Lejos / Far

by Juan Felipe Herrera, Blanca Gómez (Illustrator)

Overview

Some things are close — cerca. Others are far — lejos. With sweet simplicity, this charming dual-language board book and its companion volume, Cerca/Close, engage young children.

El árbol de limones está lejos de mi casa. The lemon tree is far from my house.

The little boy’s house is far from the city, and the city is far from the ocean. What about the mountains in the distance, or the clouds in the sky, or the sun that shines over the boy as he walks?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763690632
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/17/2019
Edition description:	Bilingual Edition
Pages:	14
Sales rank:	433,626
Product dimensions:	6.80(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Juan Felipe Herrera is a poet, artist, and activist. He was the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017. He is the creator of Jabberwalking and the author of Imagine, illustrated by Lauren Castillo. He lives in Fresno, California.

Blanca Gómez started drawing illustrations for her mom when she was a child. Now she illustrates for people from near and far, all over the world. She lives in Madrid, Spain.

Editorial Reviews

★ 09/16/2019

This bilingual board book builds language skills while introducing readers to concepts of spatial awareness. Former U.S. Poet Laureate Herrera engages with the idea of distance in simple, elegant sentences in both Spanish and English as Gómez’s restrained digital illustrations suitably mimic the text: “El árbol de limones está lejos de mi casa./ The lemon tree is far from my house.” As the end phrase of one spread becomes the starting phrase of the next (“Mi casa está lejos de la ciudad./ My house is far from the city”), a brown-skinned tot, sometimes walking with an adult, visits a variety of places until the sentences move skyward, leading the child to reflect, home again, that “El sol brilla sobre mí/ The sun shines over me.” Slow page turns encourage pondering everything, near and far, under the sun. Ages 2–5. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

This bilingual board book builds language skills while introducing readers to concepts of spatial awareness...Slow page turns encourage pondering everything, near and far, under the sun.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

This bilingual board book is written in short verse, both in English and simple, eloquent Spanish, ideal for anyone stepping into the language...A serene, effective concept book for little learners.
—Booklist

A bilingual Spanish/English spatial-awareness concept book...Quiet, simple, and sweet.
—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

09/20/2019

PreS-K-These bilingual board books build on their titular concepts. Lejos, whose cover depicts a young boy on a sailboat in the distant ocean, opens with: "El árbol de limones está lejos de mi casa." Next, his house is far from the city, the city from the ocean, and so on, until the repetitive, rhythmic narrative reaches the sun, which shines down on the him back at home. The Spanish text is given preference, situated directly over its italicized English version, while both provide strong story arcs. Full-spread illustrations feature a cool color palette of blues and greens, accented with yellows and reds, while ample white skies provide a strong sense of visual balance. Straight lines form familiar objects, softened by curving roads, winding hills, and rounded faces, all lending a soft feel to this gentle book. Cerca is similarly illustrated, with a young girl protagonist whose round face and eyes are featured up close on the cover. She starts by saying, "Mi cuarto está cerca de la cocina," followed by the kitchen is close to the door, the door to daisies, daisies to an apple tree … until her friend is close. VERDICT These two titles are requisite purchases given their pleasing, predictable narratives and delightful illustrations.-Ruth Quiroa, National Louis University, Lisle, IL

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