SAY HOLA TO SPANISH
by Susan Middleton Elya & illustrated by Loretta Lopez
Sunny illustrations and a rhyming text introduce 70 Spanish words in surprisingly straightforward English sentences: ``A dog is a perro,/a cat is a gato./You drink from a vaso/and eat from a plato.'' In addition to providing translations for those who need more help than is supplied in the decidedly Western-flair illustrations, the glossary also insures that the newly bilingual get the pronunciation right. The progression of determinedly happy pictures begins to spring surprises midway through the book; these are sometimes simply amusing (a UFO appears over the increasingly chaotic action) and sometimes verging on the surreal (a fiesta- loving shark swings a bat). The text also includes words (burrito, pi§ata, mosquito) that are identical in the two languages. Outwardly, this book by two newcomers looks like a language lesson from Looney Tunes. Then—¤sorpresa!—it turns out to be innovative, useful, and fun. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-10)