Cynthia

Book Reviewer, Librarian, Embroidery Artist

Thanks @boohqbooks for a digital preview of HOLA HARRY: A HIGH-CONTRAST BILINGUAL BOOK FOR BABIES AND TODDLERS by Katrina S Gallagher, out tomorrow!

This book is visually delightful with modern images for each of the 28 words provided in both English and Spanish. It reminds me a lot of The Noun Project in that the images resemble digital icons with rounded and simple shapes that comfort the eye. I haven’t read many high-contrast books, but I researched a bit and learned they’re helpful for babies and toddlers developing their visual cues and language skills. As adults we may look at a baby book and think they are all the same, but young children are understanding the world at a different level and pace than we are! They need stimulating and engaging content!

I would recommend HOLA HARRY as an addition to my library and in talking to my coworker in Childrens about it, he asked for me to send over the link because it’s always nice to have options for avid readers who come in for something new. My main critique is simply that the book favors Spain and the U.K. given the flags are on the cover and the child’s name in the title is not a Latin American name. As a Mexican-American reader, I noticed some words I translate differently. Some examples are: I say “carro” for “car” instead of “coche” and “calcetines” for “socks” instead of “medias”. I learned “medias” to mean “tights!” This simply shows the wide-variety of dialects and vocabulary used in countries that speak Spanish. I would love to see a brilliant collection of high-contrast bilingual books from creators of all backgrounds!