Customer Reviews

Azul el sombrero, verde el sombrero (Blue Hat, Green Hat -- Spanish version)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When I saw there was to be a Spanish edition of two favorites, _Moo, Baa, La la la_ and _Blue Hat, Green Hat_, the waiting time until I could see the final product was difficult. Would these adorable books with their catchy rhymes make the transition, or simply be pale copies of their originals?

Well, the answer turned out to be 50-50. The first, _Múu. Bee. Así fue_ was delightful and made great substitutions in conserving the rhyme and rhythm. So what happened with _Blue Hat, Green Hat_? Unfortunately, any credits for the translators are nowhere that I can see, so we don't know who to praise for the former book nor who to chastise over the latter.

While _Azul el sombrero_ is still a half-decent book for anyone who can't read the English version, some basic translation decisions that affect the whole book are mystifying. The charm of the original is a combination of the silly situation (which transcends language) and the rhythm that builds up across the pages. The phrasing "Azul el sombrero" maintains the English word order for no apparent reason, causing the rhythm of the lines to stumble in translation. In contrast, "sombrero azul, sombrero verde" would not only be more standard word order, but much easier to read aloud in a rhythm suitable to the story. The same is true of substituting "Ay, caramba" for "Oops" -- there are punchier, simpler phrases that could be used ("Ay, no" comes to mind).

To summarize: The story comes across OK, thanks to the pictures. But if you already have the English version and know any Spanish, there's nothing gained by buying the Spanish version, as you can do a better job yourself from the very first try. Only if you're dealing with a child who's DEVOTED to the story already and is a Spanish-only beginning reader might this translation be worth it ... and even then, you could just tape an overlay with your own translation printed out. Better to pay your money down to get the _Moo, Baa_ translation, as it's a much more clever translation than you or I would be likely to accomplish "on the fly."

good intention.. BAD translation!!!!!!!!
anybody who speaks even a little spanish knows that "azul el sombrero" is nowhere near the proper word order. In addition, for oops (as a spanish speaker) i would have chosen to translate to "ups" or "oh no!" but "ah, caramba" makes the book really funny.

We have the book Blue Hat, Green Hat in English and my son loves it
I thought it would be fun to add the Spanish version to our library and (foolishly) didn't take enough time to really read the title. The book is translated literally from English into Spanish- which makes a terrible translation as the word order is different in both languages. The English version starts "blue hat, green hat..." The Spanish version starts "azul el sombrero, verde el sombrero..." which is WRONG it should be "el sombrero azul, el sombrero verde...."
Anyone who actually speaks Spanish should know just by looking at the title- unless (like me) they made a quick decision based on the cuteness and enjoyment of the English version
so...if you want to just label colors or items in Spanish I guess it is fine, but if you actually want to read a story that makes sense or has appropriate word order- SKIP IT

Even though the translation from english to spanish isn't the best this book is more enjoyable than the english version. My daughter laughs and laughs each time we read 'ay carumba'. She doesn't seem nearly as enchanted with the english version.
I'll read her any book than can make her giggle!

Rather than reading this, I sing it to my son in order to make it sound more appealing, and he laughs and giggles when we get to the Ay, Carumba part. He also giggles at the end when the turkey dives into the water in his clothes. I read the English version, and I couldn't seem to get into a groove in reading it, so I only read my son this one. He loves it. I think this version is actually better than the English version!