IN AUTUMN / EN OTOÑO

A bilingual Spanish/English board book about fall.

The book features photos of an Asian child wearing a cheery burnt-yellow outfit—to match the season—against a sky-blue background. Each double-page spread always starts with the lead-in “In autumn…” and then introduces a new fall feature: “leaves fall,” “pumpkins smile,” “apples are sweet.” The child then expands on each phenomenon: “I can fall like a leaf!” “I can smile like a pumpkin!” “I can be sweet like an apple!” On the opposite page readers are asked: “Can you fall like a leaf?” “Can you smile like a pumpkin?” “Can you be sweet like an apple?” The English text is followed by the Spanish equivalent: “En otoño…las hojas caen. ¡Puedo caer como una hoja! / ¿Puedes caer como una hoja?” Young readers will enjoy seeing the child in the photographs falling into the leaves, puffing cheeks up to blow like the wind, or trying to look as scary as a scarecrow. One of the featured events, “squirrels climb,” is not limited to fall, but the child climbing up the ladder still makes for a sweet photo. As the book ends readers are invited to think further about fall with the questions: “What do you like about autumn?” and “¿Qué te gusta del otoño?”

An upbeat introduction to the season for the very young.