Please Don't Read This Book

Mi Primer/My First

M: Hey guys! Check out another lovely review from Salome!

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Salome: Bilingual children's books in English and Spanish are very common these days, but it's still very hard to find good, illustrated books originally and solely written in Spanish. So I was pleasantly surprised when I ran into a brand new children's books series by Alfaguara, the Spain-based publisher of the some of the most popular and important literary works in Spanish. The series, called "MI PRIMER" ("My First"), seeks to acquaint very young readers with the works of major, contemporary Spanish-language authors, whose grown-up work, not surprisingly, they publish.

Luckily for little ones who will almost inevitably become fans down the line, one of the first two books in the series is MI PRIMER MARIO VARGAS LLOSA: FONCHITO Y LA LUNA (My First Mario Vargas Llosa: Fonchito and the Moon). Luckily for Alfaguara, the book came out only a few months before the Peruvian author was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.  Vargas Llosa chose one of his favorite topics for this book - the first love.  Of course, he toned it down for kids, but he could not help but pick Fonchito - a character in two of his racier, if not his raciest, novels - as its main character.  In the book, Fonchito wants to kiss Nereida on the cheek, but she'll only let him do so if he passes an important test. The book is, of course, well-written and very cute, but very short, and most appropriate for kids that are way younger than the 9 to 12 year-olds that bookstores selling it claim to be targeting.  Also, as big a fan as I am of Vargas Llosa, I must say that I was equally impressed with the beautiful illustrations by Marta Chicote Juiz, a Spanish illustrator who gives characters a whimsical, pixieish look, and likes to show scenes from unusual angles.

However, of the two current books in the series, the one that charmed me the most was MI PRIMER ARTURO PÉREZ-REVERTE: EL PEQUEÑO HOPLITA (Mi First Arturo Pérez-Reverte: The Young Hoplite). Pérez-Reverte, who, according to the book's jacket, is coordinating the whole "MI PRIMER" series, decided to write about one of his favorite topics - war. And he used his favorite genre - historical fiction.  A former war correspondent for key news outlets in his native Spain, Pérez-Reverte here tells the story of a young citizen-soldier of Sparta in Ancient Greece, who was set to fight Persian invaders in the deadly Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.  This book too is beautifully written, albeit short and also for a younger crowd than it claims.  But I love how Pérez-Reverte succeeds in giving children a first look at ancient history and cultures. I also really loved the cinematic style of Fernando Vicente's beautiful illustrations (I can almost see the animated version of the book!), and look forward to seeing his work in other publications.

Había una vez

Había una vez

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Marirosa Mia: Our second guest reviewer! I’m so excited, and we even went to the same school! Yes, Puerto Rico is very small… so what? I’m also very excited that she’s reviewing one of my favorite childhood collections. But I’ll let Salome take it from here.  

Salome: For my first review of books in Spanish, I wanted to go back to the classics, which in my case means the books we were forced to read in grade school. I looked at a couple of them and found them to be completely inappropriate or plain boring. And then I remembered Había una vez... - yes, Once Upon a Time....

It is, as one may expect from the title, a collection of fairy tales. There's La gallinita dorada (it's The Little Red Hen, but I guess she has a golden tan in the tropics), El Gato con botas (Puss N' Boots), Juanito y Margarita (guess!, yes, Hansel and Gretel) and El pollito pito (Chicken Little), to name a few. But there are also some awesome Caribbean classics like La cucarachita Martina (Martina, the Little Cockroach), which I somehow could recite by heart at age 2 to my parents’ bragging delight.  It also has riddles, starting with the traditional Adivina, adivinador (Guess, guesser), popular songs like ¡Qué llueva! (May It Rain!), and gives kids a peek at some great Spanish language authors, with poems by Lope de Vega, Federico García Lorca, Amado Nervo, and Juana de Ibarbourou. 

I had not seen the book in 35 years, until one of my sisters sent a copy to my Spanish-language-challenged kids.  The book had since lost its hard cover to a more price-efficient paperback form, but everything else remained the same. And I remembered every bit of it - its awesome retro illustrations and selections - as if I had owned it all along.

I believe that what makes it so special is that the stories are written in plain Spanish - well, as plain as Spanish can be - and that the writing is the closest thing to a Pan American Spanish – something like Univision Spanish - that kids in any Latin American country can understand and follow easily. That is often not the case with children's books, particularly if they are published in Spain.  In my children's case in particular, I love the fact that they include such straightforward Spanish versions of the stories they know so well in English.I find it hard to pick a favorite from this awesome treasure, but if I must, I guess I'll go with La cucarachita Martina, because of its Caribbean origins and originality.  It is the story of a hardworking female cockroach - the authors like to point out from the start that she is also very clean - that finds a coin while sweeping the stoop of her house.  After pondering what people would say if she bought this or that, she decides to purchase a box of scented powder, which she immediately puts on before sitting at her doorstep. They never tell you what the powder smells like or what it's made of, but somehow it launches one of the most intense and hilarious marriage proposal scenes in the history of world literature - forget The Bachelorette! Cucarachita chooses Ratoncito Pérez - a quiet mouse - for her husband, but not all ends well.  I won't give away the ending, except to say that it is a bit morbid and, thankfully for us and for the lovebirds - well, insect and rodent - things get resolved in another story in the book. The story, like so many classic children's tales, feeds on gender role stereotypes and marriage obsession, among other evils, but it offers a few twists that redeem the heroine.  The second story also offers a wonderful lesson on the healing and reviving powers (hint, hint) of good will and cooperation.

Y colorín colorado, este cuento se ha acabado!  (That's a longish, yet musical way to say, The End!)

M: That was great! I might hit your sister up for a copy for my future kids!