The King of Things/El Rey de Las Cosas [Spanish]

Artemio Rodríguez is one of the most exciting artists working today. He now brings us a delightful bilingual picture book, "The King of Things / El rey de las cosas" (Cinco Puntos Press, $14.95 hardcover). Using the well-known Mexican game of lotería as his inspiration, Rodríguez tells the story of a little boy named Lalo who proudly trumpets: "I am three years old. I am so strong, I am so smart, look at what I own!" With a youthful glee that is infectious, Lalo informs us of the colorful characters that inhabit his make-believe kingdom. And as children often do, he places himself at the center of each lotería image, from el gallo to la luna, from la sirena to el tecolote. [This review first appeared in the El Paso Times.]

Written by Artemio Rodriguez, The King of Things is an easy reader English/Spanish picturebook that introduces the very young to the famous Mexican game, Loteria. Loteria is a game of chance like bingo, using pictures instead of numbers and letters; each two-page spread of The King of Things shows a picture of something, its name in English, and its name in Spanish, such as "A heron / una garza" and "A little devil / Un diablito". A wonderful and fun-filled introduction to the connections between two languages and cultures especially for the very young.