An Awesome Spanish Picture Book To Use Right Now
Reading is an essential part of learning any language and Spanish is no exception.
In terms of teaching your child Spanish, reading books is important because it exposes your child to a strong level of vocabulary and grammatically correct sentence structure.
It can also expose your child to rhyming and word play that will help them hear and speak more fluent Spanish.
For more information on the benefits of reading aloud to improve your Spanish, check out this post here:
How To Improve Your Spanish By Reading Aloud
Table of Contents
Bilingual books or just books in Spanish?
As a parent raising a bilingual child, you can choose to use bilingual books Spanish/English or those only written in Spanish.
I buy both, though I only read in Spanish out loud to my daughter in Spanish. Having a bilingual book can help you understand the text better, so if you’re a Spanish learner that may be a great benefit for you. Bilingual books can always be great for comparing vocabulary as your child gets older.
The reason that I don’t read in English at home is that I believe that children don’t need to hear the story in English after hearing it in Spanish; they will enjoy it even if they don’t understand every Spanish word.
They’ll get so much from the context of the photographs combined with hearing the words. In other words, you don’t need to translate for them 🙂
Also, as my daughter’s only source of Spanish language input at home, I want to make sure that I’m maximizing that time with Spanish.
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Authentic Spanish books or translated books?
As a non-native speaker, I didn’t grow up reading any books in Spanish and many of the Spanish picture books that we have in our house are translations of popular English picture books. This is partially because some of them are my childhood favorites and I want to share them with my daughter so I buy them in Spanish and partially because it is very hard to find authentic Spanish publications just from random internet searches.
I’ve seen some argue that it’s really important to read books that were originally written in Spanish as opposed to those that have been translated. I believe that books originally published in Spanish can have a strong literary and cultural value and that there is a lot of value in reading them. Language and culture are intertwined and when you’re reading a book written in the author’s native language there is a lot to be said for that.
That being said, I don’t look for those books exclusively and also have noticed that they are hard to find. We get them and read them when we can and we also enjoy books that have been translated into Spanish.
So the first book that I’m sharing is actually an authentic Spanish book that was written and published in Spain. Not only does this book have some great literary benefits, but it’s also got a cat! We’re big cat fans in our family so this book is a must. We’ve read it so many times that my daughter has the rhymes memorized!
El Gato Que No Bajaba Del Sillon Y El Porque De Su Sinrazon
Title: El Gato Que No Bajaba Del Sillón: Y El Porqué De Su Sinrazón
Author: Susie Hammer and Irene Alvarez Lata
ISBN 13 : 978-8494665073
Rhyming:
This book has simple rhymes on each page that flow well. After a few reads I would pause at the last word and my daughter would fill it in. Pointing out and listening to the rhyme helps to build strong listening skills and an appreciation for the rhythm of the language.
Easy Start:
This funny book has obvious characters and a relatable theme: a cat that’s afraid of the vacuum cleaner “la bestia”. There aren’t so many words that a beginner will be overwhelmed, but enough words for them to get a good dose of new vocabulary. The gist of the story is easily attainable from the images and it’s a great read for kids age 3-6.
If you’re looking for a great Spanish book to start reading to your child this is the perfect start. It’s nice for a parent who’s still getting a hang of the language and has features that make it easily accessible to young children and Spanish learners!
Happy Learning!
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