My Dog Just Speaks Spanish

A young bilingual immigrant meanders through her city park, translating for her beloved dog, in a heartwarming picture book debut.

When Aurora came to the United States, she learned to speak English. But her spaniel, Nena, did not. Sweet Nena loves to give besos, and she knows only Spanish. She doesn’t know SIT, but she does know SIÉNTATE. She doesn’t know WAIT, but she does know ESPERA. And while TREAT doesn’t mean anything to Nena, she can certainly sniff out a POSTRE! At the park, Nena may not know what the other dog owners are saying, but she and Aurora will always understand each other just fine. Borrowing from her lived experience, Venezuelan-American author-illustrator Andrea Cáceres offers a gentle, charmingly illustrated ode to love that extends a hand—or a paw—to readers who may feel displaced or are learning a new language themselves.

Andrea Cáceres is an author, illustrator, and art director. Her work, much of it featuring dogs, has appeared in countless product campaigns and commissions. About My Dog Just Speaks Spanish, her debut picture book, she says, “Did you know that dogs might be able to identify when different languages are spoken? Tobi, my silky terrier, and I spent years speaking only Spanish, and it was very interesting to see him react to a different language when he moved to the US. See if you can spot Tobi in this book!” Andrea Cáceres was born in Venezuela and is based in New York City.