BEBÉ GOES TO THE BEACH

This second Bebé-y-Mamá outing (Bebé Goes Shopping, 2006) takes the team to the beach for a day filled with sand, sun and some more Spanish-language fun. While a bikini-clad Mamá tries to soak up “el sol,” her toddler is “ready to roll.” Playing in “la arena” with his bucket and “pala,” he is soon tasting slimy “alga marina” and breaking apart someone’s carefully sand-sculpted surfboard. This bouncing, energetic toddler gets into all sorts of mischief before finally napping on his towel: “Mamá gets a break now. “At last, descansaré!” / But who had the best time of all? / Sweet bebé!” With her signature Spanish/English rhymes, Elya introduces a gracious plenty of Spanish words interspersed in bold throughout the easily recited text. Salerno’s retro-style, full-colored paintings complement and enhance the linguistic clarity. A glossary provides extra support, particularly for pronunciation. (Picture book. 4-6)