Guji Guji by Chih-Yuan Chen

A few weeks ago, I got a package in the mail with books to review from Kane/Miller Book Publishers. The books I received are written completely in Spanish and I remember that some of you have asked for Spanish only children's book recommendations. These are certainly worth recommending!

Kane/Miller is a small, specialized and very independent book publishing company that carefully chooses it's publications from around the world. They work hard to find books that they feel enrich the lives of American children. Their web site is fantastic and you can look books up by the country in which they were originally published. They do offer many books in English as well.

My kids and I have been devouring them for the past week. Since it is very late, I'll feature only one here, but they are all super so I will have more to recommend in the coming weeks.

Our first choice would have to be Guji Guji by Chih-Yuan Chen. A beautiful story originally from Taiwan, it is somewhat similar to The Ugly Duckling, but it revolves around a little crocodile egg that accidentally falls into a duck's nest. The egg subsequently hatches and the little crocodile is joyful and happy to be a duck. The mama duck, of course, loves all of her little patitos equally, despite one's strange appearance and differences. Trouble arrives in the form of three bigger crocodiles who want Guji Guji to team up with them and trick his unsuspecting duck family into becoming the crocodiles' dinner. How does Guji Guji get out of this mess? You'll have to read the book to find out!

Here's a little sample of the text:

"Un patito de apariencia más bien inusual

salió del cascarón del cuarto huevo.

"Guji Guji", dijo, y ése fue su nombre."

Overall, the illustrations are a little dark compared to what we are used to, but they are no less attractive. They have a folk artsy sort of feel to them, and Guji is just really so adorable. Both you and your kids will fall in love with him. He such a happy little guy.

If you'd like to purchase your own copy of Guji Guji, or check out the Kane/Miller web site, click here.