Minutka: The Bilingual Dog/ La Perra Bilinge

Minutka, a tiny spotted dog, dances about the gray pages of this small, black-and-white square book, chatting about herself in English and Spanish: “Look at me!” read the words at the top of the page; “¡Mirame!” read those along the bottom. “I'm a ballerina./ Soy bailarina.” “And a yoga master,” she adds on the next page, from a downward-facing dog pose. Minutka, so minute that she might disappear under a finger if she did not stay safely in the center of the page, does not formally teach. Her statements don't progress from simple to difficult, or fall into categories like “food” or “greetings.” She's just celebrating a life lived in two languages. Mycek-Wodecki (How Would It Feel? ) draws Minutka playing in the sprinkler (el rociador ), leaping after butterflies, sleeping, dreaming “in Spanish and in English” and waking (“Now, I am rested and ready to start another day... in my two languages”). Some bilingual books have literary ambitions or social messages; this one just has fun. Bilingual editions that pair English with French, Chinese, Italian, Polish and Turkish are also available. Ages up to 3. (Apr.)