#cryingbabies

These three picture books published by Transit were all translated from Spanish, and each defied my expectations.

Ashimpa: The Mysterious Word by Catarina Sobral. Translated by Juliana Barbassa. Transit Children's Editions, 2025. 9798893380026.

I'm sure that any book that opens with a researcher making a discovery, in a book of all places -- in this case, finding the long-lost word "ashimpa" -- is going to be a hit with the library crowd. As people start using it, and then arguing about how to use it, “ashimpa” goes from a verb to a noun and on and on, getting kids to think about how we use different types of words. My favorite thing: Sobral's illustrations are totally ashimpish!

A Sleepless Night by Michaela Chirif and Joaquín Camp. Translated by Jordan Landsman. Transit Children's Editions, 2024. 9798893389050.

This book had me from the title page, which features animals dressed as fruit, dancing. In the book, Elisa won't stop crying, and it disturbs everyone, even people on the other side of the planet. Nothing can get her to stop. Everyone is exhausted. (Minor spoiler: then grandma arrives!) My wife claims she saw the surprise ending coming a mile away and refuses to believe I didn't.

Giant on the Shore by Alfonso Ochoa and Andrés López. Translated from Spanish by Shook. Transit Children's Editions, 2024. 9781945492877.

Saw a recipe for some amazing soufflé pancakes on my favorite food blog and decide to make it for breakfast since we had all the ingredients. Apparently that was a stupid thing to do. Non-stop crying and screaming from clingy AF baby who just wants to be held constantly and a tot who just can’t keep from asking the most ridiculously obvious questions and a short-tempered mom ain’t a good mix.

Add on slightly confusing instructions (because who has time to read through the entire recipe before starting?), a stove on too low heat (she said lowest setting!!!), a non-stick pan that was sticking (she said to wipe up excess oil!), and three hungry individuals... well needless to say it can be stressful cooking a new recipe under these circumstances.

*points at blackberries and strawberries*

“What are those mommy?”

“Mommy, who’s that for?”

“Mommy, why do you have fruit?”

*points at pancake ingredients and sausages*

“Mommy, are those eggs?”

“Mommy, are those sausages?”

“Mommy, who’s that for?”

“Mommy, why are you mixing it?”

“Mommy what?”

“What mommy?”

“What are you doing mommy?”

“Mommy Mommy Mommy Mommy Mommy!”

“Who’s the food for Mommy?”

Me: “WHO [internally: DA FUCK] DO YOU THINK THE FOOD IS FOR?! It’s for the trash!”

*tot dutifully takes plate towards trash cans*

“Which trash can, mommy?”

Despite it all, I thought the pancakes came out pretty tasty even though they weren’t pretty or as tall as they should be. Tucking in to the food with the kiddos, I take a deep breath and apologize to tot for losing my temper and ask for a hug and give an “I love you kiddo.”

“I love you too mommy!”

*cue sappy music and cut scene*

Except... tot just needs to have an encore as she goes back to her seat.

“Mommy, the pancakes and sausage aren’t very good. I’ll just eat the fruit.”

Baby follows suit and throws her pancake bites to the floor.

“Mommy if you eat all that [leftover pancake] won’t you have a stomachache and get a big tummy? When you eat a lot of food Daddy says your stomach will hurt.”

....And now it’s noon and I have a sink full of dirty dishes from just breakfast. 😖💩