Eileen Roe

With My Brother, Con Mi Hermao is bilingual English and Spanish Contemporary Realistic Fiction book written by Eileen Roe and illustrated by Robert CasillaIt was published in 1991 by Macmillan Books for young readers. As being only an English speaker I found this book very interesting. I liked that it had the Spanish translation right next to the English text. I also liked the watercolor illustration and how the younger brother admires the older brother.
To my knowledge there are not that show more many bilingual books around. It was nice to come across this book and to experience another culture. I think that all readers will enjoy this like I did. The bilingual text pushed me (the reader) to think about tough issues that Spanish speaking families may face here in an English speaking country. This has broadened my perspective on bilingual families here in America.
The illustrations in this book are beautiful. They completely enhance the story and the style fits the text. Pages 9 and 10 are the most beautiful. I could see the expression of joy on the face of the younger brother and the open accepting poster of the older brother. The bricks on the page look faded like they have been there for a while, probably played on a lot by the two brothers. What I like is how the illustration fits the text. When the younger brother is by himself the illustrator uses more dark tones to express sadness. When he is with the older brother the illustrator uses bright tones to convey happy feelings.
The younger brother is so cute in this story. He is waiting around all day for his older brother and is elated when he is home. The younger brother even expresses that “I run to him. He grabs me and we wrestle on the grass. I always win. Corro hacia el. El me agarra y luchamos en el pasto. Yo siempre gano.” The feelings that the two brother show toward each other exhibits the main idea of the story, Family. Family is at the center f the story. Through the story the author emphasizes how much we love our families, even when we are mad at them. show less

This is a touching book of a young child recounting the time he spends with his big brother. Through the text you can really feel the love the younger brother has for his older brother and how much he looks up to him. This book is written in both English and Spanish which I believe would be great for Hispanic ESL students. I do not particularly care for the illustration style but it is not completely distracting from the story.

I thought this book was very well done and could be a great tool for learning in a classroom learning both languages. This book would also be a helpful tool for Spanish ELL students. The story is told from the point of view of the younger brother, who looks up to and admires his brother. The younger brother describes all of the things his older brother does, like delivering newspapers and playing baseball, and the things they do together, like wrestling and playing catch. As the story goes show more on, the younger brother tells how he becomes big enough to start doing things like his older brother. This story could be used in an LEA lesson by first allowing students (3rd or 4th grade) to retell the story in their own words and then by talking about how the older brother is a role model and what that means. This would transition to an assignment on a role model and writing, in both English and Spanish to the best of their abilities, a short story of things that their role does that the student admires and what things, if any, that they do as well. show less

I liked this book. I liked that the characters were realistic because the younger brother wanted to do everything his older brother did like playing, going to the park, and reading. I liked that this story was written in two different languages because someone who is bilingual or learning another language can read the book. Even though I cannot speak Spanish fluently, I still was able to understand certain words in Spanish. The big idea of this story is that younger siblings often want to be show more just like their older siblings. show less