Parents' Guide to

Bebe Goes Shopping

Book Susan Middleton Elya Picture Book 2008
Bebe Goes Shopping Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Patricia Tauzer By Patricia Tauzer , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 3+

Fun supermarket outing tale told in bilingual verse.

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Why Age 3+?

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What's the Story?

BEBE GOES SHOPPING is a simple story about a mother and son's Saturday trip to the supermercado. Told in rhyme and with Spanish vocabulary intermixed with English, it's a fun outing and a fun way to learn vocabulary.

Is It Any Good?

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In any language, a mother and child's trip to the supermarket is usually an adventure, and this one is no exception. When Bebe gets restless, Mama has to come up with inventive ways to manage him and still get the shopping done. Bebe Goes Shopping is light, the rhymes are loose and playful, Spanish words are intermixed with English, and the illustrations are vibrant and colorful. All in all, it's a simple but engaging book.

Though the story has been told before and the rhymes are sometimes questionable, Bebe Goes Shopping will make the reader smile, thanks to the energetic illustrations. In gouache, watercolor, colored ink, and pencil, Steven Salerno masterfully creates the whirlwind world of shopping in the supermercado. Mama's swinging ponytail; the curving lines of bending, reaching figures; falling, floating apples; balloons; crackers; and boxes and jars make the pages jump with sound and energy. Nothing is calm or fixed here, yet Mama keeps her cool. When the shopping is done, Mama is still smiling as she sighs, "Termine!" And, amazingly, Bebe's day also has been "fantastico."

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about shopping (o, ir de compras). Nearly all kids who have tagged along on weekly shopping trips with their parents will have tales to tell about their own adventures to the supermarket.

  • Families who read Bebe's story can learn the Spanish words on each page. The glossary at the end will help with pronunciation and definitions.

  • Draw a picture of your favorite foods that you get from the grocery store.

Book Details

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