Contando Fruta con Abuelita By Lilia V. Guerrero, illustrated by Eleyna V. Guerrero (2020) – paperback counting book
Recommended ages: 0 to 3
Contando Fruta con Abuelita is a fun and simple Spanish-language counting book. Mexican-born author, Lilia V. Guerrero, uses the traditional Mexican fruit salad to help children count to ten. A young girl and her abuelita (grandma) head off to the mercado (market) to purchase all of the yummy ingredients. And you can’t forget the diez vasos (ten cups) and chile en polvo (chile powder) to complete the preparations! Illustrator Eleyna Guerrero uses a vibrant and stimulating color palette.
As a Mexican girl who often went to the mercado with my abuelita, I really connected to the cultural aspect of this simple story. But it’s mostly a fun way to learn how to count to ten in Spanish! The text is perfectly bold and large for early readers. Because it is a counting book, this book would have benefited from being printed as a board book. But I know this is a limitation when choosing to self-publish as this author did. My daughter is currently 18 months old and only recently stopped chewing on every book she got a hold of! So with this book, it’s best to read it to your little one until they are able to handle it on their own without chewing the pages.
Take-away message: Counting can be fun if you incorporate it into everyday activities.
About the Author:
Lilia V. Guerrero was born in Guadalajara, Mexico in 1969. She immigrated to the United States when she was thirteen years old, settling in Sacramento, California. She earned her Bachelor of Art degree in Child Development at California State University, Sacramento. She has over thirty years of experience working with children from ages 0-5, and is currently a dual immersion preschool teacher. Through her books, she aims to support Spanish language development while introducing children to her Mexican culture.
TAGS: en español, counting book, STEM, paperback, self-published
