Author:  Gruber, Wilhelm
Title:  Tomas lee al reves
Illustrator:  Rieper-Bastian, Marlies
Publisher: Ediciones Norte-Sur     Publication date: c1998;  Translation c2000
Pages:  61 pages
Trade Price:  $5.95     ISBN:  0-7358-1308-6
Type: Fiction     Grade level(s):  1st - 4th
Translation notes:
Original title:  Der Kopfstandleser
English title:  The upside-down reader
Translator:  Moreno, Carmen

Reviewer: Mark Hall, San Francisco Public Library
Translation rating:  satisfactory
Translated from German.  The Spanish is fine -- standard Latin American Spanish without regionalisms.
Comments:
A humorous story about an ambitious pre-schooler who succeeds despite adult and older sibling's expectations.  Tomas's older sister Tina is learning to read, and doesn't want her pesky, eager little brother peering over her shoulder while she learns.  So Tomas is banned to the opposite side of the table.  Undeterred, he secretly observes the pages as she slowly pronounces words and letters aloud, and he learns to read... upside down!  Once everyone realizes what the boy has achieved, they come up with a fun way to make him a right-side-up reader.  A nice story that emphasizes the value of reading.