Close/ Cerca and Far/ Lejos

Written by Juan Felipe Herrera. Illustrated by Blanca Gómez.

           *Age Range: 2 - 5 years
*Grade Level: Preschool - Kindergarten
*Board book: 14 pages
*Publisher: Candlewick; Bilingual edition
*Language: English/ Spanish

Some things are close — cerca. Others are far — lejos. With sweet simplicity, these charming dual-language board books engage young children.

El árbol de limones está lejos de mi casa. The lemon tree is far from my house.

The little boy’s house is far from the city, and the city is far from the ocean. What about the mountains in the distance, or the clouds in the sky, or the sun that shines over the boy as he walks?

Mi cuarto está cerca de la cocina. My bedroom is close to the kitchen.

As she walks from her kitchen through a daisy-filled yard to the house next door, a little girl notices things that are close to each other — just as the little boy she goes to visit is close to her.

Juan Felipe Herrera is a poet, artist, and activist. He was the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017. He is the creator of Jabberwalking and the author of Imagine, illustrated by Lauren Castillo. He lives in Fresno, California.

Blanca Gómez started drawing illustrations for her mom when she was a child. Now she illustrates for people from near and far, all over the world. She lives in Madrid, Spain.