Con Pollo: A Bilingual Playtime Adventure

by Jimmy Fallon, Jennifer Lopez, Andrea Campos (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Jimmy Fallon is back 'con pollo'! And what's even better? Jimmy is con world-renowned icon, Jennifer Lopez! In this adorable bilingual adventure, you'll learn the basics of Spanish alongside a plucky chicken named ... Pollo. Con illustrations by Andrea Campos, the latest from Jimmy and Jennifer is the perfect engaging storytime.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Con Pollo: A Bilingual Playtime Adventure is an engaging and hilarious picture book that serves young readers as an introduction to basic Spanish vocabulary, brought to life by superstar team-up Jimmy Fallon and Jennifer Lopez.

Meet Pollo, a friendly little chicken who just wants to play. And play, and play, and play all day!

Pollo makes any activity more fun. Why just go to the beach when you could go to la playa con Pollo?

Do you want to play soccer, or play fútbol con Pollo?

Do you want to go dancing, or bailar con Pollo?

Whatever you decide to do, you're in for a busy, adventurous day with your new friend, Pollo!

Illustrated by Andrea Campos

Praise for Con Pollo:

"A balance of pedagogy and pure visual fun, smartly gauged for budding curiosities and short attention spans." —Publishers Weekly

"A hilarious read that also serves as an introduction to Spanish vocabulary." —People

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250830418
Publisher:	Feiwel & Friends
Publication date:	10/11/2022
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	24,306
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Emmy and Grammy Award winner Jimmy Fallon is the author of #1 New York Times-bestselling children’s books Your Baby’s First Word Will Be DADA, Everything Is Mama, This Is Baby, and 5 More Sleeps ‘Til Christmas. He lives in New York with his wife, Nancy, their two daughters, Winnie and Franny, and their dog, Gary.

Jennifer Lopez is an award-winning actress, producer, singer, entertainer, and businesswoman who has helped build billion-dollar brands and has established herself as one of the most influential artists in history, with over 15 billion streams of her music and videos.

Andrea Campos is a Latinx illustrator, author, and photographer based in sunny California who specializes in creating expressive and upbeat work that makes you want to smile.

Editorial Reviews

08/29/2022

With assistance from Pollo (“rhymes with Fro-Yo”), television host Fallon and entertainer Lopez take readers on a bilingual jaunt through English and Spanish terms: a total of 10 verbs and nouns representing activities and places. Rendered by debut artist Campos in simple line art highlighted with sunny hues, Pollo is a small, egg-shaped chicken with a bright red comb, a tiny yellow beak, and inexhaustible energy. In a series of spreads, the creators proffer an invitation on the verso, followed by an “OR” that pushes readers to the recto, where it’s made clear that life is much more fun con Pollo. “Do you want to go the beach?” reads one spread, showing a lonely pail and shovel stuck in the sand, or “Go to la playa con Pollo?” as the fowl confidently surfs a gnarly wave. Following a range of activities, even Pollo is ready to hit the hay—but a new addition is eager to join for a re-read in a book highlighting “so many things to do/ that you don’t have to alone.” It’s a balance of pedagogy and pure visual fun, smartly gauged for budding curiosities and short attention spans. English-to-Spanish translations, with pronunciations, conclude. Ages 2–5. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Con Pollo:

A New York Times Bestseller
A Publishers Weekly Bestseller

"Simple, bold, colorful illustrations, reminiscent in style of Peep and the Big Wide World, are perfectly suited to grab and hold the attention of the intended audience. ... A fun way to introduce Spanish vocabulary to young readers, with a character and formula that are worthy of additional titles. An excellent purchase for bilingual and general picture book ­collections." —School Library Journal, starred review

"A balance of pedagogy and pure visual fun, smartly gauged for budding curiosities and short attention spans." —Publishers Weekly

"Talk-show host Fallon and movie and pop star Lopez partner up to serve an introductory slice of whimsical Spanish learning. ... Colorful visual simplicity here aims to capture younger readers’ attention, with great success ... A fluffy, uber-adorable, bite-sized introducción al español." —Kirkus Reviews

"A hilarious read that also serves as an introduction to Spanish vocabulary." —People

"Your kids' book collection is about to get a whole lot funnier." —Mom.com

"Adorable and educational ... will surely become one of your kids' favorites." —SheKnows

Praise for 5 More Sleeps 'til Christmas:

#1 New York Times bestseller!
An American Booksellers Association Indies Bestseller!
A Publishers Weekly Bestseller!

"The vivid colors and expressive illustrations in this book place the reader inside the pages of the story, empathizing with the boy’s impatience as the story progresses. ... The short, rhyming text is enjoyable for both children and adults; balanced, four-line rhymes are used throughout the book, making the story ideally suited to be read aloud." —School Library Journal

Praise for This Is Baby:

#1 New York Times bestseller!

"The team behind Everything Is Mama returns with another simple, colorful picture book likely to delight toddlers." —Publishers Weekly

Praise for Everything Is Mama:

#1 New York Times bestseller!

Praise for Your Baby's First Word Will Be DADA:

#1 New York Times bestseller!

"A punchy and deceptively simple story that will make for some fun readalouds."—Publishers Weekly

"Children of all ages can glean knowledge and enjoyment from this book."—Children's Literature

From the Publisher

★ 11/01/2022

PreS-K—Pollo is a small white chicken who just likes to play. And play, and play, and play—all day! The reader is invited to come along "con (with) Pollo," in both English and Spanish. Unlike many bilingual titles, which offer word-for-word translation of the English text in Spanish, Fallon and Lopez take a more creative approach. A series of questions are asked in English and reiterated in Spanglish. "Do you want to go to the beach? OR Go to la playa con pollo? Do you want to go skateboarding? OR Patinar con Pollo?" It's a busy day for Pollo, going to school, to the library, the toy store, building, flying, and looking at the stars. Young readers will want to engage. Simple, bold, colorful illustrations, reminiscent in style of Peep and the Big Wide World, are perfectly suited to grab and hold the attention of the intended audience. An illustrated glossary of translated words in the back matter serves as extra scaffolding for the language learning in the story and will assist non-Spanish-speaking adults with pronunciation. VERDICT A fun way to introduce Spanish vocabulary to young readers, with a character and formula that are worthy of additional titles. An excellent purchase for bilingual and general picture book collections.—Jennifer Noonan

School Library Journal

2022-10-19
Talk-show host Fallon and movie and pop star Lopez partner up to serve an introductory slice of whimsical Spanish learning.

“This is Pollo. She wants to play.” In the middle of the page, a cute white blob of a chicken—with dots for eyes with blush spots beneath them, stubby wings and legs, an unkempt comb on top—chirps a bright “¡Hola!” Leveraging full-color backgrounds with a distinct absence of any distracting details, Campos keeps the artwork centered solely on Pollo and whatever item she needs to play, play, play. Colorful visual simplicity here aims to capture younger readers’ attention, with great success. So, how does Pollo play? Pollo goes to la playa, plays a rousing game of fútbol, visits la biblioteca, and gets toys from la tienda. In one amusing scene, Pollo even hops on a plane to volar. Each scenario sets the scene with an English sentence before guiding readers toward a Spanglish translation. Fallon and Lopez establish this rhythm and pace early on and keep it intact throughout the book with little variation. The highlighted Spanish translations don’t quite follow a logical progression—sometimes, just the noun is presented in Spanish (“Go to la playa con Pollo?”); sometimes it’s a verb (“Bailar con Pollo?”). Still, they help bring to life Pollo’s delightful play sessions, and that in itself proves enough.

A fluffy, uber-adorable, bite-sized introducción al español. (glossary) (Picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews