages. A zoo-wide panorama illustration at the end enables young readers to name all the animals they encountered in the previous pages.

My family and I

Written by Gladys Rosa-Mendoza and edited by Carolina Cifuentes, My Family and I/Mi familia y yo is a delightful, bilingual book for young children ages 3 through 6. With colorful illustrations by Jackie Snider, this durable Board Book offers a simple but engaging text in both English and Spanish. My Family and I/Mi familia y yo with its simple sentences for beginning readers in both languages is very strongly recommended for family, preschool, kindergarten, and community library collections.

My family and I

I want to commend the author for illustrating and self-publishing this book, which requires a great deal of energy and dedication. This is a very nicely packaged book. The text is simple and instructive. The illustrations are playful and joyful. The cover is inviting and easy to read. The title page art fits the theme of the book and leads readers into the main body of the book. I also find the glossary easy to use and the back cover information describes the book clearly. Appealing illustrations to accompany text. For the ages this book is geared toward, the simplistic ideas are great. Good way to present bilingual expression to young children.