Let's Be Friends / Seamos Amigos: In English and Spanish / En ingles y español

by René Colato Laínez, Nomar Perez (Illustrator)

Overview

Hi! ¡Hola! A friendship board book in English and Spanish!

Hi. / Hola.
My name is Joe. / Mi nombre es José.
Let's paint. / Pintemos.

Two boys, an English speaker and a Spanish speaker, meet at school. They paint together and learn about colors. In the end, they declare, "Let's be friends. / Seamos amigos.”

The fun friendship story with bright, bold art introduces toddlers to colors with simple words in both English and Spanish. A celebration of friendship for bilingual and monolingual families alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823453115
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	02/14/2023
Series:	My Friend, Mi Amigo
Edition description:	Bilingual Edition
Pages:	28
Sales rank:	946,644
Product dimensions:	4.60(w) x 5.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 3 Years

About the Author

René Colato Laínez is the author of several bilingual picture books, including Senor Pancho Had a Rancho, Vamonos! Let's Go!, and Playing Lotería, which was nominated for the Tejas Star Book Award - the K-6 bilingual counterpart to the Texas Bluebonnet Award. He lives in California, where he teaches a bilingual kindergarten class. Through his work as both an author and an educator, he hopes to help all children develop positive self-images.

Nomar Perez grew up in Ponce, Puerto Rico, where "an amazing array of colors, sounds, and flavors" influenced his artistic life. He is the illustrator of two 2017 Amazon Best Sellers: All Day Long, God Loves Me and Everywhere I Go, God is With Me. He is also a staff artist at American Greetings. Nomar currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

Editorial Reviews

★ "This bilingual beginning reader by Laínez . . . contains a perfect blend of Spanish and English. . . . Laínez’s bilingual teaching background shows through in this well-constructed story, and the simple text works for those learning either language. . . . A fantastic addition to any early childhood classroom."—Booklist, Starred Review
 
"Colorful artwork and detailed pictures keep readers engaged. . . . a simple story with delightful characters for beginning readers or those learning a new language."—School Library Journal

"A joyful story gently highlighting the power of art to connect communities and individuals."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

02/01/2022

PreS-Gr 2—Let's Be Friends and We Play Soccer offer bilingual stories for the very young or for those new to the Spanish/English language. Although Joe speaks English and Jose speaks Spanish, the language barrier does not keep these two kindergartners from becoming friends. Each time Joe speaks, Jose replies by saying the same phrase in Spanish. In Let's Be Friends, the boys learn to share paints as they create beautiful pictures during class. Joe says, "Let's paint," and Jose replies, "Pintemos." In We Play Soccer, the boys learn teamwork as they work together to help their team score the winning goal. Joe says, "Our team is losing," and Jose responds with, "Nuestro equipo esta perdiendo." Colorful artwork and detailed pictures keep readers engaged. VERDICT Both books offer a simple story with delightful characters for beginning readers or those learning a new language.—Martha Rico

School Library Journal

2021-11-16
Two boys, an English speaker and a Spanish speaker, form a friendship as they paint together at school.

Joe and José are all smiles from the second they first meet in their cheerful yellow classroom, invitingly equipped with easels, art supplies, and boxes full of toys and musical instruments. A female teacher warmly beams at the boys as they introduce themselves to each other. José, who presents as Latinx, and Joe, whose ethnicity is ambiguous, first decide to paint the sun and the sky. The winsome pair then propose and agree on additional ideas—such as mixing primary colors together to create new colors—before ultimately deciding to be friends. The story is sweet and bright, with the boys constantly and excitedly complimenting each other’s artwork; however, the plot lacks substance and punch. Joe speaks only in English, and José speaks only in Spanish, their words and actions exactly mirroring each other (“I have an idea! / ¡Tengo una idea!”), making it easy for young readers to build vocabulary in both languages.

A joyful story gently highlighting the power of art to connect communities and individuals. (Spanish-English glossary) (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews