¡Olinguito, de la A a la Z!: Descubriendo el bosque nublado / Olinguito, from A to Z!: Unveiling the Cloud Forest

by Lulu Delacre, Lulu Delacre (Illustrator)

Overview

Using the framework of the Spanish alphabet, this bilingual nonfiction book introduces readers to a cloud forest in the Andes; the plants, animals, and other organisms found there; and the newly-identified olinguito, a South American mammal.

Alto, allá arriba en los Andes brilla un bosque bordado de bromelias...

High up in the Andes blooms a brilliant forest embroidered with bromeliads ...

With lyrical text in both Spanish and English, we travel to the magical world of a cloud forest in the Andes of Ecuador. We discover the bounty of plants, animals, and other organisms that live there as we help a zoologist look for the elusive olinguito, the first new mammal species identified in the Americas since 1978. Not your usual ABC book, the alphabet is an organizing feature to introduce children to rich vocabulary as they learn about a unique environment.

Thoroughly researched and exquisitely illustrated with colorful, realistic images, the book is a visual delight while it provides a wealth of information. Backmatter includes articles about cloud forests and the discovery of the olinguito in 2013, and an extensive glossary with the scientific names of the species pictured. This is a unique book to treasure on many levels.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780892393275
Publisher:	Lee & Low Books
Publication date:	02/01/2016
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	263,361
Product dimensions:	9.80(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD730L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Lulu Delacre is a bilingual author and New York Times Bestselling illustrator of children's books. Winner of several Pura Belpré Award Honors and an Orbis Pictus Honor, Delacre was a juror for the 2003 National Book Awards. A native of Puerto Rico, Delacre lives with her husband in Silver Spring, Maryland. For more information, visit luludelacre.com.

Lulu Delacre is a bilingual author and New York Times Bestselling illustrator of children's books. Winner of several Pura Belpré Award Honors and an Orbis Pictus Honor, Delacre was a juror for the 2003 National Book Awards. A native of Puerto Rico, Delacre lives with her husband in Silver Spring, Maryland. For more information, visit luludelacre.com.

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/26/2015
In a bilingual, wildlife-themed alphabet book, readers explore the Ecuadoran Andes, joining a visiting zoologist on the hunt for a “dozing olinguito” (an extensive afterword explains that the olinguito, similar to a raccoon, was only first identified in 2003). Most of the alphabetical alliteration appears in the Spanish phrases (“Nubes, niebla y neblina anidan el noble bosque nublado” translates as “Clouds, fog, and mist nestle in the noble cloud forest”), placing a firm emphasis on that language throughout. Delacre’s (How Far Do You Love Me?) fluid mixed-media collages capture the jungle environment in eye-catching splashes of patterns and color, and the zoologist can be seen in the distance of the images, providing a seek-and-find element. A rich and layered trip to the Andean cloud forest that revels in the miracles of biodiversity. Ages 6–10. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

* "Three-time Pura Belpré honoree Delacre combines two things—wildlife science and the alphabet—something hardly uncommon yet executed here with uncommon skill. Though the book is bilingual, its slight emphasis upon Spanish over English is not only appropriate, it should work to spark the curiosity of kids fluent only in the latter... Everything here in is perfect harmony." — Booklist, starred review

* "Poetic and informative, a breath of fresh air in the too-often-contrived world of bilingual books." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "A rich and layered trip to the Andean cloud forest that revels in the miracles of biodiversity." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

* "VERDICT A great addition to school and public libraries." — School Library Journal, starred review

"Delacre's graceful text, first in Spanish on each page and then just below in English, offers plenty of new words for speakers of either language — or both. A glossary, a description of each creature and a summary of the scientific story of the olinguito round out this splendid, more-than-an-alphabet book." — The Washington Post

ALSC Notable Children's Books - American Library Association (ALA)
Best Books - Kirkus Reviews
Capitol Choices
Junior Library Guild Selection
Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction Honor - National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
Riverby Award for Young Readers - John Burroughs Association

From the Publisher

★ 02/01/2016
Gr 1–4—Delacre uses a creative A–Z format to write a description in verse of a cloud forest, or a moist ecosystem found in tropical areas, in the Andes. The author mentions different animals or plants located here; each page features foliage or creatures related to a different letter of the alphabet. The text is lyrical, and the mixed-media illustrations are vibrant and striking. This book would make a wonderful resource for students who are learning about forest environments or different animal species. Further information about the cloud forest, with an animal and foliage glossary, is appended. VERDICT A great addition to school and public libraries.—Melissa Martinez, Pantoja Charter School, PA

School Library Journal

★ 2015-11-11
By means of the alphabet, this bilingual book introduces the cloud forest habitat of the olinguito, a recently discovered mammalian species from the Ecuadorean Andes. Via text that reads like poetry, readers join a zoologist in the cloud forest of the Ecuadorean Andes as he searches for the elusive olinguito. Using the alphabet as a device, Delacre presents the habitat of the olinguito. By focusing on the habitat rather than the animal the author reinforces the important concept of interconnectedness. In a nice departure from the usual bilingual book produced in the States, Spanish is presented first, and the alphabet includes the "ñ." In another welcome departure, both languages have been allowed to breathe and sound fluent. The Spanish text, often alliterative, hews closer to the corresponding alphabet letter than the English does; if it doesn't work for the English text the author has allowed it to be so. For example, "Pp: Pica, pica, picaflor del paraíso de las palmas de cera / A hummingbird sips nectar in this paradise of wax palms." The beautifully detailed mixed-media artwork urges readers to look closely, and the author further encourages exploration by listing some of the things readers can go back and search for in the illustrations. The book is rounded out with bilingual backmatter. Poetic and informative, a breath of fresh air in the too-often-contrived world of bilingual books. (author notes, glossaries, author's sources) (Bilingual informational picture book. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews