Add this to the sorely empty bookshelf dedicated to toddler songs in Spanish.
Little ones can sing in Spanish as they follow the pictures in this board book about postal carriers.
There’s a “cartero” (postman) in the town that delivers letters the world over; so starts this original song by Caracolino, as Canizales’ illustration shows a postal worker doing just that. Next, comes a “cartera” (postwoman) on a new bike carrying packages made by “una abuela” (a grandmother). There’s a letter from Portugal and another from Senegal. The postal carriers move letters all over the world and finally “traen a casa la carta que yo espero.” Readers bilingual in Spanish and English will know that this means “bring home the letter I’m waiting for.” As the text is entirely in Spanish, readers who don’t know the language will miss some meaning, but the illustrations do help. Publishing simultaneously in this Canta Libro (Singing Book) series is La Jirafa Rafa. Rafa is a giraffe with a mustache and glasses that lives on the savannah and drinks water from a water bottle because the water from the well is not drinkable. Before reading the books, adult readers may want to download the QR code on the back cover of the books to hear Caracolino sing the songs. The music is simple and straightforward enough that it will be easy to sing along with the books. Little ones will enjoy the illustrations—particularly the one with Rafa spitting the bad-tasting water out. The humans depicted are multiethnic.
Add this to the sorely empty bookshelf dedicated to toddler songs in Spanish. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: June 9, 2020
ISBN: 978-84-17673-46-8
Page Count: 18
Publisher: NubeOcho
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
An effervescent celebration of play in the early years.
As with Spanyol’s stellar Clive books, Rosa’s favorite activities buck gender stereotypes.
The toddler races toy cars, jumps monster trucks, and builds a car out of a cardboard box with her buddies in what looks like a day care or preschool setting. Spanyol’s childlike lines, soft palette, and chunky figures are as cheerful as ever. The text is mostly straightforward, simple narration peppered with exclamations from Rosa and her chums: “Rosa and Marcel play in the sandpit. ‘Dig-a-dig, dig-a-dig, scoop!’ sings Rosa.” Rosa has brown skin and black, curly hair, and she wears bright yellow eyeglasses. Her friends include Samira, who uses a wheelchair and is likely of South Asian descent; Mustafa, who appears black; Biba, who has light-brown skin and straight, black hair; and Sarah and Marcel, who both present white. Three other equally charming titles accompany this offering. In Rosa and Her Dinosaurs, the heroine dons a purple dress and plays with a collection of toy dinosaurs. Rosa and her buds (all wearing helmets) roll through the pages of Rosa Rides Her Scooter. And in Rosa Plays Ball, Rosa pushes a cart with various kinds of balls to toss about with her friends outside.
An effervescent celebration of play in the early years. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-78628-125-8
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Child's Play
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
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A fun but inessential novelty, as much toy as book.
A familiar song repackaged as a board book doubles as a finger puppet.
Many a caregiver has sung this refrain to a newborn or toddler, ignoring the decidedly sad lyrics of the original. Magsamen lays claim and sweetens it up. She uses only the chorus and changes the last line to “I’ll give you lots of hugs… / and kisses every day” instead of the expected “Please don’t take my sunshine away.” Her cheery artwork, reminiscent of applique, recalls the song’s country-music roots and is anything but sad. The pages are decorated with hearts and cuddly-looking caregiver-child animal pairs—foxes, skunks with sunny yellow umbrellas, bunnies, raccoons, and squirrels. The thick, heart-shaped pages include a circular die-cut hole through which readers might poke the smiling felt sun puppet attached to the back cover. A finger inserted from the back makes the sun wiggle and will capture even the youngest baby’s attention. The puppet feature does not obstruct the initial page turns, but when a toddler says, “Do it again” (as they doubtless will), quickly re-positioning the finger puppet is somewhat challenging.
A fun but inessential novelty, as much toy as book. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-30576-0
Page Count: 6
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
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