One starry night, Kiki el Mono can't sleep. So he and Papá build a rocket out of a cardboard box, with glue and with tape, and off he flies to visit the planets.
Mars is red and dusty. Jupiter is giant and windy. On Saturn he slides down the rings with a "Wheee!"
Every planet is pretty. And every planet is missing something.
The lesson inside
On Mars he misses his trees. On Saturn he misses his friends. On icy Neptune he misses Mamá's hugs. Each stop ends with the same little line, "It's pretty, but...", and by the third one a child is saying it with you.
Then he sees a planet of blue and green, shining far away, and turns the rocket around.
The lesson is gratitude, and it lands at bedtime. Papá suggests a small ritual: before sleep, say thank you for three things. Kiki el Mono thanks the trees, his friends and his cozy bed, and then the stars and the moon for good measure.
(The rings he slides down are real, by the way. Saturn's rings are mostly chunks of ice, which explains how slippery they look in the book.)
The book has two editions with the same pictures, English on top or Spanish on top. Both are on the Kiki el Mono page, and here's where Kiki el Mono comes from if you're new to him.
Five words worth learning yourself
- planeta (plah-NEH-tah), planet
- estrella (ehs-TREH-yah), star
- luna (LOO-nah), moon
- cohete (koh-EH-teh), rocket
- gracias (GRAH-see-ahs), thank you
Planeta ends in a but it's masculine: el planeta. Spanish has a handful of these, and this is the one you'll meet most.
A small experiment for this week
Borrow Papá's idea. Tonight, before you sleep, say three thank-yous in Spanish, out loud or in your head: Gracias por... and whatever comes to mind.
Three sentences, the same frame each time. It's the easiest Spanish habit I know, and it works just as well with a little one as without. If you'd like a story at your own level to read before bed, try the free book.
¡Sigue adelante!
Ariel
P.S. Book 1, Kiki el Mono and the Dinosaurs, is on Kindle too, for $0.99.