Beautiful illustrations with vibrant colors … make the characters pop. Parents will love these books for teaching a second language to their child when their little brains are like sponges, taking in everything like the little geniuses they are.” — Sue Morris, Kid Lit Reviews
“Beautifully written and illustrated board books allow parents, teachers and caregivers to share words, letters, nursery rhymes and songs with their little ones that will help them increase their vocabulary in both English and Spanish. I love Canticos books for little ones. Their high quality ensures they’ll be an excellent gift to share with the young children and parents in your life. Visit canticosworld.com to learn more about their wonderful products and place an order today!” — Susan Heim
“These beautiful bilingual board books have been a hit with our youngest reader! They are also a top choice for my husband to grab since he is fluent in Spanish and enjoys the chance to share the language with her. My older kids love joining in and learning some new words too. These books are illustrated with the characters from the Emmy nominated @canticosworld bilingual musical preschool series on @nickjr but can be fully enjoyed whether you’re familiar with the show or not. We read the books first. They are beautifully designed and sturdily built with both English and Spanish words throughout. Some of the titles are available in both small lift the flap book form or larger accordion style. Our favorite is the accordion style because the kids can surround themselves with the book.” — Stephanie Price, Because My Mother Read
"All in all, a cheerful bilingual introduction to familiar emotions." — Kirkus
"Cute little colourful book about feelings. An introductory book for the little ones and how they can share their feelings with adults around them." —Aysha Imran, Bookseller, NetGalley
"This is a very cute book for very young children introducing different feelings and how they can use those to communicate with adults. There are also phrases here that can teach them a little vocabulary. The colors and illustrations are so cute and adorable to look at as well." —Zee Lant, NetGalley
"This is a beautifully illustrated book which helps young children to communicate their feelings. My little boy is 4 so a little older than the target audience but he still really enjoyed reading it with me and demonstrating his feelings. We also enjoyed learning the Spanish translations of the different feelings." —Victoria Jackson, NetGalley
"This book is a good start to teach kids about basic emotions. Do check it out!" —Pooja Banga, NetGalley
"It goes beyond the basic translation of each emotion by having a flap to life that asks what that feeling looks like (or can you show me a ___ face). The interactive aspect of the flap will make it more fun for young children and the added phrases will make it more interactive on the reader as well, after all can you read "can you show me a happy face" without making an exaggerated smile? Effective at teaching vocabulary while also visually appealing and fun." —Mandy Davis, Librarian, NetGalley
"Delightful board book that offers an emotions word on each page spread (happy, sad, excited, angry, etc.) in both English and Spanish. Then young readers can lift the flap and see the animal show that emotion along with a challenge for them to show it as well. The simple illustrations capture the emotions on each page. Families can read this together and have fun making faces that show the emotions. The language is simple to follow in both languages." — Pamela Gombert, Librarian, NetGalley
"This is an adorable flap book for infants and toddlers. Each page has a feeling word in English and Spanish, on the opposite page a wonderful picture of a character, and once you lift the flap the characters' faces express the feeling. There is a short sentence or question in English and Spanish on the inside of the flap about each picture.
I love introducing young children and children with disabilities to books that have flaps, simple words, and beautiful pictures. This book checks all the boxes! I love that it is in English and Spanish for bilingual children or for parents who want to introduce their children to another language." — Alexander Streeter, Educator, NetGalley
"Absolutely adorable! My 4 year old and 2 year old loved it. Artwork was very eye catching. Definitely a book we could read many times over and over." —Kylie Cole, NetGalley
"This book was adorable and I will definitely get my hands on a physical copy when I can!" —Marie Sutton, Librarian, NetGalley
"Simple vocabulary combined with emotions and in a bilingual format?! This is a pretty sure bet for my library. For Libraries: This will be a great fit for any board book collection." —Jennifer McCulley, Librarian, NetGalley
"Loved this adorable book! It may be small with few words, but it is full of conversation starters...This book is a great example of how a book can help solidify the intimate relationship between parent (guardian) and child." —Mary Antzak, Librarian, NetGalley
"Could this book be any cuter?! Perfect baby board book for any child! The artwork is just adorable and the flip-ups are spot-on for each feeling! I really like that it's in English and Spanish. The best time for someone to learn a new language is when they are young!" —Elyse LeMieux, NetGalley
04/01/2021
PreS-K—With each of these new additions to the "Canticos Bilingual Firsts" series, young readers explore early concepts such as shapes/patterns, numbers, feelings, and opposites. Each element is featured in both English and Spanish, but not always equally. In Feelings and Opposites, the English terms are large and in color, whereas the terms in Spanish are in a smaller white font. In Numbers 1–100, both English and Spanish are introduced in the same color and font, but the numerals and their Spanish names are revealed when the flap is lifted. The flap element is also available in Feelings, but not the other two titles. The vocabulary in Shapes and Patterns is somewhat complex for babies—the intended audience—and more appropriate for preschoolers. Terms such as "herringbone," "harlequin," and "rhombus" will more successfully enrich a four-year-old's vocabulary. The lack of a pronunciation guide in either language can be offset by accessing material online. Apart from Feelings, at 26 pages, the other three run to more hefty dimensions, which may prove to be a problem for small hands. Jaramillo's brand is reinforced everywhere, from the familiar Disneyesque characters from her previous titles to the link on each cover to the franchise's site. VERDICT The dearth of bilingual educational material will nonetheless attract audiences to this series.—Mary Margaret Mercado, Pima County P.L., Tucson, AZ
2020-12-25
Translating feelings into simple pictures and words is a challenge in one language; this book does it in both English and Spanish.
Eleven emotions are named in English and Spanish opposite a cheery cartoon animal. Lift the almost-full-page flap to find a question (in both languages) above the creature demonstrating the emotion. Happy and sad are straightforward, so the sentence under each flap asks, “Can you show me a happy [or sad] face?” With more complex, nuanced emotions, the question becomes a variation on “How does feeling excited look? / ¿Cómo estar emocionado/a?” (An anthropomorphic star demonstrates.) Gender variants of the Spanish words are consistently indicated by ending the word with o/a. Prompted by changes in facial expressions and posture, young children will readily act out the feelings. A cartoon chick demonstrates happy/feliz, sad/triste, brave/valiente, and afraid/asustado while an angry/enjado elephant, surprised/sorprendida spider, confused/confundido bunny, proud/ogulloso frog, and tired/cansada chicken also make appearances. A brown-skinned human child with a Troll-like shock of orange hair models shy/timido. There is no pronunciation guide, but the publisher’s YouTube site (referenced on the back cover) includes a bilingual reading.
All in all, a cheerful bilingual introduction to familiar emotions. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)
