Three Friends: A Counting Book/Tres amigos: un cuento para contar

One of the first bicultural and bilingual books we ever read, was On the Pampas by María Cristina Brusca. It immediately became our favorite Latino children’s lit read, and in the top three of all the books we own. It was also the inspiration for the LBBC (see my review of it here.)

It is a shame that Brusca only wrote a few more children’s picture books, one of which is Three Friends: A Counting Book/Tres amigos: un cuento para contar. Brusca illustrated and co-wrote this book with Tona Wilson back in 1995, but the story is still as engaging and action-packed today as it was then. A "rollicking" good tale about the adventure of one vaquero, a vaquera and their caballo as they attempt to round up a few vacas. Full of southwestern imagery and subjects, the illustrations are so well done that they could tell the story without words. However, each scene is accentuated with simple text - a sentence in both English and Spanish – that counts upwards from uno a diez, then back down again.

This book has captured my kids’ imagination, and I highly recommend it for familias with young children. And be prepared for more reviews of Brusca’s picture books, as I am now determined to find them all!

It is hard to find these books new, but there are a few used and new ones in our on-line store here.

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Also, I’d like to mention that since we had a request (Tati!) for more bilingual books with simple text and vocabulary for preschool, we’ve been doing some research. I’ve gone ahead and added some new categories in our shop, including one for abecedarios, color and counting books and another Para Bebés. There are some great ones in there, so be sure to check them out. And browse our English Classic Translations for your favorites in Spanish.