Flutter & Hum / Aleteo y Zumbido: Animal Poems / Poemas de Animales

by Julie Paschkis

Beautiful poems in English and Spanish celebrate a wide variety of animals in this bilingual kids book Flutter & Hum / Aleteo y Zumbido

All sorts of animals flutter and hum, dance and stretch, and slither and leap their way through this joyful collection of poems in English and Spanish. Julie Paschkis's poems and art sing in both languages, bringing out the beauty and playfulness of the animal world.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Animals, Spanish Literature, Nonfiction, Childrens, School

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 17, 2015

About the author

I was born in 1957 and grew up in Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. I have a brother and two sisters. My parents encouraged us to make things, to read, to draw and to play outside.

I attended Germantown Friends School, Ringerike Folkehogskole in Norway, Cornell University and the School for American Craftsmen at RIT, where I got a BFA. I have a teaching certificate from UW and I taught art to children for several years, mostly at the Bush School.

Since 1991 I have been painting and illustrating full time. I have had many shows of my paintings and of various other work (including cut paper, embroidery and bread). I illustrate books. I design fabric and make quilts. My work flows in many directions, but all of the ideas and creations are connected. The work I do in one area inspires the work in others. Ideas beget ideas.

I live in Seattle with my husband Joe Max Emminger. He is a painter.

I still like to make things, to read, draw and play outside.

Reviews

[Stephanie ((Strazzybooks)) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming poems, beautiful illustrations. I loved the play with Spanish and English, especially the perfectly chosen words hidden in the artwork.

[Laura Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are living in a new golden age of children's picture books. Every time I think I have just discovered a new classic I find a brand new title I am in love with. Flutter and Hum is simply gorgeous. 12 poems in English and in Spanish. So creative and warm. The earth tones are spectacular. Possibly Julie Paschkis' best work-so far.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

English and Spanish Words spill through the pages, not just in the poetry but in the images. This fun and lively edition of poems beckons children to page through the sounds and movements of a turtle, snake, heron, whale, and more. It is playful and inviting. Neither a poet nor a Spanish speaker, Julie Paschkis taught herself both using Chilean Poet Pablo Neruda as her inspiration. Bravo. 4.5 stars.

[Hailed P-T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta colección de poemas esta en inglés y español. Este libro es una colección de doce poemas que se tratan de la belleza y variedad que hay en el reino animal. En cada extensión de dos páginas aparece un poema de un animal específico. En la primera página aparece el poema en inglés seguido por otra versión en español, pero no directamente traducido. El lenguaje es poético e incorpora rima, aliteración y asociación de palabras. Las ilustraciones inspiradas por el arte folklórico apoyan plenamente el significado del texto. Incluye una nota del autor. En estes libro lleno de poemas; los animales se discriben usando una variedad de verbos tales como aletean, saltan, zumban, bailan, estiran, deslizan y saltan lo cual hace que los poemas sean alegres. El libro muestra que en la belleza del reino animal existe mucha variedad. Los ninos aprenderan que los animales forman una parte importante del mundo en que vivimos. Este libro puede formar parte the una unidad de estudio de poemas, rimas, lenguaje poetico o figurado, o ciencias naturales; en los grados primero a cuarto.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars

The illustrations are so much a part of the text; they brilliantly complement the poems. So amazing and enjoyable.

[Alexandra Ibberson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book of poems by Julie Paschkis. All the poems are about animals. The poems are written in both English and Spanish. Because the poems are simple and they are about a wide variety of interesting animals, they would appeal to younger children. Many of the poems are alliterative or rhyming and they are silly and fun for kids. I really love how the poems are offered in both languages. Children can be exposed to a new language and bilingual children will enjoy having the poems in both their home language and another language. In addition, the illustrations are colorful and quite beautiful.

[Deania · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good poem book. It is in English and Spanish which is good for those who who are bilingual. The pictures are good and there are words written on the pages on leaves and other items in the book.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, Julie Paschkis. One of my all-time favorite illustrators. And in this gorgeous picture book, she wrote all the poems, too - in two languages! Some of them just sang out to me. Others didn't. She wrote them first in Spanish, then translated to English. Her illustrations are luscious. A feast for the eyes. The few poems that weren't fives for me sounded GREAT in Spanish, even though I couldn't understand a word!

[Kaila · Rating 3 out of 5]

My students engaged in this book during the lessons on parts of speech. I had already taught the lesson, but I wanted to close using some type of text that I knew would stick with the kids. It is an easy read and the students in my first grade class was able to manage using this book in the lesson .

[Mary Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the simple poems with delightfully playful figurative language in both English and Spanish.

Here's my favorite: DOG

"The shaggy dog
wiggles, wiggles
squirms
and leaps.

His wagging tail
fans wild happiness
into the wide world."

[Ampersand Inc. · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Ali
****

From Saffron:
****

[Sunah Chung · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poems in relation to animals were written in English and Spanish. By juxtaposing two versions of poems on each page, readers could enjoy each poem in two languages with exotic illustrations.
As someone who has not learned Spanish, I could not read the Spanish version. But I could recognize the similar words in English which may have the same origin of a word such as snake, serpent, and la serpiente. It was also interesting for me that the author is neither a poet nor a native Spanish speaker. Julie Paschkis wrote the poem in Spanish first, and then translated it in English. I admire her enthusiasm to learn new language and write a poem. Illustrations of the poems are smoothly connected to the texts in two languages. I bet the illustrations also reflect the Spanish cultures which look exotic from my perspective and encourage me to give 5 stars to this picture book. Diverse vocabularies are embedded in illustrations as well. My favorite poems in this book are titled in Crow, Owl, and Fish. I hope to read more picture books which adopt diverse languages and cultures.

[a heron ♡︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading aloud both panels of poetry—the English and the Spanish. “La Gata” was a jumble of fun in Spanish:
“La gata gorda/se duerme en un mapa./ Cuando se levanta/ se estira/ desde Arequipa hasta Zanzibar/ y su barriga choca contra Topolobampo./ La gata elastica.”

I found the illustrations to be enchantingly reminiscent of my travels in Costa Rica. The bright colors, the usage of patterns and movement. But what was perhaps most astounding about this little nature collection was the author’s note. As I read each poem, I felt certain that the author was a native Spanish speaker. Her poems sparkled and shined far more in Spanish than in English where the words often fell flat and lacked the musicality of its Spanish counterpart. It was a true shock to learn that the author is a native English speaker who had fallen in love with and was inspired by Pablo Neruda’s work. That her first drafts were in Spanish and her edits were in English. I admire, greatly, her experimentalism and fantastic usage and control of the Spanish language. This has definitely inspired thoughts as to where creativity and expression comes from—and how often it resides in the experiment.

[Shaye Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julie Paschkis was both the author and illustrator of this book. And the art work, alone, makes this book delightful! Interestingly enough, she claims she's not a poet. Furthermore, even though English is her primary language, she wrote the first draft of each poem in Spanish. She says, "My English is more flexible, so it came second." The illustrations are done with Winsor & Newton gouache on Arches paper. She includes a number of English and Spanish words mixed and hidden within the art work. If I could, I would probably give this book a 4.5. I taught a number of elementary classrooms with a high percentage of Hispanic students and I would have loved to have this book back in the day. Very enjoyable!

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, on the 2016 list of notable poetry books selected by a NCTE committee, is a bilingual anthology of animal poems. Each page features a different animal with a poem in English and Spanish. The poems are not completely direct translations, but rather ones that keep the meaning the same despite not using the exact same words. In the author’s note, she explains that the always wrote first in Spanish and then English because her English is “more flexible.” The pictures are gorgeous, and full of other words that describe the scene. This book would be great to read at any age in elementary, but I think would be excellent to use in talking about imagery in poetry at the higher end of the elementary school. An especially great choice for a bilingual or ESL classroom.

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was okay. The pictures were interesting, but they didn't really excite me. A couple of the poems were fun, but the rest were just okay. However, I read this to three different classrooms and the children enjoyed it, especially the Spanish-speakers. They helped me with my Spanish pronunciations. And they really seemed to feel more connected with the book. This would be a great book for English-language learners.

[Luis Moreno · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book like this one can only be done if both the writer and the illustrator are the same person. I could almost say that there are no words needed besides those in the illustrations. I could spend hours looking at the pages of this book. The illustrator masterfully chooses the words in both English and Spanish offering a double reading experience.

[Ellon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. The words and the illustrations. I love the concept as well. Great for students learning English or Spanish because they can see the words in the other language on the other page. Or even if you aren’t learning one of the languages, it’s still nice to see the writing and explore the words a bit.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book goes beyond being bilingual. It uses Spanish, English and art to bring the reader into each page and poem. The pictures don't simply illustrate the poetry, they are part of the poetry. Simply amazing.

[Kolbe Bales · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book with great poetry. I'm so glad she decided to write the poetry. Her illustrations are very special; there is so much to see. I love that the poems are in both English and Spanish. It's a great addition to my classroom poetry collection.

[Rachel Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illustrations are very eccentric but bright and beautiful. I like that the poems don't rhyme.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good.

[Eduardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still stunned by the beauty of these illustrations. Great work blending drawings and words.

[KC · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly loved this book, the illustrations and the poems both in English and Spanish.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poems about animals in both English and Spanish (facing pages)
Large fanciful illustrations by the poet on each page
Nutmeg Book Award Nominee 2020, Elementary Division

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love reading each animal poem in English & Spanish. The illustrations have words written in English and Spanish that are beautifully incorporated into each page.

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poems in both English and Spanish. Lovely art.

[Joleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book to read with a child learning to read.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great. I especially loved the authors note

[Susanna Hargreaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect book for teaching poetry, about animals, Nature, bilingual learning, or Spanish themes. With each poem are beautiful illustrations and also the poem is in Spanish next to it.