Member Reviews

Beautifully illustrated, Not a Dog shows that the Mexican prairie dog is an important part of the ecosystem. Their activities promote the health and existence of the prairie, and protections need to be in place and supported. This book utilizes a combination of English and Spanish vocabulary in the text. A handy list of Spanish terms is provided as well as interesting author's notes about these rodents.
Thanks to Charlesbridge, Claudia Guadalupe Martinez and NetGalley for this ARC.

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Learn basic facts about prairie not-dogs while also learning some basic spanish. It think the idea of semi-bilingual books is lovely because it's how a lot of bilingual people actually talk.

I think it's odd the cover doesn't mention that the reader can learn the names of shapes in Spanish, as that's so important to the book that there are red shape outlines over the illustrations..

Thank you for the ARC.

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My children really loved this book which was mostly English with a few Spanish words added in, specifically shapes.

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Why was this so cute? Never mind my son loving it, I loved reading it to him! It was funny and cute and the illustrations are just adorable 😍

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Netgalley ARC - This series continues to be great! I love the incorporation of spanish and the vocabulary in the back. Yip!

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This picture book is pretty chock-full of concepts! As the description states, in the same story we are presented with information about the life cycle and habitat of the Mexican prairie dog, Spanish vocabulary related to its environment and other animals that live there, and shape concepts (in Spanish as well.) While one may worry that is jamming too many ideas together, I think in this case it is pulled off well, and that this would be a great tool for cross-curricular studies and/or bilingual learning environments. Despite the density of everything being incorporated, the Martinez does a skillful job folding everything together into a cohesive narrative.

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An adorable, informative illustrated nonfiction picture book about prairie dogs! It had adorable illustrations, Spanish mixed in throughout the text (With a glossary at the end!), and lots of shapes in the story as well. Kids will enjoy this one!

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The illustrations are absolutely stunning, bursting with color and detail that complement the story beautifully. The storytelling is engaging and age-appropriate, with just the right balance of excitement and heart. Thank you for the advanced copy!

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I love this description of an animal that isn't very prevalent in the area in which I reside, while giving great vocabulary lessons in Spanish. Great work!

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Thank you Charles Bridge for the ARC!

Very nicely written. Incorporated Spanish words, and highlighted them in the illustration in matching red shapes and words. I loved prairie dogs as a child, neat to learn more about them reading with my little today. I look forward to reading more books by Claudia Guadalupe Martinez, and improving our Spanish vocabulary together!

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Amazing picture book chock full of information about an animal we hadn’t read much about before. Most pages include a Spanish word in alternative color for emphasis and this was such a fun read!

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Thank you for the ARC. I learned several new things today from this book. I didn’t know that a prairie dog was actually a rodent but it’s awfully cute. My son enjoyed the pictures and it was cute how it taught a little Spanish as well. We really enjoyed this book.

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This adorably illustrated nonfiction book talks about many facets of a Mexican prairie dog’s life and how it relates to the importance of land conservation. Spanish words are sprinkled in the text; they are highlighted in red to match each word to its shape. A list of Spanish vocabulary is included at the end, along with an Author’s Note with detailed scientific information. A book that is as entertaining as it is informative!

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