The Alphabet/El Alfabeto

This series of bilingual board books has received the Benjamin Franklin Award from the Publishers Marketing Association. The sturdy binding, chunky size and stiff board pages coupled with the bright colors of the illustrations make these books very appealing to the younger set. Colors and Shapes features illustrations of multicultural children holding up outsized shapes in different colors (e.g., red circle, yellow square, blue oval, etc.). The English words appear in the top left-hand corner, while the Spanish words appear in the bottom left-hand corner. The final page depicts a busy classroom scene and invites readers to identify shapes and colors from the scene. The Alphabet features illustrations of toys, musical instruments, and other commonplace items in bright cheerful colors. Each page showcases a letter of the Spanish alphabet (n and ll included). The author has chosen items that begin with the same letter in both languages (e.g., airplane/ avion, flower/ flor, juice/ jugo). The use of exotic creatures native to South and Central America such as the nandu and the quetzal give this book a uniquely Latin flavor. Numbers also uses wonderful illustrations of exotic animals, from the iguana on page one to two toucans, three turtles, four frogs, etc. All the numbers, one through 10, are assembled at the end, and readers are invited to repeat their names in both languages. The final pages list the numbers up to 20 with both their English and Spanish names. This well executed series belongs in all public and school libraries serving a very young Hispanic clientele. Also appropriate for book-stores. M.O.B.