Animal Talk

March 15, 2016
Continuing her First Concepts in Mexican Folk Art series, Weill presents 15 animals and their sounds in both English and Spanish, accompanied by models crafted by Fuentes and Broa. Each double-page spread depicts a single type of animal represented by two different Oaxacan models facing each other across the gutter and placed on bright, harmonizing backgrounds. English is on verso, Spanish is on recto: "Roosters say / COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO / Can you? // Los gallos dicen / KI-KIRI-KI / Puedes tu?" Each rooster is glorious, feet firmly planted, wings spread, and head extended to crow lustily. The English rooster is primarily blue and sits on a warm, orange background, while the Spanish rooster is orange on a yellow background. The type used to represent their vocalizations is printed in blue and orange, respectively. The pattern continues with minor variations throughout, presenting kitties/los gatitos, fish/los peces, goats/las cabras, tigers/los tigres, cows/las vacas, bees/las abejas, horses/los caballos, dogs/los perros, frogs/las ranas, piggies/los porquitos, lions/los leones, snakes/las serpientes, turkeys/los pavos, and owls/los buhos. There may be regional differences in Spanish animals' dialects that give individual readers momentary pause: do Spanish-speaking turkeys say, "gordo gordo," everywhere? Some might feel that they say, "glu glu glu"; is "rahr" really what Spanish-speaking tigers say? The two-way pronunciation guide in the aftermatter is a thoughtful touch. A beautiful, playful, childcentric approach to language learning--and if it spawns conversations about dialects, so much the better. (Picture book. 2-5)

COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 1, 2016

PreS-K-Looking for a fun and attractive picture book for bilingual storytime? Oaxacan wood sculptures in this work will captivate young readers with colorful images and simple vocabulary in English and Spanish. For example, "What do horses say? NEIGH NEIGH./Que dicen los caballos? JIII JIII." Children will enjoy making 15 various animal sounds in both languages. Roosters, kitties, fish, goats, cows, and owls are among the featured animals. A pronunciation guide on the last page will prove to be helpful. The folk art provides vibrant colors seen in Mexico. Pair with Lois Ehlert's Rrralph or Jules Feiffer's Bark, George for a fantastic time.

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2016
Wood sculptures by Rubm Fuentes and Eframn Broa. "Bees say BZZZ BZZZ. Can you? / Las abejas dicen ZUM ZUM. ?Puedes tz?" Each double-page spread of this bilingual animal-sounds book features traditional painted Oaxacan wood carvings of animals set against brightly colored pages. The textured backgrounds, small square shape, and traditional page borders will all catch young readers' attention and further invite them to play with language.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)