As our learning progresses, so do our love of bilingual books! I am constantly finding ones I enjoy that have repetitive phrases and also teach mis niños colors, letters, numbers, and animals. They also teach ME new verbs to use.
- Miau y la caja grande/Meeow and the Big Box – I have to say this is one of my favorites, which is why I’m listing it first! The pictures are clean, the words are LARGE and there is a translation. I ask my kids questions about it using the back inside cover to review the words used in the book. Mis niños also love the “ni-noo, ni-noo” sound Miau’s box makes towards the end! I will say that I could NOT find this book for sale on Amazon so we just borrowed it from our local library. Also in bilingual edition is Miau y las sillitas or Meeow and the Little Chairs.
2. Pintura de ratón/Mouse Paint – These mice are some of the cutest I’ve ever seen – no, really. A book about three curious mice and the basics of the color wheel. I love the English version, but when I discovered a bilingual version was available, I bought it in a heart beat. These three mice see three jars of paint (I can almost type this story without looking at it, I’ve read it so much). They think it’s mouse paint and they jump right in! Also available is Mouse Count and Mouse Shapes – I haven’t purchased these yet, but they are on my list!
3. ¿Dónde está la oveja verde?/Where is the Green Sheep?– This book was one of the first I discovered and it’s still teaching me things. Some of the translations aren’t exact (they call the fat sheep “wide” – I think they are trying to be nice about it so they don’t hurt the sheep’s feelings). But, there are lots of great words to be learned from this little board book.
4. Oh no, GottaGgo! – I could read this book a million times and not get bored from it. (Actually, I think the kids got tired of me always choosing it!) It combines English and Spanish in a rhythmic rhyme about a girl who forgets to go potty before they get in the car. (Can you relate?…And all the mom’s hands go up!) This was a Dolly Parton Imagination Library book my daughter received when we had her enrolled in the program. They gave us 3 bilingual books out of the 60 she received .
Alright… you knew this was coming – Eric Carle Books! He has so many great ones, but here are a few that we enjoy.
5. ¿Has visto a mi gata?/ Have you seen my cat? Mi chanchita, she loves cats. She meows all the time and has several stuffed cats. So, this one was an instant hit for her. A little boy asks all kind of people in all kind of places if they have seen his cat. They point to different types of cats to which he always replies, “Esta no es me gata!” “This is not MY cat!” It is repetitive (which, if you don’t know by now, I LOVE repetitive books for learning), lists cats on the inside covers in English and in Spanish and, of course, has a translation as you read.
6. La oruga muy hambrienta/ The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Who doesn’t love this book? (If you just raised your hand, I’m giving you the stink eye right now.) I will say that even though this does have repetition, I had to find someone reading it in Spanish on You Tube and practice with them in order to say the words correctly. You read me right – my Spanish still isn’t quite good enough to not stumble through this one, but – hey, I’m a work in progress.
7. Papá, por favor, bájame la luna/Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me – Another stumbler, but for the more advanced Spanish learner, this one is excellent. There are flaps that open up, down, out to the side, and then a HUGE one that doubles the size of the book. I had to find someone reading this one too, and it’s a challenge for me to not stumble through the story. My 2 year old twins don’t have the patience to listen to me butcher all the words, so I work on it when they are sleeping.
8. Mi primer libro de formas/ My First Book of Shapes – I love practicing shapes with mis niños, and this is a good one. Not only are the shapes each listed with a picture, that picture has other shapes in it as well. So asking, “What other shapes do you see?” is an awesome way to hone those observation skills. The only thing I wish this book did have was words for the objects they use. If I were to purchase it, I’d just write them in. Also in publication is My Very First Book of Numbers in a bilingual edition.
9. Me gusta cuando/ I Like It When – A story about a parent and child penguin doing things together. This book repeats the phrase “Me gusta cuando…” or “I like it when…” There are many things in this book that you probably do with your own children, so it’s got great application.
10. ABC Spanish – Lastly, we need an alphabet book! I am in love with the adorable art in this little board book. It has each letter of the Spanish alphabet with pictures and English translations. There is a pronunciation guide at the back for all the words and the letters (which was key for me since I didn’t know how to say the Spanish alphabet.) Also toward the back is a page listing “other Spanish sounds” like “ll” (sounds like “y”), “ch” (just like English), and “rr” (rolled r). I did go through and write the pronunciations for the letters beneath each letter in the book so I wouldn’t need to keep turning the pages.
I know I said 10, but I just need to add one more… you know me….let’s just call this an encore.
Siesta – Siesta is a story about children getting ready to create a tent outside, all the things they will need (review of colors) and a repetitive phrase of “Algo mas?” or “Anything else?” The artwork in this is suburb – every page reviews a color and everything in that particular scene has a subtle hue of the same color. Also by the same authors and illustrator is Bravo! and Fiesta! …. and I need to throw in Perros, Perros! too. I just can’t help myself.
I hope these books will get you on your way to enjoying story time in English and in Spanish with your little ones. If you are looking at purchasing a book for your kiddos, check to see if there is a bilingual edition you can get instead of just English. It will go miles for you, I promise.
Happy reading!
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Learning Spanish as a Family 