What Are You Doing?

It’s the first day of school, but before he goes Chepito runs outside to play. He comes across all kinds of people in his neighborhood — a man reading a newspaper, a young girl enjoying a comic, a couple of tourists consulting a guidebook, an archeologist studying hieroglyphics… “Why, why, why?” he sings, and they each have an answer for him. Later that day Chepito discovers for himself that reading is catching, and he even brings home a book to “read” to his younger sister.

Elisa Amado has written a perfect introduction to the pleasures and uses of the written word for young children. Set in a delightfully retro world by illustrator Manuel Monroy, this book is a true celebration of reading.