In Spring / En Primavera (Seasons/Estaciones)

by Susana Madinabeitia Manso, Emily Hanako Momohara (Illustrator)

In spring, seeds grow. I want to grow like a seed! En primavera, las semillas crecen. ¡Quiero crecer como una semilla! In this bilingual board book, a joyful little boy celebrates all of his favorite things about spring, from seeds growing to puddles splashing.

14 pages, Board Book

Published April 4, 2017

About the author

Susana Madinabeitia Manso is a Spanish teacher and translator. She received her Masters of Arts at West Virginia University and now teaches Spanish at Miami University. Her comprehension of interlingustic and intercultural communication has led her to appreciate the value of a smile. And she smiles a lot.

Reviews

[Sadie Forsythe]

A cute hardboard kids' book, written in both English and Spanish. I thought it was quite clever and the little boy in the pictures is adorable. I have a beginning reader in my household and I can't wait to introduce her to this.

[SL · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a visually beautiful book featuring an adorable little boy talking about all things spring. However, what knocked down the rating from a 4 stars to 2 stars was the Spanish translation. The central phrase that ran throughout this book*—"Don't I make a good rainbow? Don't I make a good puddle? Don't I make a....etc."—was awkwardly and incorrectly translated which ruined the book for me. It was strange, because the rest of the Spanish text was fine! But if the most important phrase of the book that carries the entire narrative (which encourages readers with imagination and open-ended questions) is incorrectly expressed in the additional language, then I can't recommend this.

It sucks, because if it weren't for that glaring error, this book would be great. :/

*I can't call this a story, because it wasn't. It's in board book form but it could be an easy reader based on the style in which it was written.

[Cheryl A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolutely beautiful concept book. The child is adorable, the pictures clear and bright, and fun. I definitely want to read the whole set!

Sandy's review says "The central phrase that ran throughout this book*—"Don't I make a good rainbow? Don't I make a good puddle? Don't I make a....etc."—was awkwardly and incorrectly translated which ruined the book for me."

She's right. The author is a teacher and translator of Spanish, but for some reason the translations here seem really loose and awkward. I advise readers of either Spanish or English to basically make up their own words for the pictures as they go along. For example, when the English says "Don't you think I make a good puddle?" you can read it to your child as something like "Don't you think I am good at splashing?"

And bilingual readers or students might want to rewrite the entire text. It's not long, and it would be a fascinating exercise of comparing the two languages. (Btw, some phrases might not need any changes, at least in some readers' opinions.)

In fact, I might do so myself, because I am trying to start to learn enough Spanish to get along better in the Spanglish-speaking communities in OKC.
---
Ok, my adult son and I translated the book.
The pattern should probably be:
"Don't you think I make a good puddle?" / "?No crees que hago un buen charco?"
or, maybe even better:
"Don't you think I make a good bird?" / "?No crees que soy un buen pajarito?"
etc.
We're not experts, of course, so my main advice stands: do not use this to learn one or the other language, but instead use it because it's cute and make up your own words in your preferred language.

[Nik · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

I really wish I liked this book more than I did. Unfortunately, it ticked all the boxes of things that I personally don't like in children's books. There was no story, there was a repeating sentence that just plugged in a different idea every page, and it hurt my very literal brain (ex: Don't I make a good puddle? No kid, you don't. You're splashing IN a puddle. Big difference.)

Happy ending: I gave this book to my mom because she enjoys bilingual kid's books and she both liked it and promised to read it to her grandchildren.

[Len · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received my copy via a Goodreads giveaway.
I found this book to be fun, clever, and above all, inspiring of creativity in its young readers. The images and bi-lingual text are enjoyable, but the opening up of imagination via appropriate and open-ended questions is the standout feature here.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable pictures and love the fact that I can expose my young granddaughters to another language.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book via goodreads giveaways. It is so adorable. The little boy is so cute. What I really like is we can learn Spanish phrases and not just words. Fun Fun Book.