Eight Animals Play Ball

by Susan Middleton Elya, Lee Chapman (Illustrator)

Introduces readers to simple Spanish words as they are boldly incorporated into the English tale about a group of animals getting together to play a game of baseball at the local park.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Baseball, Sports, Friendship

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 10, 2003

About the author

Susan Middleton Elya is the author of many books that cleverly incorporate Spanish vocabulary into lively verse. She is originally from Iowa and now lives in Northern California.

Reviews

[Katie Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice book to teach a little Spanish to young students.

[Brian Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book, and could be a great way to introduce Spanish to students.

[Taylor Brady · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a bright colorful book about group of (math) eight different animal friends playing (sports) baseball. Throughout the book there are several words in (bilingual) Spanish with the English translation in a glossary at the front of the book and in the boarder of each page. The book highlights several sport activities but focuses on the animals playing baseball together as a team and also discusses some emotions. However the book is overstimulating with the busyness in each illustration.

[Katy Houseman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about eight animal friends who like to play sports. They decide to play a game of baseball together. The book is written in some spanish and provides definitions for them. The pictures are wonderful and would be really helpful for children to read and refer to to understand the Spanish/English words. Ideal for ELL`s.

[Karina Espinales · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book because it was so descriptive and used a lot of Spanish words. The pictures are very descriptive. It can be used in a classroom because it show how friends can decide what game to play and it teaches about sharing. It shows the materials that are needed for each sport. I liked this book because it was Bilingual and very child oriented.

[Brigid · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read these to our son when he was young, and now I'm reading them to the gals I watch. The cadence, the words, the illustrations, and the characters are wonderful and fun. The sprinkling of Spanish words make it easy for anyone to read.

[Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple spanish vocabulary words are woven into this story about animals playing baseball.

[Savannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to keep referring back to the front to pronounce some words but overall was a fun read.

[Dawn]

I prefer Eight Animals Bake a Cake...but this is cute too. It's a bit too long for a story time, though I like the inclusion of the various Spanish words.

[Brie Feliciano · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books was exciting because of the use of English and Spanish words to rhyme. However, it's not quite as good as Elya's other book "Oh No, Gotta Go!"

[Rosa Cline · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you don't know how to read or speak Spanish you will not be able to understand this book. I tried to read it to my son, and couldn't even skip over the parts I didn't understand to read.