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)

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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.

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