The Interpreter / La Intérprete
Illustrated by Monica Arnaldo
Purchase here.
A sharp and heartfelt picture book about a young soccer-loving girl who's an interpreter for her Spanish-speaking parents.
Some kids have one job: to be a kid! Cecilia has two. When she isn't on the soccer field scoring goals, she's accompanying her parents to all kinds of grown-up places, like the DMV, the accountant's office, and the auto shop. She helps them translate from Spanish to English and from English to Spanish. It's an important job, and it can even be fun. It's also hard work.
Sometimes Cecilia's second job is so much responsibility, it feels like she'll split in two! Is it time for Cecilia to blow her whistle and call for a time-out?
Olivia Abtahi's clever text and Monica Arnaldo's charming illustrations capture a common aspect of life for immigrant and bilingual families while offering a model for teamwork that helps everyone feel understood.
Press for The Interpreter and La Intérprete
★ “Abtahi masterfully weaves an everyday tale that will be familiar to designated translators of all ages from immigrant families. . . . Arnaldo’s bright watercolor and pencil-crayon artwork provides much-needed levity . . . Sensationally true to life.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
★ “Abtahi (Twin Flames), making a well-developed picture book debut …[with] lively watercolor and pencil crayon illustrations from Arnaldo (The Museum of Very Bad Smells) show the strain of Cecilia’s moving back and forth, until supportive changes help her become a kid who’s happy to help, ‘...just not all the time.’”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ “With its emotionally resonant look at one aspect of immigrant family dynamics, this title is a solid purchase for picture book collections.”
—School Library Journal, starred review
★ “Abtahi's story about circumstances of bilingual family life that sometimes force children into these adult roles is engagingly rendered in Arnaldo’s colored pencil and watercolor drawings that both reflect the silliness of the situation and neatly show how overwhelmed Cecilia becomes.”
★ “A clever, straight-from-the-heart story . . . excellent.”
—Shelf Awareness, starred review
“★ Seven minutes of virtual perfection.”
-Booklist Audio, starred review
“Stellar.”
—BookPage
“Abtahi, who took inspiration from her own multilingual childhood, strikes an important balance…the necessity of interpreting for immigrant parents is not dismissed or shamed, while the pressure it can place on their children is addressed with empathy.”
—The Horn Book
“Bright, colorful, and clever, this is one book we’ve been waiting for years to see. We just didn’t know it yet.”
—Betsy Bird, School Library Journal Fuse 8 Blog
Booklist Editor’s Choice 2025: Youth Audiobooks
An Amazon Best Book of January (2025)
A 2025 Evanston Public Library’s 101 Best Books’ Pick
A 2025 Chicago Public Library Best Book Pick