COUNT ON CULEBRA
Go From 1 to 10 in Spanish
by Ann Whitford Paul & illustrated by Ethan Long
Count on Paul and Long to dish up another silly, entertaining tale in Spanish and English, this one featuring the cunning snake, Doctor Culebra, who manages to trick Iguana out of feeling the pain in her stubbed toe, while at the same time teaching readers to count to 10 in Spanish, and convincing the other animals to help make candy (dulces). By the time the animals have tied numerous kitchen utensils to Iguana’s tail, and readers have counted them all, and joined in the resulting raucous sound effects of “Clink, Clank, Clang,” and “Blatter, Blitter, Bling,” as Iguana walks, they will agree that Doctor Culebra, even if he had not gone to medical school, “is the best doctor we know.” The bright cartoon illustrations are well suited to this hilarious tale that provides a practical lesson about life, as well as bilingual counting and vocabulary skills. (Picture book. 4-8)