La Madre Goose: Nursery Rhymes for los Niños

Toddler-PreS—A playful collection that interweaves Spanish words into classic Mother Goose rhymes in English. With everything from "María Had a Little Oveja" to "Twinkle Twinkle Small Estrella," Elya presents the familiar rhymes with a twist, following her usual formula of interlingual rhyming text. The Spanish words are presented in bold and italics, and the sentence construction follows an unnatural form of code-switching that doesn't speak to the authenticity of bilingual and Spanish-speaking readers. The book's forte is Martinez-Neal's soft and delightful illustrations, which capture the sweetness and warmth of the tales. Using a variation of single pages and spreads, the illustrator makes the most of each page to enhance the visual experience of children by adding playful characters, Spanish words, and friendly animals. A glossary is appended, which includes the Spanish words used, their pronunciation, and their meaning in English, with the goal of introducing English speakers to Spanish words that are not traditionally used in interlingual picture books. For those interested in a more successful Latino parallel of Mother Goose nursery rhymes, Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy's Mamá Goose: A Latino Nursery Treasury is recommended.