Tag: foreign languages

Posted in Toddler Reads

Book Review: My Colores/Mis Colores, by Rebecca Emberley (Little, Brown, 2000)

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

mis coloresRecommended for ages 0-4

My Colores/Mis Colores is a bilingual board book that teaches readers basic colors and vocabulary words in English and Spanish. Each set of pages follows a formula: the left-hand page names a color in both English and Spanish, with the entire page bathed in that color; the right-hand page offers a cut-paper image in that color, set off against a white background and described in English and Spanish. The author utilizes a cut-paper technique that adds depth and interest to the objects, and the white backgrounds make them pop off the page. The colors and objects featured side by side provide a visual link for children – the sun is yellow; frogs are green; apples are red. Fonts describing colors are large and bold in a Times Roman-type font; object descriptions are smaller, in the same font type.

Encourage older toddlers and young preschoolers to pronounce the words during a read-aloud. There are also bilingual printables on many learning websites that children can color. The author’s website offers more information on her books and artwork.

Posted in Toddler Reads

Book Review: Yum! Yuck! A Foldout Book of People Sounds, by Linda Sue Park and Julia Durango/Illustrated by Sue Rama (Charlesbridge Publishing, 2005)

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

yum yuck

Recommended for ages 0-4

There are a lot of different people speaking different languages, but we all make the same sounds. Yum! Yuck! helps English speakers pronounce words for popular sounds from languages like Farsi, Yiddish, Korean, Chinese and Spanish. Sounds in different languages are presented on a two-page spread, with a lift-the-flap revealing the English version of the sound.

Toddlers and preschoolers will enjoy Yum! Yuck!’s  cartoon artwork. The children’s multicultural children’s faces are expressive and the expressions are written in large, bold handwriting font with its language written in an Arial-type font directly underneath. Large lift the flaps will appeal to little hands.

This book also sets the stage for a fun stoytime, whether at home or in the library. Storytime leaders can encourage speakers of other languages to share their expressions and to think of some that didn’t make it into the book – how do you say “Mommy” or “Daddy” in your language?

Fun craft ideas: Create your own “Yum! Yuck!” artwork using your child’s photo next to an expression in another language and color in the background.

Linda Sue Park’s author website offers more extras for older readers, but there are some links and a “Who Am I?” game for their younger children.

yum yuck interior