Berto y sus buenos amigos

BASIC INFO	LANGUAGE LEVEL	COMPREHENSION-AIDING FEATURES
Book Title Berto y sus buenos amigos (In English, Berto and His Good Friends) Author: Chris Stolz Illustrator Juan Carlos Pinilla Melo Other Contributors Genre Comedy Publisher: TPRS Books Publication date: 2017 (Spanish version) In addition to the physical book, the book is also available as a web-based book and eBook at the publisher’s website. The publication date of these online versions is unknown.	Level One Total Word Count From the author/publisher’s website Unique Words: 132 \| Total Words: 3827	Illustrations YES Glossary YES Guiding Questions NO Context NO Other An audiobook is available. A teacher’s guide is available.

IDENTITIES PRESENT IN THE TEXT		SYNOPSIS
Races, Ethnicities, and Nationalities Mexican Latinx Languages spoken Spanish English Sex and Genders Female Male (main character) Ages Preteen / Young teenager: 10-14 (The text does not specify the age range of Berto and his friends. In the previous book, Berto y sus buenas ideas, Berto is 11.) Mid-life Adult: 35-65 Social classes Middle Class Upper class	Sexual Orientation Other: None mentioned in the text. (Dis)Abilities and Neurotypes Other: None mentioned in the text. Religions, Syncretism, and Spirituality Other: None mentioned in the text. Relationship and Family Structures Heteroparental Single parent Body Descriptions None explicitly made in the text.	From the publisher’s website Berto is up to his old tricks of finding trouble as he spends the day hanging out with his friends. He is with his friends Paquita, Filiberto [sic], and Carlos as they cook, play soccer, create a video for Paquita’s YouTube channel and make a complete mess of things.

THIS BOOK IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Our team has reviewed the web-based and eBooks for the following comments comparing different language editions. As of December 2025, the book exists in German, French, Portuguese, and English in addition to Spanish. The storyline is the same in all language versions, with changes noted here:	German In the German version, titled Dirk und seine guten Freund (TPRS Books, 2019; adaptation by Eric Richards and Cathleen Weigelt-Ferguson), the protagonist is Dirk Müller; he states that he is from Berlin, Germany; and his friends are Paula, Peter and Martin. The friends prepare spaghetti, and the illustration of paella is replaced with an image of spaghetti. Apart from this change, the illustrations are the same as in the Spanish version. At the end of the text, the German eBook mentions the soccer player Miroslav Klose (Chapter 6) in place of Lionel Messi, who is mentioned in the Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English versions, as well as the book version of German. French In the French-language version, titled Jean-Paul et ses bon amis (TPRS Books, 2020; adaptation by Juan Juarado-Collado), the protagonist is Jean-Paul Marie Durand; he identifies as French, from Paris; and his friends’ names are Pascale, René, and Pierre. The friends prepare paella, as in the Spanish version, and the illustrations are the same as in the Spanish version.	Portuguese In the Portuguese version, titled Berto e seus bon amigos (TPRS Books, 2022; translation by Beatriz Cea), the protagonist is Berto Pinheiro Carvalho; Berto states that he is from São Paulo, Brazil; and his friends are Paula, Felipe and Carlos. Instead of paella, the friends prepare a meal of feijoada, a Brazilian black bean stew (p. 14). The illustrations are the same as in the Spanish version, with the exception of the illustration on page 5; this illustration in the Spanish version shows items under Berto’s bed and the light-skinned legs of his mother in a green skirt, while the Portuguese illustration displays Berto playing soccer with an olive-toned, professional-looking soccer player.the author/publisher’s website English The English-language version, titled Berto and His Good Friends (TPRS Books, 2025; no translator or adaptor named), has the same setting (Madrid), same cultural meal (paella), and same surname for Berto (Rodríguez) as the Spanish version. His friends are Paula, Felipe, and Carlos. The illustrations are the same as in the Spanish version.

ILLUSTRATIONS	STORY	SOCIAL JUSTICE
To what extent do the illustrations present positive and thoughtful representations of identities? The cover shows all four main characters with light-toned skin. Their hair colors are various shades of medium brown, and one character has blond hair. Illustrations in the text, in the color online versions, show some of the parents with olive-toned skin. Illustrations show a range of facial features such as shapes of noses, jawlines, and ears. Berto’s mother is shown wearing a skirt and high-heeled shoes inside the home. She has light-toned legs (p. 5).	We understand identities are complex and no single story represents the spectrum of identity-based experiences. Also, a text may address a stereotype, misrepresentation, or generalization without relying on it. *Does any stereotype, misrepresentation, or generalization affect any positive and thoughtful representations of identities in the text?* Certain people or groups are left out or given roles that don’t enable them to be heard: All four members of Berto’s friend group appear to have light-toned skin.	This section is for teachers who are working towards sourcing more texts within the four domains of anti-bias education. We are excited about reading all books and we understand that not all books are written for this specific purpose. *Does this text work toward goals within any of the* four domains of anti-bias education as defined by Learning for Justice? No.

LLLAB’s REVIEW
Berto y sus buenos amigos is a sequel to Magaly Rodríguez’s Berto y sus buenas ideas (1st ed., CPLI, 2011; 2nd ed., TPRS Books, 2020). Berto Rodríguez, a middle school-aged child, joins his three friends Paquita, Carlos and Felipe in finding fun activities to do on a rainy day, such as playing soccer and cooking paella. They create and resolve various problems involving messes in their homes. The text offers opportunities for reflection on privilege, social media consent, and cultural and linguistic representation in Madrid. All the members of Berto’s friend group are depicted on the cover and throughout the text with light-toned skin and with medium to light hair colors. This lack of representation of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) friends may present concerns about social segregation. In addition, students will interpret the cover based on their own context and experiences; some may make assumptions about a group of all white characters on the cover. Berto’s friend group contains a variety of living situations, ranging from an apartment to a “casa enorme” / enormous house (p. 10). This may signify some inclusion of differing economic classes within the friend group. Berto’s friend, Paquita, records photos and videos of the friend group doing activities, and uploads this media to the internet: “Ella tomó muchas fotos de nosotros y también tomó muchos videos de nosotros. Ella combinó las fotos y los videos con música. Ella hizo un video. Paquita subió su video en YouTube España. Ahora su video está en YouTube España” / She took a lot of photos of us and she also took a lot of videos of us. She combined the photos and videos with music. She made a video. Paquita uploaded her video on YouTube Spain (p. 40). Teachers may wish to discuss processes of obtaining consent for photos and videos as well as internet safety when uploading media of self and others. Berto and his friends show several indicators of economic and social privilege. Berto reflects a repeated tendency toward boredom, mentioning that cleaning his room (p. 3), doing homework (p. 4), and making food (p. 7) are boring. The text refers in several places to personal bedrooms and devices of characters, and one illustration shows a Mac laptop with the Apple logo (p. 5). Teachers may wish to discuss privileges and cultural perspectives regarding single-user bedrooms and devices, and access to education and food. The story contains a scene in which a family’s pet dogs eat excess paella that has spilled onto the floor (p. 14). Additionally, in another scene, Berto overeats and causes himself to become sick: “Ahora no tengo hambre porque comí diez sándwiches. Los sándwiches me gustaron mucho. También me gustaron los cinco refrescos. Pero…pero…pero…no me siento muy bien. Estoy enfermo. ¡Quiero vomitar! Yo corro al baño. En el baño, vomito los diez sándwiches y los cinco refrescos. Yo vomito MUCHÍSIMO” / Now I’m not hungry because I ate ten sandwiches. I liked the sandwiches a lot. I also liked the five soft drinks (alt: sodas, pops, etc.). But… but.. but… I don’t feel very well. I am sick. I want to vomit! I run to the bathroom. In the bathroom, I vomit the ten sandwiches and the five soft drinks. I vomit A LOT (p. 32). This may invite deeper conversation about differing cultural views about food access and eating patterns, particularly in light of global food scarcity. Teachers may also wish to invite discussions about mental health related to patterns of boredom and overeating. The text portrays a mixed-gender soccer game in the mud (pp. 24-27); a teenaged male character who enjoys cooking (p. 7); a father who cleans the house (p. 3) and adults who require teenaged males to clean their messes in bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms (e.g. pp. 3-6, 10, 23, 32, 42-43). In the home of his friend Felipe, Berto notes, “Su mamá no está en casa pero está su papá” / His mom isn’t at home but his dad is (p. 10). These examples may serve to challenge traditional gender roles. Berto’s clothing (e.g. backward baseball cap) and attitudes align closely with common representations of U.S. children in popular media. This may make it difficult for some readers to identify the character as Spanish from Madrid. Although the characters do engage in some culturally-grounded activities such as eating paella and playing soccer, the relatively sparsity of cultural details can create a setting that feels less authentic for readers who are familiar with everyday life in Madrid. If you are the author of this book and you have feedback, please contact us here. If anything we have written is inaccurate, misleading, confusing, poorly worded, or lacking important context, we would be happy to update our review. Comprehension-based novels contain language that varies in how natural it feels to users of the language. Sometimes the author has intentionally simplified the language as a stepping stone toward proficiency, or complexified the language for a variety of reasons. Other times, variations result from the language proficiency levels, linguistic repertoires, (sub)cultural experiences, geolects, or personal preferences of authors. LLLAB typically does not comment on the linguistic choices of authors (e.g., vocabulary and grammar) since variations occur naturally within groups of language producers. Teachers may wish to supplement novels with additional linguistic material to increase student acquisition of the various geolects associated with the settings of stories. See related discussion of linguistic imperialism at the LLLAB glossary.

LLLAB’s REVIEW

Berto y sus buenos amigos is a sequel to Magaly Rodríguez’s Berto y sus buenas ideas (1st ed., CPLI, 2011; 2nd ed., TPRS Books, 2020). Berto Rodríguez, a middle school-aged child, joins his three friends Paquita, Carlos and Felipe in finding fun activities to do on a rainy day, such as playing soccer and cooking paella. They create and resolve various problems involving messes in their homes. The text offers opportunities for reflection on privilege, social media consent, and cultural and linguistic representation in Madrid.

All the members of Berto’s friend group are depicted on the cover and throughout the text with light-toned skin and with medium to light hair colors. This lack of representation of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) friends may present concerns about social segregation. In addition, students will interpret the cover based on their own context and experiences; some may make assumptions about a group of all white characters on the cover.

Berto’s friend group contains a variety of living situations, ranging from an apartment to a “casa enorme” / enormous house (p. 10). This may signify some inclusion of differing economic classes within the friend group.

Berto’s friend, Paquita, records photos and videos of the friend group doing activities, and uploads this media to the internet: “Ella tomó muchas fotos de nosotros y también tomó muchos videos de nosotros. Ella combinó las fotos y los videos con música. Ella hizo un video. Paquita subió su video en YouTube España. Ahora su video está en YouTube España” / She took a lot of photos of us and she also took a lot of videos of us. She combined the photos and videos with music. She made a video. Paquita uploaded her video on YouTube Spain (p. 40). Teachers may wish to discuss processes of obtaining consent for photos and videos as well as internet safety when uploading media of self and others.

Berto and his friends show several indicators of economic and social privilege. Berto reflects a repeated tendency toward boredom, mentioning that cleaning his room (p. 3), doing homework (p. 4), and making food (p. 7) are boring. The text refers in several places to personal bedrooms and devices of characters, and one illustration shows a Mac laptop with the Apple logo (p. 5). Teachers may wish to discuss privileges and cultural perspectives regarding single-user bedrooms and devices, and access to education and food.

The story contains a scene in which a family’s pet dogs eat excess paella that has spilled onto the floor (p. 14). Additionally, in another scene, Berto overeats and causes himself to become sick: “Ahora no tengo hambre porque comí diez sándwiches. Los sándwiches me gustaron mucho. También me gustaron los cinco refrescos. Pero…pero…pero…no me siento muy bien. Estoy enfermo. ¡Quiero vomitar! Yo corro al baño. En el baño, vomito los diez sándwiches y los cinco refrescos. Yo vomito MUCHÍSIMO” / Now I’m not hungry because I ate ten sandwiches. I liked the sandwiches a lot. I also liked the five soft drinks (alt: sodas, pops, etc.). But… but.. but… I don’t feel very well. I am sick. I want to vomit! I run to the bathroom. In the bathroom, I vomit the ten sandwiches and the five soft drinks. I vomit A LOT (p. 32). This may invite deeper conversation about differing cultural views about food access and eating patterns, particularly in light of global food scarcity. Teachers may also wish to invite discussions about mental health related to patterns of boredom and overeating.

The text portrays a mixed-gender soccer game in the mud (pp. 24-27); a teenaged male character who enjoys cooking (p. 7); a father who cleans the house (p. 3) and adults who require teenaged males to clean their messes in bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms (e.g. pp. 3-6, 10, 23, 32, 42-43). In the home of his friend Felipe, Berto notes, “Su mamá no está en casa pero está su papá” / His mom isn’t at home but his dad is (p. 10). These examples may serve to challenge traditional gender roles.

Berto’s clothing (e.g. backward baseball cap) and attitudes align closely with common representations of U.S. children in popular media. This may make it difficult for some readers to identify the character as Spanish from Madrid. Although the characters do engage in some culturally-grounded activities such as eating paella and playing soccer, the relatively sparsity of cultural details can create a setting that feels less authentic for readers who are familiar with everyday life in Madrid.

If you are the author of this book and you have feedback, please contact us here. If anything we have written is inaccurate, misleading, confusing, poorly worded, or lacking important context, we would be happy to update our review.

Comprehension-based novels contain language that varies in how natural it feels to users of the language. Sometimes the author has intentionally simplified the language as a stepping stone toward proficiency, or complexified the language for a variety of reasons. Other times, variations result from the language proficiency levels, linguistic repertoires, (sub)cultural experiences, geolects, or personal preferences of authors. LLLAB typically does not comment on the linguistic choices of authors (e.g., vocabulary and grammar) since variations occur naturally within groups of language producers. Teachers may wish to supplement novels with additional linguistic material to increase student acquisition of the various geolects associated with the settings of stories. See related discussion of linguistic imperialism at the LLLAB glossary.

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