Gato Guapo

by Anika Aldamuy Denise, Zara Gonzalez Hoang (Illustrator)

Overview

Laugh and count along with this lively cumulative romp told in a lyrical blend of Spanish and English by Pura Belpré Honor-winning author Anika Aldamuy Denise and illustrator Zara Gonzalez Hoang!

Nine kittens follow Gato Guapo around, but when it’s time to count them, one by one, they go missing, along with a piece of Gato Guapo’s clothes!

Young readers will love all the silliness that ensues as each naughty gatito dons a disguise and declares “Yo soy Gato Guapo!”. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063062665
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/28/2023
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	224,099
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Anika Aldamuy Denise is the Pura Belpré Honor–winning author of Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré; A Girl Named Rosita: The Story of Rita Moreno: Actor, Singer, Dancer, Trailblazer!; and The Love Letter. A proud Puerto Rican daughter from Queens, she now lives in Rhode Island with her family. Visit Anika online at anikadenise.com.

Zara Gonzalez Hoang is the illustrator of Gato Guapo written by Anika Aldamuy Denise.

Editorial Reviews

Gato Guapo’s got a lot of style, and so does the book—the anthropomorphized animals cut winsome poses and will readily endear themselves to readers. Playfully and skillfully balancing two languages, this cat tale proves cute and clever. (Picture book. 4-8) — Kirkus Reviews

A lighthearted counting book, written in a smooth blend of Spanish and English. — Horn Book Magazine

From the Publisher

2022-10-26
A fashionable feline with nine siblings teaches Spanish words and counting as part of a trip to town.

The titular cat, who walks on two legs and wears a top hat, a scarf, boots, and a vest, is followed around by a varied group of sibling cats who walk on all fours, each of whom playfully pretends to be Gato Guapo. Each time, he counts the cats (“Uno, dos, tres…”), looking for the missing cat, who then appears, shouting, “¡Yo soy Gato Guapo!” and wearing one of Guapo’s items of clothing or accessories. Along the way, the book mixes in unitalicized Spanish words or phrases within the English text, unobtrusively working in enough context that most may be easily understood by young non-Spanish readers. (A word list at the end translates all the Spanish in the book.) Unlike in similar books, this story doesn’t clumsily blend languages or rely on the oft-used technique of parrot-repeating a Spanish word with its English equivalent. Instead, the phrasing flows well. However, what works so nicely in the first few pages is abandoned for the cat reveals. It would have been nice to have seen more of the well-combined bilingual flow. Still, Gato Guapo’s got a lot of style, and so does the book—the anthropomorphized animals cut winsome poses and will readily endear themselves to readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Playfully and skillfully balancing two languages, this cat tale proves cute and clever. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews