(3) PS Wood sculptures by Rubí Fuentes and Efraín Broa. "Bees say BZZZ BZZZ. Can you? / Las abejas dicen ZUM ZUM. ¿Puedes tú?" 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.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) PS Illustrated by Guillermina Aguilar & Josephina Aguilar & Irene Aguilar. Clay figures from Oaxaca, Mexico, are the focus of this bilingual counting book. Each brightly colored double-page spread features a spelled-out number on the left and a corresponding number of festive figures on the right. From one man with a balloon to ten spectators, the cheery scenes are meant to recall Oaxaca's Guelaguetza festival. The text is forced, but the lively design is appealing.

Reviewer: Tim Wadham

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jesús Canseco Zárate. Photographs by David Hilbert. Anita introduces every member of her skeletal family, both individually and in groups such as "us kids" and "the women of my family." Her simple non-narrative recitation builds family vocabulary in Spanish and English. Oaxacan folk artist Zárate's humorous, traditional papier-mâché skeletons are the highlight of the book, but their effect is lessened by the monotonous way they're positioned and photographed.

Reviewer: Siena Leslie

(4) PS This very simple concept book includes color names in both English and Spanish. Each word pair is illustrated with a vibrant photograph of a folk-art sculpture of an animal, all made by artists in Oaxaca, Mexico. The only disappointment is that there isn't more information about the artisans who created the pieces (the names of the animals might also have been useful).

Reviewer: Tim Wadham

(3) PS Illustrated by Quirino Santiago & Martín Santiago. This book uses images of colorful folk-art-style Oaxaca wood carvings to illustrate opposites. The animal figures reflect the concepts both literally (e.g., a dog is first asleep then awake) and figuratively (e.g., fast and slow are represented by a rabbit and turtle, respectively). The accomplished sculptures are set against brightly colored backgrounds.

Reviewer: Tim Wadham

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Moisés Jiménez & Armando Jiménez. From armadillo to zedonk, this book leads readers through an alphabetic list of animals in English and Spanish (including Spanish-only letters such as ñ and rr). Information about some of the more exotic animals (e.g., vicuña) would have been helpful, but the colorful book is really a showcase for photos of traditional wood sculptures by folk artists from Oaxaca, Mexico.

Reviewer: Tim Wadham

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tô Ngoc Trang & Tô Ngoc Trang & Pham Viet Dinh & Pham Viet Dinh. This counting book offers a simple description of the activities surrounding the celebration of Tet, the Vietnamese lunar new year ("1 mouse plans a party / 2 mice go to market"). A section at the back provides facts about the holiday and explains the importance of the details in the vibrantly colored embroidered art. This playful look at a cultural tradition can be used with a wide age range.

Reviewer: Anne St. John