Counting With / Contando Con Frida: A Bilingual Counting Book

Lil' Libros

by Patty Rodríguez, Ariana Stein

Inspired by one of Mexico's most iconic painters, this book will introduce little ones to numbers and their first English and Spanish words.

ABOUT LIL' LIBROS: The Lil' Libros series will introduce bilingual literature to the youngest readers; newborns to three-year-olds. For more information, visit www.LilLibros.com.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Spanish Literature, Counting, Art, Mathematics, Biography

22 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 25, 2016

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente! Really fun book that is very colorful - plus a great first introduction to Frida! I call books like this 'twofers' - they teach children while introducing them to an important figure that they may want to learn more about. Patty Rodríguez has done a wonderful job here - check out more of her books - I sure will!

[Elizabeth]

I love Frida Kahlo, so I was really excited about this book. However, I was disappointed.

The numbers are made out of leaves and are on patterned backgrounds, which made them feel less clear to me than I wanted.

I also wanted more Frida. "One blue house" is Frida Kahlo's house, and I imagine that the "four dresses" are all based on actual dresses of Frida's (or at least one's depicted in her self-portraits), but a lot of it feels really generic, though I know it's drawing on elements in her paintings -- 6 clouds, 7 fruits, 8 parrots, 9 leaves. And 10 toes felt especially random -- it's clearly an image looking down at one's feet while standing in the shower, which given her physical disability post-bus accident seemed a really strange choice (unless it's some reference I'm not getting?).

I did love the illustration of Frida in "three flowers." And "five portraits" has very simplified/stylized versions of "The Wounded Deer," "Self-Portrait as a Tehuana," etc.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rowan enjoys this one quite a bit and is getting better at identifying and naming the different objects we’re counting. And we’re both learning some Spanish along the way—my pronunciation is I’m sure very bad. His counting is still the usual: “One. Two. Three. SIX.”

[Hannah McIver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Picture Book
Awards:
Audience: 2 years old - 7 years old
This book introduces young children to numbers and their first English and Spanish words through engaging illustrations and bilingual words.
This book is classified as an Easy-to-read book because there is a small amount of words per page with simple language.
The texture shown in the illustrations adds to the portrayal of Mexican culture.
This book is appropriate for all readers, specifically to build language during one-on-one story time.

[Christian West · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute! And Frida (and all the people depicted) have amazing eyebrows throughout.

[Anaid Chrietzberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought several of these books for my little boy because I think it's important for him to learn where his family comes from all the while learning the basics. It's fun, drawings are adorable and it's so colorful that it makes it a quick read... and that's saying something considering he never lets me finish a book!

[Katie St.Clair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Counting with Frida or Contando Con Frida (in Spanish) is a lovely bilingual counting book by Patty Rodríguez. The book is simple yet beautifully illustrated and easily accessible for children to have an interesting introduction to numbers and other Spanish vocabulary. The book also lends itself to an in-depth exploration of Frida Kahlo and her artwork. Making up a part of the set by Lil’ Libros, the books help excite children about Spanish through language stories or themed concepts e.g. emotions, shapes and colours. The range of books can be used for bilingual children and new linguists alike and provide lots of exciting learning opportunities. I would suggest the use of the book, or at least language, everyday (for example; using the book as a hook for a Spanish number song to sing at circle time). This will help children to gain confidence and fluency in counting in both English and Spanish.

[Sam Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like it very much, and I think the company, Lil' Libros, is amazing. I am looking forward to checking out the Guadalupe first words book as soon as I can, too. Too bad I already have two amazing counting books in Spanish or this would be on the list.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent primer for counting, colors, Spanish language, or Frida lovers!

[Patience Virtue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Beautifully done, love this book. Can't say enough good things about this book and series.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the illustrations and the premise of this bilingual board book, but Frida's presence is very limited.

[Teddy Farias]

So cute. 10 numbers to learn!

[Kendi Freelain]

Counting With/Contando Con Frida by Patty Rodriguez is a numbers book that introduces children to the number system and the Spanish language. On each page, a number one through ten is shown with an object accompanying it in both English and Spanish. For instance, nine leaves=nueve hojas, and six clouds=seis nubes. In my opinion this book is a great addition to a preschool classroom for both English speakers and ELL’s because it introduces young children to both numbers and basic vocabulary in both English and Spanish, making it an excellent tool for developing early bilingual skills. Going into teaching, I wish that I had more knowledge of the Spanish language to be able to connect with my Spanish speaking students. I guess its never too late to learn:)

[Tracie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy reading and reviewing children's books that I have used in speech therapy with students. The Li'l Libros series is wonderful for young children who speak both English/Spanish or are learning both languages. The use of artists Frida Kahlo or Selena to illustrate stories or concepts (counting, vocabulary, emotions, etc) is a great way to grab the interest of children and adults. This book is colorful, well made and simple/easy to understand. In other reviews it seems the reader has been confused, thinking this was a book ABOUT Frida. It's not. But it is an excellent representation. I will purchase some of the other books in this series for use in teaching concepts and vocabulary.

[Cheryl]

I'm loving these bilingual board books by Rodriguez and Stein, at least the ones clearly meant for tots. The bright clear illustrations are full of love and joy. And it would be so fun to learn some words from the other language through these, whether one is abuela learning English, or me learning Spanish.

Without back matter, I can't be sure of the cultural relevance of this. Are those dresses all ones that we've seen Frida wear in her paintings? And the ten toes at the end? And where is her monkey? I am no expert on Frida, though, so I don't want to find fault where there is none. Leaving unrated; would be a three or a four depending on accuracy.

[Kynleah Bancroft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Counting with Frida is a simple story written for children learning to count and number recognition. I believe Frida Kahlo is such an inspiration and a great woman for children to become familiar with. I love that the story is in Spanish and English, learning a second language especially at a young age is a very valuable tool. The only thing I didn’t like about this book is how the numbers were written on the page, because they were printed in some sort of design. It made them difficult to read and could confuse children and make visual recognition harder.

[Brett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of Kids books gonna be on this feed in the next few years since I'm Daddin' hard so be warned.

Obviously love the Frida Kahlo theme and the bilingual focus of the book, but I was a little underwhelmed with the illustrations and there didn't actually seem to be all that much Frida Kahlo up in here. Since I don't speak Spanish and wish I did, I think I might have gotten more out of this than the baby did. Probably good re-read value though based on the educational value.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

These Lil' Libros are a delightful collection of bilingual board books for teaching first words in English & Spanish. Grounded in cultural inspiration, and with an engaging illustration style, each book is sure to be a hit while it teaches words around a theme in English & Spanish. There is even a bit of a storyline to the order of the words to infer.

[Giselle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is sweet. The first few illustrations were really pretty and incorporated stuff that Frida is known for, such as her flowers in her hair and her paintings. But then the second half is stuff like clouds and leaves. I wish the objects used were a bit more imaginative. 5 Stars for the art, 2 for the lack of creativity so that's my middle ground.

[Cori Weaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Concept
Copyright:2014
Cute book with accurate images displaying not only numbers and their meanings in Spanish, but Frida's life intertwined. Great for young readers and bilingual classrooms. Some of the pages were somewhat hard to read on the background with the color choice for font, but other than that, I loved it

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful artwork! Xander loved it, he did however have trouble reading the numbers because they were artistically drawn and not solid. Probably not best for a counting book, otherwise it would have been a 5. We read this for our summer reading challenge. It was the read a book written by a Latinx author.

[Kelly Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice book. Beautiful artwork. We enjoyed reading it together. Only giving 4 stars instead of 5 because we just like it ok. No extra special love or exceptional qualities but overall very well done.

[Amory Blaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Frida Kahlo and the fact that this counting book is bilingual. The artwork is also adorable. But many of the items to count were so generic - leaves, toes, flowers. Why not make them more specific to the artist, since that's the whole point of the book?

[Earl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apparently this series has been around awhile but it's only recently that I've been seeing them recently. A fun bilingual (English/Spanish) board book series that introduces concepts to babies and toddlers usually with some sort of Spanish influence or reference.

[Chinook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This went over well with the girls and I enjoyed that they were being stealthily introduced to art as they talked about dresses and fruit. I think making the numbers out of leaves was pretty but maybe not all that functional for such little kids.

[Kylie Combs · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great introduction to Frida, her art, her life, and bilingual counting and words! Could easily be used as a tie in for a more lengthy biography of Frida, colors and words, animals., parts of a book, and how to handle and turn pages.

[Madeleine · Rating 3 out of 5]

My baby really likes this book but I feel like they didn’t make much of an effort. A lot of the things you count have nothing to do with Frida (clouds, leaves, etc,) and the illustrations for me were only so so. I wish the numbers were more clear against the background as well.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple and colorful. ¡Me encanta!

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

adorable

[Rosalind Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stared at the photos but didn't have much to say about them