Bilingüe, superhéroe/Bilingual, Superhero

K-Gr 2–This ode to bilingualism presents a charming approach to celebrating the importance of communicating in two languages. A cape-donning boy with brown skin prefers being called Bilingüe (his alter ego) to his given name. A big letter “B” appears on his shirt. He compares himself to a parrot with two tongues, always repeating his own and others’ words in two languages. He loves using his superpower to help his mother get to the right stop on the bus, make sure that his grandmother understands how to take her medication, and explain a teacher’s instructions in class. The text appears in Spanish first then followed by English, giving the former prominence, not often done in bilingual picture books. The narration is sometimes awkward as Argueta tries to incorporate “superhero” lingo throughout. The book ends with an empowering message: “Bravo, it’s so magical, so wonderful, so powerful to be bilingual! It makes you a superhero….” but the ellipses seems to have no function. The illustrations have a chalk feel, done in a vivid color scheme, with Bilingüe’s colors of blues and pinks featured prominently throughout. His cheerful face on every spread will encourage readers. The illustrations don’t always align with the narrative (two parrots follow the boy, even though his original statement speaks of one parrot with two tongues), but the book’s important statement helps readers move past that.