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Each year, the European Union celebrates the European Day of Languages on 26 September. To mark this celebration of linguistic diversity, we asked the editors of Forum for Modern Language Studies to tell us why they think people should study some of the major European languages.

The post Why does the European Day of Languages matter? appeared first on OUPblog.

The cute monsters from Originator‘s Endless Alphabet, Endless Reader, and Endless Numbers are back…en español! Endless Spanish (May 2015) follows much the same format as Endless Reader to teach basic Spanish vocabulary. There are two modes, “Spanish immersion” or “Spanish with English translation.”

Begin at A and work through the alphabet to Z, or start anywhere you like by choosing a letter from the main menu.

The narrator pronounces a word beginning with the selected letter as that word appears in lowercase. Los monstruos dash across the screen, scattering the letters; drag them into the correct order. As you drop each brightly patterned, monster-featured letter into place, the letter says its sound in a silly voice, followed by the narrator saying its name.

A sentence using the featured word in context (e.g., for amigo, ¡Los monstruos están muy contentos por tener un amigo nuevo!) appears and is read by the narrator. Then the featured word is knocked out of the sentence; it’s pronounced again as you place it correctly. One or two other Spanish sight words such as algo (something), bonito (pretty/nice), muy (very), and que (that), which are presumably included in additional letter packs, are highlighted in each phrase as well. The sentence is followed by a brief, humorous animation explicating both the word’s meaning and the gist of the sentence.

“The monsters are very happy to have a new friend!”

Tap to repeat the narrator’s pronunciation of the featured word or the contextual frase as many times as you’d like. In English-translation mode, the narrator gives you the English counterpart of the word/sentence, too.

The silly monsters and the funny situations they get themselves into introduce new vocabulary in an engaging way. Upbeat background music, sometimes with a bit of mariachi flavor, adds to the app’s friendly feel. I’ve been trying — and failing — to brush up on mi poquito de español; perhaps I’ll add Endless Spanish to my rotation of Spanish-language learning apps alongside Mango Languages and Duolingo. Endless Spanish is certainly more fun!

Available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch (requires iOS 7.0 or later). The free preview gives you one word for each letter of the alphabet up through F: amigo (friend), bien (good/well), casa (house), dijo (said), encontró (found), and flor (flower). Additional words must be purchased separately ($4.99/pack). Recommended for preschool users and up.

The post Endless Spanish app review appeared first on The Horn Book.

Lately — and by accident — I’ve been reading Spanish versions of many French-authored children’s picture books. For some reason, most of the books I’ve recently bought from bookstores in Lima and Buenos Aires to use for storytelling in Spanish were translated from French authors. I didn’t realize it at the time, but once I started to read them together I realized that they shared a strong message about the “we” instead of the “me.”

This prompted an informal search for other books that would have the same underlining message. For example, Pedro y la Luna by Alice Brière-Hacquet and Célia Chauffrey is about a boy who wants to bring the moon to his mom. To do so, he has to involve his entire community and beyond. Then there is the Portuguese story O Grande Rabanete by Tatiana Belinky. In it, a grandfather decides to plant radishes and progressively needs help with the harvest because of the radishes’ large size.

I then tried to think about other books that send the message of doing things together for a common cause and couldn’t think of many other than the classic stories “The Pied piper of Hamelin” and “The Little Red Hen.” In the 1990s there was The Rainbow Fish by Swiss author-illustrator Marcus Pfister. A fish with the shiniest scales in the sea refuses to share his wealth and then becomes lonely. He rediscovers community only once he shares his scales. And of course, there is also The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, a book published in 1971 that depicts what happens to a verdant land when the “Once-ler” chops down all the truffula trees and drives the (Seussian) animals away. The last hope to rebuild the environment — and the community — is for a boy to plant the last remaining truffula tree seed.

So much of children’s literature, especially today, is about common things that happen to kids, such as the boy a lost his bear and found it swapped in the forest in Where’s My Teddy? by Jez Alborough, or the boy who misbehaves with his mom in No, David! by David Shannon, or the classic Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, no Good Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. The list is endless.

All this made me think about the often repeated phrase, “literature is life.” So, are these books a reflection of our society? Are children’s books in other societies a reflection of a more “communal” (we) society instead of a more self-centered (me) society? Or is it that younger children relate better to stories that have more of a personal narrative tone? Can anybody think about books that transmit this message in their original languages?

The post Books that inspire community appeared first on The Horn Book.

The books recommended below were published within the last several years. While some titles contain only a sprinkling of Spanish vocabulary, many are fully bilingual. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion.

Preschool

Suggested ages level for all titles: PS

¡Muu, Moo!: Rimas de animales / Animal Nursery Rhymes written by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy; illus. by Viví Escrivá; English versions by Rosalma Zubizarreta (HarperCollins/Rayo)
Sixteen traditional nursery rhymes are presented first in Spanish and then in a free retelling in English that captures the flavor of the original. Soft, warm watercolor illustrations accompany the rhymes. 48 pages.

Waiting for the Biblioburro written by Monica Brown; illus. by John Parra (Tricycle)
Ana impatiently anticipates the arrival of a burro-riding librarian in her remote village; she reads avidly, writes, and creates her own book while she waits. Spanish words are defined in context and in a glossary. 32 pages.

Quinito, Day and Night / Quinito, día y noche written by Ina Cumpiano; illus. by José Ramírez (Children’s)
Quinito’s (Quinito’s Neighborhood) bilingual descriptions of his family, friends, and activities are accompanied by naive-style paintings. This book of opposites also succeeds as an exposition of bilingual vocabulary and a portrayal of community. 24 pages.

My Way: A Margaret and Margarita Story / A mi manera: Un cuento de Margarita y Margaret by Lynn Reiser (Greenwillow)
This bilingual tale is structured in an ingenious way, with the English (Margaret’s voice) and Spanish (Margarita’s) mirroring each other on facing pages, but with each girl presenting a distinct self. 32 pages.

Picture Books

Suggested grade level for all titles: K–3

Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People written by Monica Brown; illus. by Julie Paschkis (Holt)
Neftali’s boyhood love of reading, writing, and nature informed his poetry and his “dreams of peace.” Stylized illustrations are embellished with words—in English, Spanish, and other languages—related in both sound and sense. 32 pages.

Número Uno written by Alex Dorros and Arthur Dorros; illus. by Susan Guevara (Abrams)
When their village needs a new bridge, architect Socrates Rivera and builder Hercules Hernandez entertainingly pit brains against brawn. Simple Spanish dialogue punctuates the story-hour-ready text with verve.  32 pages.

My Papa Diego and Me: Memories of My Father and His Art / Mi papá Diego y yo: Recuerdos de mi padre y su arte written by Guadalupe Rivera Marín; illus by Diego Rivera (Children’s)
In this bilingual tribute, Marín pairs thirteen of her father’s paintings with first-person text. Her personal insight is conveyed simply, letting the art speak for itself. End matter offers more information about the paintings. 32 pages.

Tía Isa Wants a Car written by Meg Medina; illus. by Claudio Muñoz (Candlewick)
The young narrator describes how Tía Isa wants a car that’s “the same shiny green as the ocean.” However, they don’t have enough money—yet. Spanish words are incorporated naturally. Soft watercolor illustrations mirror the text. 32 pages.

Gracias / Thanks written by Pat Mora; illus. by John Parra (Lee and Low)
A boy says thanks to everything, from the sun that wakes him up to his pajamas. Poetic

The Tooth Fairy Meets El Ratón Pérez by René Colato Laínez, illustrated by Tom Lintern. Tricycle Press, 2010.

From time to time, the programs who get books from us let us know what they need. One of the biggest requests we get is for more Spanish language or bilingual offerings.

Well, we heard you, and we’d like to share the big news about an exclusive First Book first edition of the bilingual English/Spanish board book, Eric Carle’s classic picture book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Beginning this month, for the low, low price of $3.25, this book is available exclusively on the First Book Marketplace to our registered groups. This book is the only English/Spanish version on the market and a wonderful resource for our youngest readers. At retail, the board book in English or Spanish retails for $10.99.

We are thrilled to offer this exclusive, beautiful book to the programs serving kids who otherwise would not have classic children’s books in their lives.

     Not all kids learn the same way, and not all teachers teach the same way. Which is why Paco and the Giant Chile Plant ~ Paco y la planta de chile gigante is now available in all-Spanish and all-English hardcover and paperback versions.
     Now nothing can stand in the way to ¡habla espanol!

By the way - yesterday's book winner was Christina Ann Rodriguez - Congratulations Christina!!