The word "parent" is not just a noun. It's also a verb.
In José Carlos Andrés’ “El Ratón Que Comía Cuentos,” illustrated by Katharina Sieg, the journey of Simenón, a small, ever-hungry mouse, becomes a touching metaphor for the nourishing power of stories and knowledge. His discovery of a bookstore leads to an unusual but fulfilling diet of book pages, symbolizing how stories feed our minds and souls.
Tatuajes takes on the stereotypes, demonstrating in a non-preachy fashion how reductive such assumptions can be; and, it does so in language that is easily accessible and relatable to the target ages. Based in part on events that occured to López during his first year teaching in the D.C. School System, the interactions between our teacher, Sr. Mendoza, and his students are true-to-life, funny and fun!
Of course, in picturebook fashion, the story involves a duck, a mouse and an adventure. But, everything is intricately woven in a carefully, thoughtfully, written piece, lovingly translated by Mustelier. I can hear the Cuban accent ringing throughout.
This book rings all the bells: an engaging story, a hands on activity, bold illustrations. Get ready to read this one again and again.
The illustrations are dark (it is nighttime after-all) and vivid. They practically jump off the page in bold colors. The dialogue is streamlined and engaging. A solid bedtime story.
Argentinian author/illustrator Gusti Rosemffet hits the comical sweet spot with this, his hysterical tale of two flies that both lay claim to, you guessed it, the same pile of poop! Poop, being the universal common denominator of humor for children of-a-certain-age, is spread throughout most pages of this sincere, warm-hearted picturebook. [Yes, I know what I just wrote. Lighten up.]
Life is a struggle. And, if you are familiar with these words: “I’ll be good now, I promise.” Then, chances are that your child is smack in the middle of the demographic for this funny, charming picture book by Haughton, loosely translated as I will behave very well. [The actual English title is: Oh no, George]
This book plays on many levels and handles the difficult themes of inclusion/exclusion, friendship, otherness and differences with subtle clarity and dexterity. It is great for children as young as those in PK and could easily teach a lesson to Middle Schoolers.
This Pura Belpre Illustration Winner is a wonder to behold. López’ illustrations are nothing less than glorious and balance the line between elegance and grace as daintally as Teresa Carreño could play a glissando on the piano.