The third movie based on the wildly popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series comes to theaters everywhere on August 3, 2012. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: DOG DAYS, follows Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) – as he “hatches a plan to pretend he has a job at a ritzy country club – which fails to keep him away from the season’s dog days, including embarrassing mishaps at a public pool and a camping trip that goes horribly wrong.” Co-stars Robert Capron, Devon Bostick, Rachael Harris, and Steve Zahn are also back for more in this hilarious PG-rated summer movie which is perfect for the whole family.

Last week I got a chance to chat with author, Jeff Kinney about the worldwide success of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Check out the trailer for Dog Days (with Spanish subtitles) and then the interview below! (BONUS: the Diario de Greg website in Spanish is a lot of fun!)

Interview with Jeff Kinney

Author Jeff Kinney with Diary of a Wimpy Kid character, Greg Heffley

SB: Hi, Jeff! I’m Tracy López on behalf of Spanglishbaby.com. I got my hands on the Spanish version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid – And as a parent raising bilingual children, I was really happy to see that the humor had been translated very well. How did you ensure that difficult to translate jokes and phrases in the book weren’t lost in translation?

That’s a great question. It is actually something that I actually have no control over, no real knowledge of because the books have been translated into 40 languages. There have been languages that the book’s been translated into that I didn’t even know existed, for example Catalan. It’s sort of a leap of faith where you hope that the translator is getting it right. For example, I wanted to write something where Roderick tells Greg that two dollar bills are not real money and that Greg’s two dollar bill collection is just, you know, it’s just basically play money. I had to really think about whether or not I want to put it in my book because that wouldn’t really translate into other languages because other countries probably don’t have rare two dollar bills. So, those are the considerations I’ve been making since it’s been translated.

SB: Jeff, you mentioned that the book’s been translated into 40 languages, and I was just wondering how you feel about that. Are you surprised at the book’s massive success?

Oh, yes, definitely. Everything that’s happened past 2007 has been like the Truman Show for me. I’m actually sitting with my editor today, and we were just reflecting on all this, and I can’t believe the book was ever published to begin with. I just thought the format was too unusual. For the series to be in all these different places all over the world, and to have the opportunity to meet kids in places like Australia and Scotland, it just blows my mind that kids have taken to these books. I thought they were too distinctly American, but it seems like they really enjoy the narrative, and that’s been one of the real surprises to me.

SB: I understand that Zachary Gordon, who plays the character Greg in the movie, is also the voice of San-San on Ni-Hao Kai-Lan. I was wondering if you had ever heard Zachary speak Mandarin?

Yes, I think we’ve made him do the voice from time to time. But, I believe, and I could be wrong, that the change in his voice made it impossible for him to continue that job.

***

Here’s some more exciting information for fans of the series – Jeff says “One of the things we’re doing that I’m very interested in is taking these stories into animation. For example I am really interested in doing a holiday special.” Jeff also promises that he is planning on continuing the series. “I’m literally illustrating book number seven as we speak,” he said, “And…I hope to keep writing for as long as I have good ideas.”

Ready for the giveaway? Here’s what you need to do!

The Giveaway

We’re giving away one Diary of a Wimpy Kid gift pack to one lucky winner. The gift pack includes:

· Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (book)
· The past two movies on DVD (Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Although my husband doesn’t get to read to our daughter as much as they’d both like to, a few nights ago he was home before her bedtime and she begged him to read her the new book we had just received to review for this month’s ReadMe: Mimí’s Parranda.

It was a great pairing because the book is about a parranda – an awesome, fun and musical tradition that takes place during Christmas in Puerto Rico, my husband’s homeland. So he immediately got into it and even interrupted his reading to tell Vanessa his own stories of parrandas. Needless to say, she was in heaven!

Gil tells the story of Mimí, a girl for whom Christmas is synonymous with traveling to Puerto Rico to go to the beach, eat pasteles and get a parranda. But this particular year, things are a bit different. Mimí has a baby sister and her mom informs her they can’t travel because she’s too little. Oh, the disappointment! By the end of the story, though, Mimí’s school friends, who originally made fun of her explanation of a parranda, actually bring one to her as a surprise when they find out she’s not going to Puerto Rico.

I had initially found Lydia Gil’s beautiful bilingual book, “Mimí’s Parranda/La parranda de Mimí,” at our local library at the beginning of the year. I remember being immediately drawn to it because we had just come back from Puerto Rico where we had the opportunity to experience a parranda. Several months later, as I was trying to figure out what book to review for December’s ReadMe, I came across the book again at the library and I had my answer.

I like the book for a lot of reasons but mostly because it deals with cultural differences – a topic much too important for all of us raising bilingual kids. And one Gil obviously understands.

“While pregnant, I began to think of the traditions my child would grow up with here in the US.  As a child of immigrants myself–my family left Cuba for Puerto Rico shortly before I was born—I grew up with two sets of traditions: the Cuban inside the home and the Puerto Rican outside.  The “parranda”, however, was one of the few instances in which both worlds mingled,” Gil explained in an interview via email. “I wanted to recreate that feeling of joyful cultural coexistence for my child and share the wonderful memories I had of parrandas while growing up Puerto Rico.”

One of the things that makes this bilingual book different than the others we’ve presented through ReadMe so far is that it was not translated from English to Spanish. Gil, who was raised speaking Spanish only, wrote it in both languages at the same time. I can’t even begin to fathom the complexity of this undertaking. Talk about the definition of being bilingual…

“It’s an interesting process because sometimes the English informed the Spanish and vice-versa.  This is usually how I write creative prose.  It poses some challenges, of course, because sometimes an expression that flows very well in one language has no equivalent in the other, so I have to rephrase in order for the translation to remain accurate,” Gil said about the process. “While literary translators can make aesthetic choices when books are published in translation, bilingual children’s books, in my opinion, need to be fastidiously accurate for the sake of reference, basically, so one who is not fluent in one language can find a working equivalent in the other as easily as possible.”

It’s difficult to find somebody who has the talent to do that. While reading the book the first time, I immediately noticed it didn’t really sound like a translation. In fact, I usually ask the authors featured in ReadMe to explain why the book was translated to Spanish. In Gil’s case, I actually asked if she’d written it in both. As a writer myself, I truly admire Gil’s ability to do this without compromising the story she is telling.

Read the rest of the interview and maybe you too will hope she writes another children’s book soon.

“I would recommend reading it all the way through in one language and then in the other, not alternating paragraph by paragraph.  Kids don’t need to understand every word to get the gist of a story, so it’s important to maintain the flow of language.  I also did an audio version of Mimí’s Parranda with a company that specializes in Spanish and bilingual audiobooks for children, Lorito Books.  Audiobooks are a wonderful way for parents to reinforce the language that is not their dominant.  However, they should be a companion to reading with their children, not a substitute.”

“Literacy is essential to the success of any community!  Among the Latino communities, bilingual literacy should be a priority. I often see students of Latino heritage who can converse quite well in Spanish, but who lack the reading and writing skills necessary to function professionally as bilingual.  I think that all communicative skills should be emphasized from childhood.  This would help children become proficient in both languages and also facilitate the acquisition of other languages later on.”

What do you think about the concept of raising kids bilingual/bi-cultural?

“I think that if parents have the ability to raise their kids bilingual and bicultural they must do it. Before our daughter was born, we decided she would be raised bilingual. I spoke Spanish to her from the moment I held her and my husband spoke English, his native language.  This became the norm for her: Spanish with mom and English with dad. It’s great to hear her teach dad how to say things in Spanish and to see her in the playground switching between languages to whatever language feels natural with her friends.”

“I grew up surrounded by books.  My parents always said that while we didn’t have much money for leisurely things, there was always enough for books.  Plus we borrowed and traded and, as kids, we wrote stories to embellish the ones we were reading… So I guess writing came as a natural extension of reading.”

“The Piñata Books imprint is a gem for parents, teachers and, of course, children!  Their editorial vision is to create bilingual books for children that reflect an authentic Latino cultural experience.  It differs from most other publishers that cater to Latino children in their insistence on cultural authenticity, bilingual accuracy, and accessibility. I felt honored that my book was published by Arte Público, and my experience with them could not have been more positive.”

Lydia Gil

LYDIA GIL: (Cuba/Puerto Rico) writer, teacher and journalist. She teaches Spanish language and Latin American literature at the University of Denver, and reports on cultural and literary news for the Hispanic News Services of EFE, Spain’s News Agency. Since 1998, she writes the weekly book-review column “Libros.”  She is the author of “Mimí’s Parranda/La parranda de Mimí”, a bilingual children’s book.

The Giveaway:

As you probably know by now, part of ReadMe includes the opportunity to win a copy of the book being reviewed. This is another one you’ll definitely want to add to your kids’ library. To win, share with us what holiday tradition you have passed (or plan to pass) on to your children and why.

Giveaway rules.

This giveaway ends at midnight EST on Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009. Entries/Comments that do not follow the submission guidelines will be invalid and automatically deleted.  Sorry, just need to keep  it fair. Good luck to all!

My three-year-old daughter, Vanessa, loves our black Lab, Max, even when he slobbers all over her just to say hello. But, she hasn’t been alive long enough to know/understand certain things about him – like the fact that, left to his own devices, he pretty much can chew away anything in sight. I’m talking from shoes to his plastic water bowl. Unfortunately, this has meant we’ve had to deal with a few nerve racking emergencies – the kind where a positive outcome is completely uncertain  – since he became a part of our family eight years ago.

So, although she could definitely relate to a few of the themes (including sharing, having a younger brother, loving your dog) going on in this month’s ReadMe bilingual book, The Dog Who Loved Tortillas, a beloved pet getting sick was a new subject matter for her.

The tale; however, is about the fundamental healing power that can come from a relationship between a child and his dog. If you’ve been lucky enough to have a dog, you probably know what I’m talking about.

“The story is essentially about how a dog brings together a brother and sister who are always fighting,” said the book’s author, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, via email. “Through a puppy named Sofie, the two siblings, Diego and Gabriela learn to share. It takes a little dog to repair their relationship. Dogs do that sometimes.”

It is seamless and so well told that the first time I read it, I have to admit I was kind of at the edge of my seat wondering how it would all turn out. Not to mention the super cool claymation figures which make it impossible not to want to turn the pages as quickly as possible to discover the next one.

The Dog Who Loved Tortillas – published this past August – is the second book in a series entitled Little Diego. The first book, A Gift from Papa Diego – about the relationship between a boy, Little Diego, and his grandfather – was published 11 years ago.

“In that book, I set up a whole family dynamics and characters that I could develop in different situations for future books,” explained Sáenz. “I really loved the claymation figures that Geronimo Garcia created for that book. He really hit on something very special with the figures he created. We had always wanted to continue the series because the clay characters were so charming. And then I hit upon this idea of a dog who loves tortillas based on my own experience with my own dog (who was, by the way, named Sofie).”

Both books in the series were published by Cinco Puntos Press, yet another excellent publishing house you need to know if you’re raising bilingual children. Started back in 1985 by writers Bobby and Lee Byrd, Cinco Puntos Press is a “small, very independent publishing company rooted in El Paso, Texas, not three miles north of the U.S. Mexican Border,” according to their website.

Each of the pages of this wonderful tale includes the text in both English and Spanish, so you get both options side by side. But translations are not done arbitrarily by this publishing house.

“Our rule of thumb is simple: Is the cultural relevance of this book magnified in a Spanish/English format? Ben is a border person, a fronterizo who grew up in a bilingual community. Bilingual is a large part of who he is and and, likewise, for a large part, his audience, so it’s a natural fit,” said Bobby Byrd, Cinco Puntos Press’ co-publisher and vice president. “We don’t do bilingual books for the sake of doing bilingual books. For instance, we wouldn’t have done Where The Wild Things Are (should we have been so lucky to have published it) as a bilingual book. It doesn’t make sense.”

Reaching a Latino/bilingual audience was exactly what Sáenz was looking for when he decided to get into the business of writing for children.

“The whole issue of visually seeing the two languages side by side is something that really moves me. And I hope it really moves children, parents and teachers, too,” said Sáenz. “I’m a big believer in bilingualism. You don’t have to sacrifice one language for the other. There’s room on the tongue for both languages.”

How true is that? Maybe that should be our new mantra. The rest of what Sáenz has to say about bilingualism and literacy is thought-provoking and insightful. Check it out:

SB – How would you say parents raising their kids bilingual can “use” your book to do so?

“Children can literally see two languages on equal footing. That’s so crucial because a lot of Mexican-American children grow up believing that Spanish is an inferior language. Spanish is not an inferior language. And neither is Spanglish! Children (and adults) can go back and forth and see how one can say a particular thought in English or in Spanish. It makes using the two languages much easier.

SB – As a writer, can you talk about the importance of literacy among the Latino community…

“This is serious business. We’re not doing well with regard to literacy and education in the Latino community. We have to recommit ourselves to the work of creating a literate, educated populace that can think critically about the issues of the day. We need to produce thinkers, readers, entrepreneurs, filmmakers and on and on. But we’re not going to do that if we don’t get our children to master both English and Spanish. Readers know how to think! I’m especially concerned that we’re losing boys. Reading has become a girl thing. That’s a silly concept. We need to do a better job. We need a new motto: Real men read books.”

SB – Were you raised bilingual? How was that experience?

“Yes, I was raised with two languages. Growing up, almost all Spanish. But some English. Then school. I liked English. I liked Spanish. I liked words! Being bilingual was normal. I thought everybody spoke Spanish when I was a boy. I remember talking to an adult in a store once and my mother telling me to speak to that person in English. “She doesn’t speak Spanish,” she said.  I thought that was really very strange. How could she not know Spanish. Didn’t everybody? There was a time in junior high school that speaking Spanish didn’t really interest me. Oddly enough, that’s when I began taking Spanish in school. It was strange, studying Spanish in school. Just like I studied English. But it was also great.”

SB – What do you think about the concept of raising kids bilingual?

“Everybody should do it. While we’re at, we should add a third language. Why not?  Why are we so provincial when it comes to speaking languages? Shame on us.”

SB – How and why did you become a writer?

“I always wanted to be a writer. And I was good at it. I was lousy at math. And the sciences, forget about it. But I loved to read and think about things and think about people and how they acted and wondered what made people do what they did. I finally started my career as a writer when I was thirty. You could say writing was my first love, but it was my second career.”

Benjamín Alire Sáenz

Benjamin Alire Sáenz, poet, novelist, and writer of children’s books was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico in 1954, the fourth of seven children. His most recent novel is Names On a Map and his most recent YA novel is Last Night I Sang to the Monster. His forthcoming book of poems is entitled, The Book of What Remains. He has won numerous awards including, the Tomas Rivera Award, American Book Award, a Lannan Foundation Fellowship, a Wallace Stegner Fellowship, the Americas Book Award, a Texas Institute of Letters award, a Southwest Book Award, the Patterson Prize and he has been a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He is a professor of Creative Writing at the University of Texas at El Paso and lives, writes, and breathes on the U.S. / Mexico border.

The Giveaway:

As you probably know by now, part of ReadMe includes the opportunity to win a copy of the book being reviewed. Once again, I assure you this is one awesome book you’ll want to add to your kids’ library – especially, at least for me, after getting to know the author better thanks to his insightful answers.  To win, share with us what you do to promote literacy in your house/school.

Giveaway rules.

This giveaway ends at midnight EST on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009. Entries/Comments that do not follow the submission guidelines will be invalid and automatically deleted.  Sorry, just need to keep  it fair. Good luck to all!

Photo by *clairity*

Some interesting links to share with you, especially the announcement at the end… Check it out!

1) The New York Times: Supreme Court Sides with Arizona in Language Case – “The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with Arizona officials who said the federal government should not be supervising the state’s spending for teaching non-English-speaking students. The 5-to-4 decision reversed a ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which said the state was still violating a law that required “appropriate action” to help English language learners overcome language obstacles.” I suggest you also read this article as background to understand where all this is coming from.

2) FindingDulcinea.com: Can Language Immersion Lead to Enhanced Creativity – “Utah’s elementary school language immersion programs could encourage students to live abroad, an experience that studies suggest improves creative problem-solving abilities.” Creativity? Who would’ve thought… Yet another reason it’s a great idea to raise our chiquillos bilingual and support dual language education!

3) Education Week: Study: Latino Teens Benefit from Sharing Two Cultures with Parents – “Latino adolescents are happier and healthier if both they and their parents have one foot firmly planted in Latino culture and the other in U.S. culture, a study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found. In other words, Latino adolescents are less likely to engage in risky behaviors, such as abusing alcohol or drugs or dropping out of school, if they take steps to stay involved in their culture of heritage and their parents also take steps at the same time to integrate into U.S. culture.” I specifically like the fact that the study promotes dual language immersion education by saying it’s one of the best ways to promote biculturalism.

4) Examiner.com: Interview with Children’ts Author Lupe Ruiz-Flores – “Lupe has led quite an intriguing and interesting life. Though she’s now a children’s author, she used to be an aerospace engineering technician for the Department of Defense and once lived in Thailand and Japan.” Piñata Books, one of the publishing houses I wrote about here, publishes her books, so I know for sure I’ll be checking her out…

5) TomaLeche.com: Pasiones, Mentiras y Secretos – “Los Angeles area wife and husband team, our very own, Ana Lilian Flores and Alan Huijsmans, in collaboration with friends Antonio Perez and Omar Villegas, won $2000 in the NO MORE DRAMA WITH TOMA LECHE video Web Novela contest, sponsored by the California MIlk Processor Board (CMPB), creator of GOT MILK? and TOMA LECHE (Drink Milk). Through June 12, Californians submited a video Web Novela or storyboard illustrating how milk could be the answer to alleviating symptoms of drama-enducing PMS.” You guys have to watch this. It’s hilarious and it was produced and shot by Ana and her husband!!

The best for last:

6) SpanglishBaby: Bilingual Summer Fun Week of Giveaways – Be sure to visit us every day this week for a whole bunch of surprise giveaways! You really won’t want to miss these awesome products created specifically with bi-cultural children in mind…

So, if you’re not a subscriber to our feed, make sure you become one either by email or RSS because these are some giveaways you don’t want to miss!