MY GRANDMA/MI ABUELITA

Once again, Guy and Escrivá combine their talents to produce an almost wordless bilingual story. Guy’s text creates a telegraphically short framework for the richly colored illustrations, realistic except for the exaggerated heads and facial features of the characters that bring those words to detailed and specific life. A family of four leaves the big city to fly to a more rural, tropical environment to visit Grandma. In the city scenes, there are multi-level apartment buildings and skyscrapers, which contrast with the fruit trees and open spaces where Grandma lives. Because the English and Spanish words are placed together on almost every page, the book serves not simply as two texts for speakers of two languages, but rather as an opportunity for parents and teachers to introduce the two languages to both audiences in a natural way. Full of excitement and family warmth, this is a charming title for the very youngest book lovers. (Picture book. 1-5)