Cotton Candy is on the hunt for her friend, Peppermint. As she goes from one neighbor to the next, she gets the same response and even less hope of finding Peppermint. No one seems to know where her friend has gone. As she knocks on doors and travels all day long, she questions everyone she encounters, but there is no help to be found. Every food, animal, and object–Cotton Candy tries them all. Will she ever find her friend? Is there anyone at all who can help her?

La Aventura de Algodòn de Azùcar (The Adventure of Cotton Candy), by Tara Giri, tells the story of Cotton Candy, who is on the search for her friend, Peppermint. Each and every character responds to her question with an emphatic “I don’t know.” The book features both Spanish and English text and is a wonderful example of repetitive text. Young readers will benefit from seeing and hearing the same question and answer on each page. Whether they are English or Spanish readers, they will find themselves quickly absorbing the corresponding translation.

Perhaps the most striking feature of Giri’s work is the focus on the use of adjectives. As an elementary teacher, I am glad to see a children’s book focusing on a specific part of speech. It is difficult to find trade books that offer multiple opportunities to practice with adjectives. Giri has given parents and teachers a wonderful teaching tool. The only thing that I did not love about this book was the formatting. On some pages, the text can be somewhat difficult to read where it is layered over the illustrations.

La Aventura de Algodòn de Azùcar is a magical bilingual picture book that will captivate and entertain children as they go on an adventure searching for their missing friend. I recommend Giri’s work to any parent or teacher looking to introduce their children to a second language.

Pages: 32 | ASIN : B0B37Z73QD