Besos for Baby: A Little Book of Kisses

by Jen Arena, Blanca Gómez (Visual Art)

An adorable English/Spanish bilingual eBook that proves that love is the same in every language.

Features:
Read-Aloud functionality [where available]

Book Description:
Everyone has kisses for Baby, from Mami and Papi to perro and gato. Using simple Spanish words, Besos for Baby proves that love is the same in every language!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Spanish Literature, Love, Family, Storytime, Fiction

22 pages, Board book

First published September 2, 2014

About the author

Jen Arena is lucky to have been surrounded by great children’s books her whole life. As a teenager, she worked at a children’s-only indie bookstore in Pennsylvania, and after graduating from college, she made her way to New York City, where she found a job in children's book publishing. Since then, she’s written many books for kids. She recently left New York and now lives in Florida, surrounded by sunshine, palm trees, and really weird birds.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book with wonderful art.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute book that is not quite bilingual but includes besos(kisses) and also has other terms in the back. The illustrations are fun and the topic age appropriate. I could easily see a parent & child reading this book and giving kisses throughout.

[Colette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it! Not only did I read every word, but I understood every Spanish term! Besos was one of my first words in Spanish I learned, kissing my sweet Alex, my first grandbaby. Very sweet books to share with the very young!

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this little bilingual book. It's a fun little intro to Spanish that I sometimes read during my storytime for babies. The parents like kissing their babies as we go through the book with the girl getting besos from Mami, Papi, perro, mariposa, and all the rest. Very sweet.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would be great for Baby Story time. Adoreable!

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an English/Spanish board book with sweet, cute illustrations and a picture/Spanish word glossary at the back. Mommy, daddy, doggy, flowers, the wind and more all give kisses or besos.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute. Kisses for baby on every page!

[Bethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful and adorable introduction to basic Spanish words for the youngest readers. Illustrations are so cute.

[H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este libro es una manera pequita a aprender español. Los niños lo amarán.

[Orion Kopf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy adorable

[Kelly O’Reilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read this (nightly) I can practically feel my baby boy getting older and it makes me glad that for now he loves a story punctuated by kisses from his mami. Bonus points for two languages.

[Savannah Cone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Mami, Papi, perro and gato all have kisses for bébé! This bilingual book shows that love is the same in every language. SO. DANG. CUTE.

Genre: Picture Book (Board). Awards: N/A. Audience: 4-5.

A. It is board material. Thick pages and a smaller shape. Also, the words are big, bold and simple.
B. Ugh, it’s so cute. I really appreciated the active presence of the heart shape throughout the illustrations. The butterflies are heart shaped along with the birds, some flowers, lips, and more. This perfectly couples with the message of (consensual) kisses tied with love and affection.
C. Build language. The repetition of words like “kisses” and “besos” goes well with an action which helps build language (in two languages! double win).

[Jessica Sims · Rating 5 out of 5]

sweet and catchy :) 6/50 with Soph.

[Isabel Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

What's one thing most babies love? Being smothered with kisses, or besos! Besos for Baby is all about a little baby girl getting all sorts of kisses from her parents, pets, and more. At the very end of the book, author Jen Arena includes a vocabulary key to recap all the Spanish words that she introduced throughout the story. All-in-all this book makes a solid option as a companion story in a small-sized storytime about Valentine's Day, bilingual tales, and families. It would be super adorable and interactive to have the participants make a kissing sound or blow and air kiss everytime you read the word, "besos."

[Adrianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Besos for Baby: A Little Book of Kisses" is a cute board book. Throughout the book, Spanish words are incorporated. I would not categorize this as a bilingual book since the translations are not word for word. I though Blanca Gomez did a fantastic job illustrating this board book. I really liked the page where it states "The sun shines kisses in a golden blur." I also liked that the author, Jen Arena, at the end of the book included the English and Spanish definitions for words incorporated throughout the book i.e. doggy is perro in Spanish, butterfly is mariposa in Spanish, and sun is sol in Spanish.

[Kristen Hylton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great for babies and very young children! It's a bilingual book, and on each page the child gives kisses/besos to someone or something new. I asked the children and caregivers to blow kisses with me and the child in the book, to their mothers and fathers and cats and dogs, etc. At the end I asked the kids if they wanted to give besos to anything or anyone else, and we blew kisses to cookies and grandparents and cozy pajamas. :)

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a traditional bilingual book in the sense of having the same text presented in both English and Spanish. Instead, this board book includes a main storyline in English with a repeating refrain of "Besos [character] besos" as the baby lavishes kisses on the various other characters.

[Eva_Amaré · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned some new words! In Spanish! And mama gave me lots of besos as we read. Really enjoyed this book and Amaré slept in for a change, so I had lots of time to turn the pages and look at the pictures this morning. 😘😘

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute!! I would've liked more Spanish, but I smiled as I imagined reading it to mi niña and laughing at kissing the perro y gato. En el futuro? Posíble. For now I left it on the shelf.

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very sweet and cute

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple Spanish/English bilingual board book.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet book about kisses, that includes a new Spanish word for baby to learn on each page.

[Scooby · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 3yrs old loved it.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful bilingual board book!

[Haveyoureadthat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I was bilingual. My command of Spanish is very limited, but my goal is to introduce Savanna to an additional language outside of English.Besos (kisses) For Baby is such a fun book to share with your little when attempting to introduce Spanish into their vocabulary. The book highlights a few different Spanish words that even a non-Spanish speaker can read. I love the bright colors and the corresponding illustrations that went with the Spanish words.
Areas of language that can addressed: color identification, labeling, responding to questions, and vocabulary.
Question: Are you bilingual?

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Besos for Baby is more of a book for English speakers than a bilingual book I think, but I was always eager to add the music of Spanish into my kids' routine. A charming little rhythmic book which will probably become a kissing tradition in families who read it. I like how the author moves from real relationships to metaphorical kisses in nature. Also like the pictorial vocabulary summary at the end.

[Emily Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very simple and cute bilingual book. Rather than a book with the same words in English and Spanish, this book mainly tells the story in English and follows up with “besos” on the following page. (i.e. “Besos, gato, besos.”) Nicely done and a cute way to introduce Spanish words. I especially like the inclusion of English to Spanish translations at the end to remind of the Spanish words presented throughout the story.

[Bianca Sy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Baby - Bebé
Mom - Mamá/Mami
Dad - Papá/Papi
Dog - Perro/Perra
Cat - Gato/Gata
Sun - Sol
Wind - Viento
Flowers - Flores
Butterfly - Mariposa
World - Mundo
Kisses - Besos

I liked what I have learned from this. :)
I would recommend this book for those non-Spanish speakers who would like to start learning or teaching their kids the Spanish language in a fun way.

[Alexis Ramirez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Besos for baby is a wonderful children’s book about kisses for everyone and everything. I really love the illustrations in the book and the use of the Spanish language throughout. It even has a chart of the English translation for every Spanish word used in the book with pictures of the object. A perfect way for youngsters to be introduced to the Spanish language!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute board book! This is the greatest kind of bilingual book for young ones. The English and Spanish are mixed together from the beginning and blend perfectly.

Great for toddler or baby storytimes.