(4) K-3 Illustrated by Monse Fransoy. The beloved fairy tale gets a fresh look in this bilingual edition. The English translation is often better than the Spanish text, which is plagued by repetition and clumsiness. The modernist illustrations, with strong lines and stylized figures, radiate understated humor and carry the weight of the story.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Elizabeth Gomez. "Here in the city there are wonders everywhere / Here mangoes / come in cans / In El Salvador / they grew on trees." These bilingual poems depict the poet's childhood in San Francisco's Mission District, where he and his family lived after escaping the civil war in El Salvador. Gómez's illustrations blend dreams and reality, bringing depth to the sometimes pedestrian poems.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(3) K-3 Dorling Kindersley Readers series. This biography for newly independent readers focuses on the first Hispanic baseball player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The readable Spanish text, accompanied by black-and-white and color photos, tells of Clemente's childhood in Puerto Rico, his leap to the Major Leagues, his fight against prejudice, and his humanitarian efforts to help the poor. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(4) K-3 Translated by Ariel Almohar. Illustrated by Cristina Kadmon. After an exciting day playing with his friends, little turtle Sebastián cuddles up with his father and tells him what he wants to be when he grows up: firefighter, pirate, diver, etc. His father listens lovingly, then tells him that he always wanted to grow up to be a father of a son like Sebastián. In this Spanish edition of When I Grow Up, sweet illustrations match the tone of the nurturing if sentimental bedtime story.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Fabricio VandenBroeck. Since he immigrated to Los Angeles from Mexico, Carlos's uncle is grumpy during the day because he feels insecure with "el Blah-Blah" or English. But at night, when he tells traditional Mexican stories in Spanish, he is a lot of fun. Carlos and his uncle agree to trade English lessons for Mexican stories. Atmospheric illustrations done in colored pencil and acrylics capture the mood of the story that includes some Spanish words and phrases.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(3) K-3 Translated by Yanitzia Canetti. Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. This well-translated Spanish edition of Tacky the Penguin keeps the flavor of the original.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(3) K-3 Translated by Ã?ngel Secreto. Illustrated by Alan Marks. Mr. Goose, a gentle bachelor, longs for a child of his own. The dog finds a huge egg for him, and a baby dinosaur hatches out of it calling him Mama. Taunted by the chickens, the little dinosaur runs away looking for his real mother only to find that all he needs is the love of his devoted adoptive father. Accompanied by expressive illustrations, this Spanish edition of The Little Green Goose reads smoothly.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(3) 4-6 Using passages from the Bible, this Spanish edition of Spirin's The Christmas Story tells of the birth of Christ from the angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary to the three Wise Men's visit. Masterfully composed, lavish paintings, with ethereal figures and golden and ochre hues, are a good match for the archaic language of the text. This offering will probably appeal more to older readers and adults.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by S. Guevara. Castillo's poems are based on chants that were recited by Aztec elders as coming-of-age teachings. The verses are solemn in their simplicity and are still relevant today. The artwork, which successfully combines images of a contemporary girl and boy with Aztec glyphs and symbols, gives the book the feeling of an illuminated manuscript. Useful notes by author and illustrator are appended. Also available in Spanish.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by S. Guevara. Castillo's poems are based on chants that were recited by Aztec elders as coming-of-age teachings. The verses are solemn in their simplicity and are still relevant today. The artwork, which successfully combines images of a contemporary girl and boy with Aztec glyphs and symbols, gives the book the feeling of an illuminated manuscript. The awkward language in this Spanish edition robs the chant of its poetry. Also available in English.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Loretta Lopez. The third installment of Say Hola to Spanish takes us to the circus and introduces over seventy Spanish words. Although the mixing of both languages can be confusing ("Look! La jirafa has a long cuello. How many humps tiene el camello?"), the wacky rhymes and the amusing animal scenes will jazz up the Spanish lesson. A pronunciation guide is included at the end of the book. Glos.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Lee Chapman. Eight animals head to market to shop for their supper in this Spanish vocabulary lesson. The rhyming text is spiced with over forty Spanish words, mostly numbers and names of animals and food. ("Cat wants to buy a bottle of milk. / 'Leche,' purrs Gato, as smoothly as silk.") The illustrations, inspired by Mexican folk art, play with the text, adding funny details. A glossary/pronunciation guide is appended.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(3) PS Bold and bright cut-paper illustrations introduce preschoolers to shapes, colors, opposites, and numbers in Spanish and English. Each double-page spread effectively combines the featured concept and a familiar object. Count nine ladybugs (nueve mariquitas), see a diamond-shaped kite (el rombo, el papalote), or identify the color green (verde) of a frog (la rana) in these visually stimulating bilingual vocabulary primers.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(3) PS Bold and bright cut-paper illustrations introduce preschoolers to shapes, colors, opposites, and numbers in Spanish and English. Each double-page spread effectively combines the featured concept and a familiar object. Count nine ladybugs (nueve mariquitas), see a diamond-shaped kite (el rombo, el papalote), or identify the color green (verde) of a frog (la rana) in these visually stimulating bilingual vocabulary primers.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(3) PS Bold and bright cut-paper illustrations introduce preschoolers to shapes, colors, opposites, and numbers in Spanish and English. Each double-page spread effectively combines the featured concept and a familiar object. Count nine ladybugs (nueve mariquitas), see a diamond-shaped kite (el rombo, el papalote), or identify the color green (verde) of a frog (la rana) in these visually stimulating bilingual vocabulary primers.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(3) PS Bold and bright cut-paper illustrations introduce preschoolers to shapes, colors, opposites, and numbers in Spanish and English. Each double-page spread effectively combines the featured concept and a familiar object. Count nine ladybugs (nueve mariquitas), see a diamond-shaped kite (el rombo, el papalote), or identify the color green (verde) of a frog (la rana) in these visually stimulating bilingual vocabulary primers.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(3) K-3 In this well-told Spanish version of Nicky and the Big, Bad Wolves, Nico the rabbit dreams that a hundred wolves are after him. One hundred? Are you sure? asks his mother. Nico goes back to bed, but the nightmare returns and Mama must go outside--armed with a broom--to beat the bad dreams away. The silly illustrations of thug-like wolves on motorbikes and pirate wolves sailing the seas add humor to the story.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Gloria Osuna Perez & Lucia Angela Perez. In this bilingual Cinderella tale coming from the Hispanic tradition of New Mexico, Arcía is mistreated by her stepsisters after her father marries a duplicitous widow. But her kindness is rewarded with a golden star on her forehead--her jealous stepsisters receive instead a donkey's ear and a cow's horn--and Arcía wins the prince's heart. The earthy illustrations of the Latino characters glow with a serene dignity.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Elizabeth Gomez. A renowned Mexican-American poet writes about his childhood in this bilingual book. When Juanito's migrant worker family settles down in the city so he can go to school for the first time, he becomes the confused "upside down boy" in the English-speaking school. Herrera's poetic prose sings with a unique voice in both languages, and Gómez's illustrations are colorful and ethereal.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2000

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Claire B. Cotts. This story, a version of which appeared in Jiménez's autobiographical novel The Circuit, is presented here in a bilingual picture book format with an excellent Spanish text. Panchito longs for a red ball for Christmas, but when he receives only candy, he rises above his disappointment and shares it with his large, loving family. Mural-like illustrations soulfully depict the hard life and strong people of the migrant labor camps.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza