Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Two charismatic giraffes explore emotions with a new bilingual friend. Dominguez's giraffes, first featured in How Do You Say?/¿Cómo se dice?, meet a seemingly stoic ostrich and try to guess how it is feeling. The giraffes, who speak Spanish and English respectively, shoot off questions about emotions ranging from shy/tímida to excited/emocionada, their curiosity growing each time the ostrich replies with a simple "no." Despite speaking different languages, the giraffes understand each other, and ultimately discover that the ostrich can understand both of them when it finally responds to their inquiries using Spanglish ("Because I have new amigos!"). This light allegorical touch adds depth to the playful narrative and is a nod to bilingual readers. Dominguez adds charm and humor to her signature pencil and tissue paper illustrations by depicting the giraffes' attempts to act out what each possible emotion would look like, such as hiding behind a tree to show feeling scared/miedo, or a close-up of their furrowed stares to depict annoyed/irritada. Readers familiar with Dominguez's previous title will be delighted by the familiar celebratory ending. VERDICT This amusing and accessible bilingual read-aloud is a great addition to picture book collections.-Jessica Agudelo, New York Public Library © Copyright 2018. 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
The two giraffes from How Do You Say? / Cmo se dice? (rev. 9/16) are back in this high-energy bilingual book about identifying emotions and making a new friend; here, Dominguez ups the ante by introducing phrases (as opposed to single words). The giraffes ask an ostrich, How are you? / Cmo ests? Before the ostrich can give them an answer, the overeager giraffes try to guess what the ostrich is feeling. Are you hungry? /Tienes hambre?Annoyed? / Irritada? The giraffes act out each feeling to comedic effect, but the ostrich always replies, No. Finally, the ostrich announces: Im excitedbecause I have new amigos! The digitally colorized pencil and tissue paper illustrations place the emphasis on the giraffes exaggerated facial expressions and goofy antics, while allowing the boldly colored text to pop against clean white backgrounds. While the majority of the book follows the English-to-Spanish bilingual model, the placement of the type doesnt insist that we read it that way, giving readers the pleasant task of choosing which language to read first. julie hakim azzam (c) Copyright 2018. 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
Sometimes all it takes to make a friend is to say "Welcome! Bienvenida!"First introduced to this friendly pair of giraffesone Spanish-speaking, the other Anglophonein How Do You Say? / Cmo se dice? (2016), readers now find them greeting an ostrich. After the initial "Welcome! Bienvenida!" they move on to, "Cmo ests? How are you?"but the ostrich doesn't manage a response. "Are you shy? Eres tmida?" they want to know. "No," it responds, looking a little overwhelmed by their exuberance. Subsequent questions"Are you hungry?Are you tired?Are you scared?Annoyed?"are met with the same "No." Flopping onto their rears in exhaustion, they finally ask, "Then, how are you? Entonces, cmo ests?!" Readers might be surprised by the answer: "I'm excited! / Because I have new amigos!" It looks like this ostrich is bilingual! Time to celebrate "Fiesta? Okay!" The limited text is complemented by illustrations portraying plenty of action. Making use of ample white space, Dominguez keeps the focus on the playful giraffes and their new friend. The dynamic illustrationscreated with pencil and tissue paper on illustration board then digitally colorizeddepict the three in bold outlines and a limited earth-tone palette. Here's hoping these endearing giraffes will continue making plenty of amigos. (Picture book. 2-4) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
