Rosita Fresita!
Written: May 01 '08 (Updated May 01 '08)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Introduces the main Strawberry Shortcake characters
Cons: Uses the name "Strawberry Shortcake" rather than her Spanish name, "Fresita."
The Bottom Line: I recommend this book for Spanish-speaking readers who are fans of Strawberry Shortcake.
|
|
|
| fresita's Full Review: Conoce A Strawberry Shorcake |
In this Spanish version of "Meet Strawberry Shortcake," all the updated main characters of Strawberryland, or Fresilandia, are reintroduced.
Synopsis:
Strawberry Shortcake is planning a birthday party for Manzanita (Apple Dumplin'), her little sister. She makes a list of the items she'll need, which include cookies, fruit, juice, party hats and a birthday cake, and then heads down the Camino de las Bayas (Berry Trail) with Manzanita in a wagon and Flancita and Muffin (Custard and Pupcake) at her side.
Flancita wonders if they will find folks who meow and purr, but Strawberry Shortcake feels it would be more interesting to meet different kinds of people.
The first person they run into is Ginger. Actually, they run into her cart of cookies, knocking them all over the place. At first Ginger's upset, but when Muffin licks her face, she begins to laugh. She takes them inside her bakery, and even makes a tuna cookie for Flancita.
With the cookies loaded into their wagon, Strawberry Shortcake and Manzanita head to their next stop, Huerto de Azahares (Orange Blossom Acres), where they meet Naranjita (Orange Blossom), who gives them all the fruit and juice they need.
Next they arrive at Tortavilla (Cakewalk), where they go into a store named "Pastelería Dulce Angelito" (Angel Cake's Cake Shoppe). There they meet Dulce Angelito (Angel Cake), who shows them pictures of many different kinds of cakes. Strawberry Shortcake chooses the one she wants, but Dulce Angelito tells her that it's impossible for just one person to make that cake. Strawberry Shortcake offers to help, and together they make the cake.
The next place they need to go is Sombreros de Arriba (Upper Hat Rack), but they soon find they're lost. Just then, they meet Honey, the pony, who volunteers to take them there. However, they are soon even more lost than before. They find a fort in the forest, which is where they meet Huckleberry, who offers to show them a river of chocolate, but Strawberry Shortcake tells him they need to go to Sombreros de Arriba to get the party hats. Huck saves them some time by making them party hats out of vines and grapes.
When they get to Rio Chocoloco (River Fudge), the wagon with Manzanita in it gets bumped out of Strawberry Shortcake's hand and heads straight toward the river. Strawberry Shortcake and Flancita jump on Honey's back and rush to save Manzanita, using on of the vines from a party hat as a lasso. She is able to save Manzanita, but not the wagon. Huck helps them build a raft to take all the party items back to Strawberry Shortcake's house, where all the new friends gather to celebrate Manzanita's first birthday.
My Thoughts:
This is a very bright, colorful children's book, introducing some of the main Strawberry Shortcake characters to a new generation. There are a couple of things that seem rather strange, however.
To begin, most of the characters and place names are written in Spanish, but Strawberry Shortcake uses her English name instead of her Spanish name, Fresita (yes, that's where my name here on Epinions originated). I have no idea why the decision was made to call her by her English name in a Spanish book. Strawberry Shortcake is not at all an easy name for many Spanish-speaking people to pronounce correctly.
Secondly, a number of the original characters and pets have been changed since the 80's. I understand the need for updated looks, but I really don't think all the name and pet switching was necessary. Particularly strange is the fact that Muffin (Pupcake), who used to be Huckleberry Pie's pet, is now Strawberry Shortcake's pet. It's really strange to see Muffin visiting Huckleberry at his fort.
Also, Manzanita (Apple Dumplin') is now seen with a pet duck instead of her previous Tea Time Turtle, and Dulce Angelito (Angel Cake) has a pet lamb instead of her previous skunk.
This book, which is cut to the form of the picture of Strawberry Shortcake and the strawberry that appear on the front cover, is not a book for early readers to read to themselves. There are quite a few lines of text on most pages, including some rather long words, such as organizaremos, almendrados and parlanchín.
Although Huckleberry Pie appears in this story, it is definitely a girls' book.
In this book there are lots of yummy, cheerful details to see as Strawberry Shortcake and her sister travel from place to place.
Originally written in English by Justine Fontes and illustrated by Lisa Workman. Translated into Spanish by Nuria Molinero.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
fresita
|
|
Location: USA
Reviews written: 161
Trusted by: 29 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.