An ancient Greek story re-told in both Spanish and English by Rita Wirkala, Tarsiana has inspired young people down the centuries. Bravely facing adversity, injustice and separation, her creativity and optimism see her through to personal triumph and plenitude. (All ages)…[ MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK » ]
This award-winning series of illustrated children’s books by Afghan author Idries Shah features tales from a
The four bilingual tales and CDs are a wonderfully entertaining way to teach Spanish to young children (ages 3 and up).
They will learn through the stories – even those who do not yet read!
At the same time,
children who already have knowledge of Spanish through Espanol para chicos y grandes will find an opportunity to enrich their skills with more reading and listening, and will greatly benefit from new vocabulary and grammar patterns.
These tales are “teaching-stories,” which foster creative thinking skills, greater mental flexibility, and insight for people of all ages.
— How to use the stories —
The best way to use this material is through frequent reading. Parents and teachers are encouraged to follow the following steps:
– Have your CD ready on the track where the Spanish story begins, that is, immediately after the track “Bienvenidos” (Welcome).
– Sit with your child or children in a comfortable place so both of you can follow the text and the illustrations. (Placing your chair by the bed will also work). Have your CD player close by, with your finger on the “pause” button. You will need to pause the CD every few seconds, until both of you become more familiar with the story in Spanish.
– Read the first sentence in English (or the first clause, if the sentence is long), then stop. Press the “play” button and listen to the corresponding sentence in Spanish, trying to follow the Spanish text in your book. Pause the CD and return to the next English sentence, and so on.
For example, let’s take El muchachito listo y el terrible y peligroso animal (The Clever Boy and the Terrible, Dangerous Animal).
The first time you read it you should read very short sentences or fragments such as these:
|Once upon a time there was a very clever boy||Había una vez un muchachito muy listo|
|Who lived in a village.||que vivía en un pueblo.|
|Nearby was another village||Cerca de este había otro pueblo|
|That he had never visited.||que él nunca había visitado.|
Follow this procedure until the end of the story. The next day, you can read the same story again, trying to read and listen to longer and longer sentences. After a time, you will be able to read entire paragraphs. If you keep doing this with the same story, your child will be able to understand the Spanish version without the help of the English.
You will find that this is a fun, entertaining and useful educational tool. Please do not hesitate to contact us (email@example.com) if you have questions about this wonderful collection.