Juanito Counts to Ten: A Bilingual Counting Book

 

Written by Lee Merrill Byrd

Illustrated by  Francisco Delgado

•             Age Range: 4 - 9 years
•             Grade Level: Preschool - 3
•             Paperback: 32 pages
•             Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
•             Language: English, Spanish
•             ISBN-10: 1933693126
•             ISBN-13: 978-1933693125

Parents, teachers, and grandparents are always asking Cinco Puntos for bilingual early readers for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children. They want fun books that give kids a delicious feel for the Spanish and English languages. And what could be more fun and delicious than counting kisses? Novelist and children’s book author Lee Merrill Byrd was inspired to write this book one morning when she watched her own four-year-old grandchild Johnny. He was so happy and full of life that he was dishing out kisses for everybody and everything. He kissed his mother, he kissed his father, he kissed Stray Gray the Cat, and of course he kissed his grandmother! He was so happy he even kissed his bossy big sister. That morning he earned the nickname Lover Boy!

Lee Merrill Byrd loves what happens when her grandchildren wander through their bilingual neighborhood in El Paso, Texas. Her first children’s book, Treasure on Gold Street, followed her granddaughter Hannah. Now it’s little Johnny’s turn.

Francisco Delgado, a fronterizo artist, was born in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua in 1974. Through out his life he has resided in both twin cities of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez. Delgado’s artworks reflect the United States and Mexican Border life and speak to the working class of the barrios. His visual language often uses iconic figures like El Chapulin Colorado, George W. Bush, Tin Tan, Lady Liberty, and Luchadores among many others to convey his political narrative. Even though his body of work is political and his message is direct it is delivered with the dark sarcasm and humor that is often found in Mexican, Chicano and Fronterizo Cultures. He attended the University of Texas at El Paso where he received several honorary awards and a BFA. He received his MFA from the Yale School of Art. His paintings have been on book covers, in national art exhibits, private collections and community institutions. Delgado’s first picture book was, Si, Se Puede! / Yes, We Can! And his second book, Juanito Counts to Ten.

Review

"A winning story of love of family and friends." —Kirkus Reviews

"A welcome addition to family, school, and community library bilingual book collections for children, Lover Boy / Juanito el Cariñoso is very highly recommended as a fun and entertaining guide to counting in English and Spanish." —Midwest Book Review

"Byrd and Delgado present a very artistic—and yet very fun-loving—little counting book…Highly recommended for bookstores and libraries." —Críticas

"The enthusiastic text is well adapted by the translator… Delgado's saturated-color artwork is equally exuberant as it portrays a representative Southwestern Latino family. In a market replete with clever concept books, this one will no doubt find its special niche."—School Library Journal

"What a delightful book!" —Oneonta

"The author of the book, Lee Merril Byrd, does an awesome job of helping little ones learn how to count in both English and Spanish…Francisco Delgado’s illustrations are vibrant and the kisses come to life."—SpanglishBaby.com

"Uses kisses in the form of big hearts to count sequentially from one to ten in English and Spanish."—Review of Texas Books