Thursday, February 20, 2025

Shelf Awareness--The Interpreter

YA Review: The Interpreter


The Interpreter by Olivia Abtahi, illus. by Monica Arnaldo (Kokila, 40p., ages 5-8, 9780593620441)

Olivia Abtahi (Perfectly Parvin) and Monica Arnaldo's first picture book collaboration, The Interpreter, is an earnest and endearing depiction of a child who becomes overwhelmed while serving as translator for her Spanish-speaking parents.

While some kids have only one job--"to be a kid"--Cecilia has two: in addition to school and soccer, she acts as interpreter for her Spanish-speaking parents. Cecilia goes with her caretakers to all sorts of "grown-up places" and assists with appointments, making small talk with other parents, and translating phone calls and websites. Cecilia works so much "overtime," she's exhausted! At parent-teacher meetings, an adult asks Cecilia how she's doing and she explodes. Luckily, the girl's loving, grateful parents are compassionate and quickly understand that their daughter needs help. Now, Cecilia can perform her important job as interpreter and still have time for her other, equally important job: being a kid.

Abtahi, who herself played the role of Spanish, English, and Farsi interpreter as a child, delivers a clever, straight-from-the-heart story. Her portrayal of the emotional and physical toll Cecilia experiences hits home, as does the gratifying way her parents pivot to meet their daughter's needs. Arnaldo (Mr. S.), who also translated for her Spanish-speaking parents while growing up, employs dynamic watercolor and pencil crayon art to emphasize Cecilia's two distinct roles, illustrating the girl "working" in an oversized suit and showing a frenzy of activity by overlapping and blending colored speech bubbles (blue for English, orange for Spanish). This bilingual narrative is an excellent, resonant picture book for kids and caretakers alike. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author. Originally printed in Shelf Awareness.

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