Reader Recommendation: Un pez es un pez by Leo Lionni

When it comes to books, at home we have an extensive library and the Spanish book part of the library is growing! I love how many new books I find now in Spanish and not only in Spanish but in English/Spanish together or in Spanglish. I'm the one in charge of reading in Spanish to the kids, in fact, I usually never read in English to them.

So today I wanted to share my thoughts on one of my favorite books to read to my kids: "Un Pez es un Pez" (A Fish is a Fish) by Leo Lionni. This book has been in my library since I can remember! And it's always been in Spanish - though it comes in English as well, of course. The same book I read to my children is the same one I used to have as a child.

It's not until now that I am reviewing this book that I found out that the author is the illustrator, as well, and that he was a very well-known graphic artist that wrote and illustrated many other books after becoming a grandfather, so interesting! His books are timeless I think, they have a way to survive time including the illustrations, they don't look outdated at all.

The book talks about how a little tadpole and a baby fish become friends, but they separate when the tadpole grows into a frog and leaves the water. Then the frog comes back and tells the grown-up fish all about the other world out of the water and the fish imagines the world in a very unique way, he then wants to get out of the water as well but realizes he can't, and his friend comes in and helps him get back.

The illustrations here are key, they are very graphic and easy to understand for the little ones. I love how the story touches friendship and uniqueness at the same time that it teaches a little bit of how frogs and fishes might grow together and separate afterwards (basic info about the animals!) I also love how it touches on the different points of view that people may have of life that you would never expect because we are all different. I know it sounds complicated but it's not, all this information is given to us in a very simple and classy way.

I always end up talking with my son after we are done. We talk about why the fish thought this or that, and what would happen if he lived out of the water, for example. When a book is still in our conversation after we read it, that means it's great!

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Dariela is a graphic designer and mom living in Southern California with her husband and 2 kids. When she is not reading in Spanish to the kids, she is either writing in her blog, MamiTalks.com, or designing with her sister at DariDesignStudio.com

 

 

 

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