Mis primeras 1,000 palabras/My First 1,000 Words.
Reviewed by Coop Renner, formerly from El Paso Independent School District, TX -- Críticas, 5/1/2008
Ferrándiz, Elena.
illus. by author.U.S.: Frog, dist. by North Atlantic Books. 2007. 69p. ISBN 978-1-58394-100-3. $15.95.
PreS-Gr 1–This new entry in the "first-words" market is appealing and well organized. The thematic chapters—such as familia/family, sala/sitting (sic) room, animales domésticos/pets, acciones/actions, and calle/street—group simple, everyday words. Some chapters are simply gather small illustrations labeled in both Spanish and English. Others feature a large central illustration surrounded by smaller vignettes depicting specific objects from the larger scene, allowing youngsters to search for the highlighted objects. The bright watercolors are inviting and cartoonish, but the book's Spain/UK slant occasionally rears its head. Spanish-speaking children in the United States are more likely to call pets “mascotas” than “animales domésticos,” and the “chupón” will more likely be known to English speakers as “pacifier” or “binky” than as “dummy.” However, most of the words are familiar to any Spanish-speaker. Less acceptable is the translation of “yo” (I) as “me” and the fact that “rico” (rich) and “mojado” (wet) are illustrated as female characters (in which case the words should be rica and mojada, respectively). Libraries and households that already have a first-words title will not need this addition, but those in the market for an attractive book will be well pleased with this one. Large bookstores will certainly want to carry the title.
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