How Are You? / ¿Cómo estás? (Spanish bilingual)

February 15, 2018
Sometimes all it takes to make a friend is to say "Welcome! Bienvenida!"First introduced to this friendly pair of giraffes--one Spanish-speaking, the other Anglophone--in How Do You Say? / Como se dice? (2016), readers now find them greeting an ostrich. After the initial "Welcome! Bienvenida!" they move on to, "Como estas? How are you?"--but the ostrich doesn't manage a response. "Are you shy? Eres timida?" they want to know. "No," it responds, looking a little overwhelmed by their exuberance. Subsequent questions--"Are you hungry?...Are you tired?...Are you scared?...Annoyed?"--are met with the same "No." Flopping onto their rears in exhaustion, they finally ask, "Then, how are you? Entonces, como estas?!" Readers might be surprised by the answer: "I'm excited!... / ...Because I have new amigos!" It looks like this ostrich is bilingual! Time to celebrate "Fiesta? Okay!" The limited text is complemented by illustrations portraying plenty of action. Making use of ample white space, Dominguez keeps the focus on the playful giraffes and their new friend. The dynamic illustrations--created with pencil and tissue paper on illustration board then digitally colorized--depict the three in bold outlines and a limited earth-tone palette. Here's hoping these endearing giraffes will continue making plenty of amigos. (Picture book. 2-4)

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April 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 1-Two charismatic giraffes explore emotions with a new bilingual friend. Dominguez's giraffes, first featured in How Do You Say?/¿Cómo se dice?, meet a seemingly stoic ostrich and try to guess how it is feeling. The giraffes, who speak Spanish and English respectively, shoot off questions about emotions ranging from shy/tímida to excited/emocionada, their curiosity growing each time the ostrich replies with a simple "no." Despite speaking different languages, the giraffes understand each other, and ultimately discover that the ostrich can understand both of them when it finally responds to their inquiries using Spanglish ("Because I have new amigos!"). This light allegorical touch adds depth to the playful narrative and is a nod to bilingual readers. Dominguez adds charm and humor to her signature pencil and tissue paper illustrations by depicting the giraffes' attempts to act out what each possible emotion would look like, such as hiding behind a tree to show feeling scared/miedo, or a close-up of their furrowed stares to depict annoyed/irritada. Readers familiar with Dominguez's previous title will be delighted by the familiar celebratory ending. VERDICT This amusing and accessible bilingual read-aloud is a great addition to picture book collections.-Jessica Agudelo, New York Public Library

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2018
The overeager giraffes from How Do You Say? / ?Csmo se dice? are back in this high-energy bilingual book. They try to guess what an ostrich is feeling: "Are you hungry? / ?Tienes hambre?" "Annoyed? / ?Irritada?" Finally, the ostrich announces: "I'm excited...because I have new amigos!" Pencil and tissue-paper illustrations emphasize goofy expressions and antics while letting boldly colored text pop against clean white backgrounds.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

May 1, 2018
The two giraffes from How Do You Say? / �C�mo se dice? (rev. 9/16) are back in this high-energy bilingual book about identifying emotions and making a new friend; here, Dominguez ups the ante by introducing phrases (as opposed to single words). The giraffes ask an ostrich, How are you? / �C�mo est�s? Before the ostrich can give them an answer, the overeager giraffes try to guess what the ostrich is feeling. Are you hungry? /�Tienes hambre??Annoyed? / �Irritada? The giraffes act out each feeling to comedic effect, but the ostrich always replies, No. Finally, the ostrich announces: I'm excited?because I have new amigos! The digitally colorized pencil and tissue paper illustrations place the emphasis on the giraffes' exaggerated facial expressions and goofy antics, while allowing the boldly colored text to pop against clean white backgrounds. While the majority of the book follows the English-to-Spanish bilingual model, the placement of the type doesn't insist that we read it that way, giving readers the pleasant task of choosing which language to read first. julie hakim azzam

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

April 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 1-Two charismatic giraffes explore emotions with a new bilingual friend. Dominguez's giraffes, first featured in How Do You Say?/�C�mo se dice?, meet a seemingly stoic ostrich and try to guess how it is feeling. The giraffes, who speak Spanish and English respectively, shoot off questions about emotions ranging from shy/t�mida to excited/emocionada, their curiosity growing each time the ostrich replies with a simple "no." Despite speaking different languages, the giraffes understand each other, and ultimately discover that the ostrich can understand both of them when it finally responds to their inquiries using Spanglish ("Because I have new amigos!"). This light allegorical touch adds depth to the playful narrative and is a nod to bilingual readers. Dominguez adds charm and humor to her signature pencil and tissue paper illustrations by depicting the giraffes' attempts to act out what each possible emotion would look like, such as hiding behind a tree to show feeling scared/miedo, or a close-up of their furrowed stares to depict annoyed/irritada. Readers familiar with Dominguez's previous title will be delighted by the familiar celebratory ending. VERDICT This amusing and accessible bilingual read-aloud is a great addition to picture book collections.-Jessica Agudelo, New York Public Library

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.