“My name is Gerónimo Pérez, / but everybody calls me Bilingual. / I like my name Gerónimo, / but I like Bilingual better.”
The boy speaks English and Spanish and loves the ease with which he can flip back and forth between the two, “easy as pie, / so smooth, so cool, so beautiful, suuuuper sweet.” He can taste the words—and dance with them too! He explains the instructions for his grandmother’s medications and translates his grandfather’s stories. He helps his mom and anyone else who needs his assistance, whether on the bus or at school. “Sometimes I feel like I’m a parrot with two tongues: / one for Spanish and the other for English.” Gerónimo is a superhero with bilingual powers!
Acclaimed children’s book author Jorge Argueta returns with another compelling story featuring an important theme for all immigrant children: speaking more than one language. With whimsical illustrations by Elizabeth Gómez, this book turns the lore of superheroes on its ear while encouraging kids who are learning multiple languages. Parents and teachers will appreciate both the positivity exemplified by a boy’s endless enthusiasm for his bilingual skills and the reimagining of what it means to be a hero.
Click here to watch Jorge Argueta in the APP Authors Speak series talking about his creative process.
“This ode to bilingualism presents a charming approach to celebrating the importance of communicating in two languages. VERDICT: This picture book’s embrace and adulation of bilingualism makes this a must in ELL classrooms and collections.”—School Library Journal
Praise for the work of Jorge Argueta:
“Argueta’s playful trilingual homage to fire spans its incarnation from spark to lava flow. Full-page blazes of oranges, yellows, reds and indigo underscore the simple narrative of the poem. A gentle exploration of culture and nature.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Fuego, Fueguito / Fire, Little Fire
“VERDICT: With simple verse and vibrant illustrations, this picture book celebrates the power of fire and the author’s Pipil Nahua Indian heritage.”—School Library Journal on Fuego, Fueguito / Fire, Little Fire
“Fire may not receive as much devoted literature as other elements, but Argueta concisely depicts its potential, from its more dangerous manifestations like volcanic eruptions and wildfires to its more familiar presence in our kitchens and campfires.”—Booklist on Fuego, Fueguito / Fire, Little Fire
“A lyrical journey through the water cycle, sure to inspire the imaginations of young readers and listeners.”—School Library Journal (starred review) on Agua, Agüita / Water, Little Water
“With tenderness and humanity, this bilingual book describes the hopes, fears, and uncertainties of the thousands of displaced children that arrive every year at the southern border of the United States… Poignant, heartbreaking, and sadly, timely.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Somos como las nubes / We Are Like the Clouds
“Extremely vital.”—Booklist (starred review) on Somos como las nubes / We Are Like the Clouds
JORGE ARGUETA, the poet laureate of San Mateo County, is a Pipil Nahua Indian and prize-winning poet and author of more than twenty children’s picture books, including Una película en mi almohada / A Movie in My Pillow (Children’s Book Press, 2001) and Somos como las nubes / We Are Like the Clouds (Groundwood Books, 2016), which won the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award and was named to USBBY’s Outstanding International Book List, the ALA Notable Children’s Books and the Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices. His books in the Madre Tierra / Mother Earth series are Tierra, Tierrita / Earth, Little Earth (Piñata Books, 2023); Viento, Vientito / Wind, Little Wind (Piñata Books, 2022); Fuego, Fueguito / Fire, Little Fire (Piñata Books, 2019) and Agua, Agüita / Water, Little Water (Piñata Books, 2017), winner of the inaugural Campoy-Ada Award in Children’s Poetry given by the Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española. The California Association for Bilingual Education honored him with its Courage to Act Award. Jorge is the founder of The International Children’s Poetry Festival Manyula and The Library of Dreams, a non-profit organization that promotes literacy in his native El Salvador. Jorge divides his time between San Francisco, California, and El Salvador.
ELIZABETH GÓMEZ, a Mexico City native, has lived in California for more than 30 years. She has illustrated many books, including Jorge Argueta’s award-winning A Movie in My Pillow / Una película en mi almohada (Children’s Book Press, 2001). She received her master’s in fine arts from San Jose State University.
