LETTERS A TO Z

An extra-fat board book to help babies and toddlers grow up bilingual.

On each double-page spread, an English word is paired with an uppercase letter, with the Spanish translation in parentheses below, and a Spanish word is shown along with the lowercase letter, with the English translation included parenthetically. Often the words chosen are related, so “A / for Apple / (Manzana)” is paired with “a / de árbol / (Tree).” The cheerful illustrations, which feature the cartoon chicks and supporting characters familiar to Canticos fans, often highlight the relationship. So “K / for Knife / (Cuchillo)” and “k / de kiwi / (Kiwi)” is illustrated with a bunny in a chef’s toque cutting a kiwi fruit. The word in translation usually does not start with the same letter, but when it does, as with “N / for Next / (Nido)” and “n / de noche / (Night),” it is a happy surprise. Three sounds common to Spanish (Ch, Ll, and Ñ) each get double-page spreads but without an English equivalent. In an author’s note Jaramillo explains that Ch and Ll are no longer considered part of the Spanish alphabet, but the sounds are important to the language. There is no pronunciation guide for either language.

A good start for learning the ABCs in Spanish or English.