Del Sol Books provides the best Spanish/English/Bilingual Children's Books/CDs/DVDs, featuring Alma Flor Ada, F. Isabel Campoy, and Suni Paz

A collection of animal-themed nursery rhymes in Spanish, from Spain and Latin America, with English translations.  If you liked Pio Peep, Merry Navidad, and Mama Goose, you'll love Muu Moo!

PreS-Gr 2–The creators of ¡Pío Peep! (2003) and Merry Navidad! (2007, both HarperCollins) have put together another treasury of Spanish nursery rhymes. ¡Muu, Moo! is a collection of animal rhymes that includes such beloved favorites as “Una paloma blanca” and “Debajo de un botón,” along with original verses by both selectors. Rather than a verbatim translation of the Spanish, the English versions retain the rhythm and musicality of the originals. Escrivá’s watercolor illustrations include fun details such as a flea dressed up as a bride, a smiling snail, a frog with a big fly stuck in its mouth, and a dancing monkey wearing a frilly yellow dress. In addition to being a perfect resource for bilingual programs, this book will be enjoyed as a bedtime read-aloud.

Author's Note : It is always an immense source of joy to see a new book published. Isabel Campoy and I have been collecting folklore all our lives. We know the soul of the culture lives in these popular expressions that have been shared from generation to generation through the centuries. It is very meaningful for us to be able to share the children folklore bilingually. Children who are familiar with the Spanish language will be able to enjoy the original rhymes, those that are not fluent yet will be able to enjoy them in English, particularly because the English versions have been lovingly and artistically created by Rosalma Zubizarreta to make them as enjoy able as the originals.  These book follows another collection of traditional rhymes, Pio Peep! and one of Villancicos or Christmas Carols, all of them published by Harper Collins with extra ordinary illustrations by Vivi Escriva.  A particular element in MuuMoo is that our wonderful editor Rosemary Brosman, understanding the importance that popular poetry remains alive, by being added upon, encouraged us to add some of our own original animal rhymes to the traditional collection.  We look forward to your comments as you share MuuMoo with your children or students.  May these rhymes continue to live and delight and remain as small treasures in the hearts of children to be held on to forever and some day share with yet another generation of children.

Story Circle Book Reviews : ¡Muu, Moo! is a bilingual collection of seventeen adapted traditional poems and nursery rhymes, from Spain, Latin America, and the United States, centering around animals because the animals interest the young child. Ada and Campoy have included a few of their poems as well. Instead of tranlations, the authors include poetic renditions of the Spanish originals in English, reflecting the charm of the originals.  Ada and Campoy chose the selections for ¡Muu, Moo! based on the ability of the pieces to bridge childhood with ancestral roots for Latino children. They focused on tying the past with the present through the included works. Children who speak English only will still delight in the tender words.  Viví Escrivá's water color illustrations provide culturally rich backgrounds for the poems. The vibrancy and strength of the Latino culture is evident on each page.  Ages: 2-7

Katie's Literature Lounge : Alma Flora Ada and F. Isabel Campoy have compiled a selection of sixteen animal nursery rhymes, shared in Spanish. Rosalma Zubizarreta has compiled the English version of the same sixteen. The animal nursery rhymes found within the pages of this particular title come traditionally from Spain, Latin American and the United States. The rhymes are fun, and beautifully illustrated, helping the youngest of children to make a connection between text and context clues found within the illustrations. The following is a list of animal nursery rhymes found within:

• Martin Found a Mouse
  Debajo de un boton

• Little Brown Duck
  Patito, patito, color de cafe

• The Rooster Cock-a-Doodle-Dows
  El gallo Espolon

• A White Turtle Dove
  Una paloma blanca

• My Dear Little Rabbit
  Mi conejito

• My Donkey
  El burro

• The Meadow Toads
  Los sapitos

• The Cat and the Mouse
  El gato y el raton

• Fly Hushed Frog
  La mosca a la rana

• 'Twas Half an Hour to Midnight
  Las once y media serian

• The Flea's Wedding
  Las bodas de la pulga y el piojo

• Chirp, Chirp
  Cri-cri

• Spring
  Primavera

• The Owl
  La lechuza

• Ramon and His Dog
  Ramon y su perro

• The Musical Cicada
  La cigarra guitarrista

Bilingual books are quickly finding a place in my heart, as I have found out that I will have a child in my preschool class next year whose parents speak only Spanish. In order to ensure the success of this child (with the help of her parents), I want to be sure to reach out to them and make them feel comfortable in helping their child in any way possible. Providing that family with bilingual literature will allow them the opportunity to work with their daughter, and at the same time, pick up on a little bit of the English language they are working hard to learn! Because of this, this is another book that will certainly be included in my "literacy backpack" sets!  Learning/Reading Activity: Because nursery rhymes (and these in particular) feature lines containing rhyming words, use these nursery rhymes to reinforce the concept of rhyming! Download the following worksheet and, while you are reading, have your child(ren) point out (at least) one pair of words that rhyme from each individual nursery rhyme.

Happy Nappy Bookseller : This is a bilingual collection of traditional animal nursery rhymes from Spain, Latin America and the United States. The nursery rhymes are wonderfully fun and great read alouds. The beautiful and detailed illustrations are a perfect fit. The more I look at this book, the more I love it. 

One of my favorite is My Donkey :

My donkey told me today 
his head is hurting, oh my! 
The doector said that he should 
put on a long black tie. 

My donkey told me today 
his throat is hurting, oh my! 
The doctor said that he should 
put on a long white tie. 

My donkey told me today 
his ears are hurting, oh no! 
The doctor said that he should 
wear a black hat just so. 

My donkey told me today 
his heart is hurting, he thinks. 
The doctor decided to give him 
some lemon syrup to drink 

My donkey told me today 
he no longer hurts at all 
The doctor decided to give him 
some apple syrup this fall

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