iFiesta!

by Ginger Foglesong Guy, René King Moreno (Illustrator)

Enjoy this spirited, fun bilingual counting book.

Horns, airplanes, and tops. Whistles, gum, and rings. What should the children choose? And what will they do with all the things they buy?

Open this book to find out and to count with them—in English and in Spanish. It's easy!

Trompetas, aviones y trompos. Silbatos, chicles y anillos. ¿Qué deben escoger los niños? ¿Y qué harán con todas las cosas que compran?

Abra este libro para averiguarlo, y para contar con ellos -- en inglés y en espanol. Es fácil.

Genres: Spanish Literature, Picture Books, Counting, Mathematics, Childrens, Storytime, Cultural

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Also writes as Ginger Foglesong Gibson.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Spanish counting book - art is fantastic!

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read!

[Mariah Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Fiesta is a unique children's book that follows a group of kids as they prepare for a party. I really like this book because of the wide spread of genres it can be used for. The book would be best used for grades Pre-K to 1st. It uses math and language to capture students minds. The book works on counting. I would use this as a whole class read aloud to review counting. The book is written in English and Spanish so students can practice different languages. I really like how the pictures also help students identify the words with what they are. Fiesta is a realistic fiction because although the story itself is not real, the content they can relate to. The students may have been to a party or even helped plan one so they can relate to the story. Students can make predictions or inferences using background knowledge. This book is very fun and enjoyable to have in your classroom collection.

[Alma Mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This bilingual picture book won the ALA Notable Book and is intended for pre-k aged children. The book is about a group of children preparing for a party. I gave the book a pretty good rating because the book contains a mix of both Spanish and English, which is very great for introducing another language to your little ones or students. Also, the book introduces kids to a different culture, which can open up their mind and be knowledgeable of something other than American culture. The story also contains counting, which can help your little one improve that specific skill as well. Although the book is teaching you many things such as a new language, different culture, and even counting, it is still fun and does not feel like a boring classroom lesson. The illustrations are adorable and support the meaning of the text. Not only can an English speaking child learn Spanish from this book, but you can flip the roles and find that it is also great for native Spanish speaking children to learn English with. This is due to the good mix of both languages and does not overwhelm the reader since the translations are at the bottom of the page.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Colorful bilingual counting book. Una canasta. Dos trompetas. However, when reading these counting books to kids, they DEFINITELY like to point/count each of the items on the page. This quickly becomes difficult by 6 pieces of gum are rather small. Little kids WANT to tap each item and these get hard to single-out each one as the child works on counting.

2.5 that I can't round up. I've read many counting books to kids and although this has nice color, I find the objects too hard to tap/find/count in the 6,7,8,9,10 range.

[Alli Divin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is such an awesome book for children to read because it introduces a new culture to some who may not be familiar with it. By providing spanish and English language, it shows a multicultural approach to a celebration. You could definitely use this in the class during Hispanic heritage topics and to provide students with ideas about another culture outside of theirs.

[Ana DeLoreto · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is told in both Spanish and English, making it a perfect book for bilingual students. It also teaches students about counting, which would be a great integration of mathematics into the lesson. The illustrations only help the students with learning to count along with the story.

[Andrés · Rating 4 out of 5]

Qué más? Qué más? Join these niños as they collect supplies for their piñata! Babies through preschoolers will enjoy this fiesta planning and the soft, slightly fuzzy, colorful illustrations. Text counts to 10 and is in English and Spanish languages.

[Chelsea Kirkland · Rating 5 out of 5]

similar to siesta but differet topic, will use for a bilingual storytime.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

told in both spanbish and english this board book counts things one to ten. cute ending. toddler and up

[Lu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super simple counting 1 to 10 book. Good for beginner Spanish.

Illustrations are like really fuzzy pictures.

[Ryker Geist · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really cute way to practice counting from 1-10 in Spanish.

[Lauri Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bilingual counting book about what is needed for a fiesta.

[Kathryn (Dragon Bite Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written in Spanish with the English translation beneath. As a tool to learn either language it should be effective. It also counts from one to ten in both languages, so it could also be used as a counting book for either language. Through all this, the book actually manages to very succinctly tell a story through its prose and illustrations, albeit I think that it does not tell the more specific story that it intends to tell. Reading this, I read the story of a party prepared for and a party had. The story attempts, I think, to illustrate more specifically the construction and destruction of a traditional pinata, but in that I would say it has not succeeded. The illustrations are too busy and too few to fully illustrate that process, and most of the elements of the construction are not mentioned in the text, the story choosing to focus on the prizes inside of the pinata. Perhaps though the book has done enough as a language-learning and counting book that it might be forgiven and its looser plot accepted.

The illustrations are bright and colorful as one would expect from a book about a party. The children's West Highland white terrier lends continuity to the illustrations.

This book is ambitious, and really quite successful.

[Jessica Farmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why this book? Add to the Spanish/English collection, provide something children may begin to read independently in Spanish or English, and provide opportunities to see one-to-one correspondence and the principal of cardinality.
Genre: Picture Book
Theme/Keywords: Counting, Fiesta, Party
Special Features:
Characteristics of quality: Shopping with baskets, finding horns, toy airplanes, tops, whistles
Gender of primary character: all
Race/ethnicity of primary character: various, mostly Hispanic
Cultural considerations: Illustrations of children visiting a Hispanic marketplace, text matches illustration
Language considerations: Counting book in Spanish and English, not particularly interesting, but may be suitable for independent reading.
Open Ended Question: From your seat, does anyone see five of the same things in the classroom? Cinco?

[Katelyn Spyhalski]

I thought this picture book would be great for students learning to count in another language (for younger readers). It would be useful in any classroom because it is both in English and in Spanish, so it will benefit students who speak both languages. The book helps students learn to count in both languages and also shows how to say various other words. The illustrations allow students to count along and to actually see what is being counted. The illustrations in this book were bright and cheery, great pictures for students trying to learn another language. I think this would be a great children's book for any classroom because learning another language is important whether it is learning English or Spanish, but the book seems to be aimed for an English Language learner.

[Daisy Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really like this book. it is short and simple and i think those are important qualities for english language learners and chidren who are trying to learn spanish. it includes counting numbers in both spanish and english. it also includes phrases that are also in both languages. the best part is that all of the pictures fit perfectly with the story, making it easier for children to transition between languages because no matter what language they speak they can count.

[Laura]

This picture book would be great for students learning to count (or practicing!). It would be great in any classroom because it is both in English in Spanish, so it will benefit students who speak both languages. It can help students learn to count in both languages as well, and how to say various other words. The illustrations allow students to count along and to actually see what is being counted.

[Danielle Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review:

This story was a wonderful multi-culutral book. The spanish vocabulary words would be nice to introduce to young children. Children love anything to do with a party andd fiesta is a new, fun and exciting way to say party.

Learning Experience:

I would have the children make their own pinanta over a couple days time then they could fill it with whatever treats and toys they like. Then we would go out side and hit the pinata and disscuss cause and effect.

[Terry]

A cute story, with a subject every toddler loves: parties. While we have other Spanish books that also offer help in counting and object identification, this was the first one built around a story. Get the review at the Reading Tub.

[Hannah Morrison]

Such a fun book for young Spanish learners. Multilingual children's books are so valuable, every class should have as many as possible. Although the lines are short and simple, the student read it and become acquainted with a foreign language, and these books are also fantastic for our English Language Learners. Fiesta! and Siesta are a must for any early childhood classroom.

[Katie Scherrer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful counting story in English and Spanish, perfect for babies or toddlers. This book can even be worked into a preschool Fiesta/Party storytime. Children shop at the local market for trinkets and toys with which to stuff their piñata. A flannel version of the story is available from Lakeshore Learning.

[Sue Pak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book for learning numbers for the Spanish speakers/readers. It is written in both English and Spanish, and covers numbers 1-10. I think it is a good book for ELLs because this book is pretty simple to read. It has both translations, and also the pictures match with the words. If the children do not understand the words, the pictures will help them understand.

[Christina Camp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written in Spanish with the English translation also written. It is a counting book and a great resource to have especially in a school with a lot of spanish speaking students. This book can be used to help them with their English or for them to help teach some of their classmates a little bit of Spanish. There is also Spanish vocabulary.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ginger Fogleson Guy has written a bi-lingual (English/Spanish) counting book using a shopping trip for a ¡Fiesta! It is an excellent book to teach English first language children some Spanish words and Spanish first language children some English words. The illustrations are soft, colorful and attractive to young children. I use ¡Fiesta! often with children in my classroom.

[Luetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a childrens cardboard book of numbers in both Spanish and English. Great for those using/learning these languages to learn vocabulary. I hope to enjoy it with my granddaugher who will be two in June.

[Ashley Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book as a part of my E337 class lesson plan. I would use this with my lesson plan again to read to help students recognize the numbers in English as well as in Spanish. I would always ask the students what number comes next in English and then in Spanish before I turned the page.

[Becca Dunlap · Rating 3 out of 5]

I very useful tool for Spanish language learners. The entire book leads up to a predictable ending that a class full of students will really appreciate, while learning Spanish words and numbers along the way!

[Katie Scherrer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for counting, parties and shopping themes.

[Daniela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned that I should not give up on reading in english and spanish!