Review: "How Do You Say? Como se dice?" by Angela Dominguez

After the lovely "Maria Had a Little Llama/Maria tenia una llamita", Angela Dominguez is back with another fun and fantastic bilingual picture book, "How Do You Say?/Como se dice?". It tells the tale of a blossoming friendship between two young giraffes, one speaking English and the other Spanish. Each page spread shows both giraffes doing the same thing, but speaking in their respective languages, "Food!/Comida!" or "Hello?/Hola?".  As their similar lives bring the two together, they discover that they have a lot in common, right down to the nap they take when they're all worn out from playing. With bold illustrations and simple text, this story is appropriate for readers age three on up. Click on the link above request a copy today.

--Andrea W., Headquarters

“Viva Frida” by Yuyi Morales

In Yuyi Morales’ “Viva Frida” one of the world’s most famous female artists is brilliantly captured in action. Each page contains two or three bilingual sentences in addition to vividly captivating as well as unique mixed media illustrations. This biography is especially accessible for beginning readers. This book is a celebration of art, animals, love, dreams, culture, and ultimately life. A recipient of the 2015 Caldecott Honor Book Award as well as the 2015 Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award this picture book is definitely one to be checked out and enjoyed by readers of any age. 

--Alison R., Headquarters

Staff Review: "Senor Pancho Had a Rancho" by Rene Colato Lainez

"Old MacDonald Had a Farm" is a classic song that all preschool children know and love.  This new book tells the story of Old MacDonald and his Spanish speaking counterpart, Senor Pancho.  "Senor Pancho Had a Rancho" has a farm animal on each page and features English and Spanish words.  There is a great pronunciation guide in the front of the book for those of you who (like myself) don't speak Spanish.  Try something new and pick up a bi-lingual book next time you're in the library! You can go to the Holiday House publishers website for a bonus activity sheet to go with the story.


 --Angie RH, Headquarters

Staff Review: "Spike, the Mixed-up Monster" by Susan Hood

Picture Book Land is highly populated with animals. Specifically farm animals, jungle animals, bears, and house pets. Every once in awhile we are treated to a story about a wholly unexpected animal, like an axolotl, as in the case of "Spike, the Mixed-up Monster" by Susan Hood.

Spike is axolotl, a salamander who lives in Mexico. Because of his sharp teeth and spikes, he believes himself to be a scary monster. Unfortunately, his friends el gato, el armadillo, and el campanol only find him adorable. Along comes a real monster, a gila monster. All of Spike's friends are frightened away, but Spike stands his ground to scare off the intruder. In the end, Spike learns that you cannot judge a critter by how he looks and decides that smiles are better than scares.

With a cute story and cheerful pencil and water color illustrations, "Spike" is a great picture book. But the real treat to me is the exotic Mexican cast and the handful of Spanish vocabulary words sprinkled throughout the text. So if you're tired of the normal cast of cows, bears, and dogs, click on the link above to reserve a copy today! Great for pre-K to first grade.

--Andrea W., H.Q.

Staff Review: "Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match" by Monica Brown

There is, unfortunately, a time in every child's life when they feel ashamed of who they are for whatever reason. Thankfully, there are many wonderful books about embracing your identity, and Monica Brown has given us a delightful new installment to the catalog in "Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match".

Marisol McDonald doesn't match at all. She has brown skin and red hair, loves to wear all colors at the same time, and signs her name in both cursive and print. And she's totally okay with that until she starts getting teased for her un-matchiness. So the next day at school, Marisol wears all the same color, plays only one thing at a time, and has a plain old peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead of her usual peanut butter and jelly burrito. And Marisol is sad. But thanks to a kind note from her teacher and her loving parents, Marisol realizes that not matching is just great.

Not only is this one of the best picture books that I've read about being a bi-racial child (Marisol is Peruvian-Scottish-American), it is also the best bi-lingual picture book (the text is in English and Spanish) that I have ever read. The story is engaging, the pictures are vibrant and celebratory, and the message is not heavy-handed. Marisol is an adorable character that I would love to have at Story time every week. 

--Andrea W., H.Q.