Review by School Library Journal Review
Bright, busy, and iconic, the cut-paper collages in these two books show common objects in a house and about town. Each picture has a short sentence explaining the action; all of the objects are labelled in both English and in Spanish. An added plus is that My House introduces colors and Taking a Walk introduces shapes. The simplicity and directness of the presentations make these good teaching tools regardless of listeners/readers' first language, as the words chosen are appropriate for young children. However, the Spanish translations contain a number of errors. For example, in My House , purpuera is used for ``purple.'' Purpura is the correct term. El apagadore de luces is not as current as el interruptor for ``light switch.'' There are also problems with agreement-- el aula, not la aula as Taking a Walk uses it--and numerous spelling errors. Also in Taking a Walk , ``square'' is translated as cuadro , which means ``picture.'' The word used for ``kite,'' el papalote, is a specifically Cuban term; the more common usage is la cometa. There are also some misplaced accent marks. It's a pity because, were it not for the errors, the books could have provided a pleasant and effective bilingual offering with great child appeal. --Ann Welton, University Child Development School, Seattle (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Lively, brilliantly colored collages are used to illustrate various objects in English and Spanish. Young readers will find it little trouble to learn the words for such an appealing house and its furnishings, pets, toys, and surroundings. From HORN BOOK 1990, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In creatively designed introductions to a second language, Emberley offers clean, bright collages on white ground that picture a wide variety of things seen around the house and the neighborhood. Each item is labeled with its name, with English in blue and Spanish in black; in addition, simple sentences describe the page-size scenes (""This is my parents' bedroom""). Appropriately for the young children for whom these are intended, no attempt is made to sort out individual words in the sentences or to explain why one word (""Salomon"") may serve for three (""Let's go outside""); however, a pronunciation guide and dictionary summary (not included) would have been useful for adults using these with children. Still, attractive and useful. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
