Helping you provide better early education for dual language learners
Big Ideas for Finding Books for Preschool DLLs
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Need help finding books for preschool DLLs to support the home languages and cultures of your children? In this post I give you quick tips and deeper resources to help you keep the learning going!
6 books I like to use (with links to purchase via the Language Castle Amazon Store):
Hairs/Pelitos by Sandra Cisneros
Bee Bim Bop by Linda Sue Park
Shoes, Shoes, Shoes by Ann Morris
New Words, New Friends and Nuevas Palabras, Nuevos Amigos by Karen Nemeth
De Colores and Other Latin American Folksongs for Children by Jose Luis Orozco
Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors by Hena Khan
5 quick answers to the question “Where can I find free books for my preschool DLLs?”
- The library. (New book by librarians will give you some ideas: Once Upon a Cuento: Bilingual Storytimes in English and Spanish)
- The families – and their families in home countries.
- Embassies and cultural organizations.
- Make them yourself with the help of children and families
- International Children’s Digital Library icdlbooks.org
5 quick answers to the question “How should I choose books for my preschool DLLs?”
- Use respected sources to locate high quality, culturally authentic books.
- Look for translated versions of some of your favorite books.
- Look for culturally respectful books that rely on great illustrations to tell a story.
- Invite a committee of bilingual volunteers to help you evaluate books for purchase.
- Include a combination of books with two languages, books with cultural stories in one language, and books that are available in multiple languages.
5 authors of children’s books we recommend for DLLs:
- Alma Flor Ada
- Pat Mora
- Grace Lin
- Ann Morris
- Karen Nemeth
5 great places to buy books/reading materials in different languages for preschool DLLs:
www.languagelizard.com catalog site
www.starbrightbooks.org catalog site
www.eastwestdiscovery.com catalog site
www.highlights.com/ High Five Bilingüe magazine
Language Castle’s Multilingual/Multicultural Preschool Book Suggestions Amazon Store
6 websites to visit for more suggestions:
- We’re here to help with blogs, products, and other resources: www.languagecastle.com
- Nonprofit organizations that support multicultural literacy:
http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com www.weneeddiversebooks.org
- Diversity in Action from the American Library Association: http://dia.ala.org
- Head Start/ DOE Supporting DLLs Toolkit example: https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/selecting-culturally-appropriate-books.pdf
- Bilingual literacy site: www.colorincolorado.org
Update on September 21, 2016 – Interesting article in Mother Jones September/October issue can be a great conversation-starter on this topic: The Uncomfortable Truth about Children’s Books by Dashka Slater
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Learning Props offers both books and games with the intention of classroom use as well as family engagement. Languages offered English Only, Spanish/English, and books Arabic/English, Chinese/English that could be paired with the English game mats. 11 concepts covered for school readiness and language learning.
Thanks, Bev. I do encourage people to consider your products. In this issue I was really focusing on books but I plan to cover other kinds of multilingual learning materials soon. Meanwhile, our readers can visit http://www.learningprops.com
World of Reading – http://www.wor.com – has products in over 100 languages!
It was nice round up. I’ve tried the books of Alma Flor Ada, will have to check out the rest of them as well.