How to Speak in Spanglish

How to Speak in Spanglish
Co-Authors / Illustrators
Age Range
4+
Release Date
August 22, 2023
ISBN
978-0593521809
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In this charming and delightful picture book, Sami shares the joys of Spanglish with his skeptical abuela and diverse community.

Sami loves to speak both English and Spanish. But he doesn't just speak them one at a time. He speaks in Spanglish! Sometimes, he makes brand-new words—like "lonche"—and sometimes, he puts the languages together in one sentence, like when he's hungry for jamberguers con papas fritas.

But not everyone likes Spanglish. Abuela thinks that Spanish should be spoken at home and English at school. And to make matters more complicated, Sami's not allowed to write his homework in Spanglish.

At first, Sami feels confused and frustrated. But with the support of his family, friends, and neighbors, Sami soon realizes that his unique identity should be celebrated. Hooray, muy bien, Sami!

Editor review

1 review
An Expression of Uniqueness
Overall rating
 
4.8
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
5.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
4.0
Many multicultural books speak of working between worlds and doing one thing under certain conditions and another under others. What was interesting about this book is the celebration and freedom that come from the idea of mixing multiple languages together into a unique format. Sami loves to let his English and Spanish mix and flow as an expression of his uniqueness. However, more traditional family members do not always approve and his friends do not always understand. This book will resonate with bilingual students who face the same challenges. Through context, the Spanish and Spanglish used can be figured out, but I love the glossary in the back that correlates the Spanish, English, and Spanglish used in the story. Language is always evolving and the American Language is robust in words from many influences. In time, many of these Spanglish words could be used in everyday dialogue and that idea is very neat.
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