I really have to thank my coworker Whitney. She discovered this book first. It was my observing her in storytime that I discovered how approachable bilingual books are. So I did it in My First Books with my Kindergarten kids. They LOVED it!!

This one focuses on opposites. It's simple, yet the illustrations are my favorite. ( )

Adorable opposites, with simple spanish words throughout. really nice bilingual book for younger kids. ( )

Recommended in Bilingual Storytime Basics by Katie Scherrer (Once Upon a Cuento)

Love this book! Perfect for storytime for toddlers and up, it includes Spanish words ("To an elephant, Marta is pequena. Small, very small") and introduces the concept of opposites. It has a moment of danger near the end: "To a snake, Marta is sabrosa. Tasty, very tasty..." but Marta cleverly escapes by climbing up a tree because she is "ingeniosa. Clever, very clever."

Back matter includes Spanish to English translation of adjectives and nouns.
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Re-read October/Octubre 2021 ( )

This is a book about opposites. It is written in both english and Spanish. It is an introduction to Spanish. I think this book would be nice to read for children who re ELL. I would recommend this book for ages 4-8. ( )

Marta is an ordinary girl but to a bug she's huge; then again, to an elephant she's very small. This quick and fun read follows the titular character as she compares herself to a variety of animals she meets in the jungle. Each time she compares herself to an animal, the descriptive word is first given in Spanish before being repeated twice in English. For example, "To a turtle, Marta is rápida . Fast, very fast." Repetition is always appealing to kids; they quickly catch on to the rhythm of the book and start filling in the "very [adjective]" as they listen to a read-aloud. In addition to just being fun, this also helps youngsters to expand their Spanish vocabulary.

The illustrations are relatively light on extraneous details, but they are lively and full of emotion. At the end of the book is an glossary providing all the descriptive words and the animals in both English and Spanish. ( )