I had the opportunity to review the five bilingual board books that form part of the Arte Kids Books collection: Black & Blanco!, Colors Everywhere, 1,2,3 Sí. Animal Amigos! Hello Círculos!  are colorful and full of learning opportunities! The sturdy board books provide colorful images, text in English and Spanish and at the end of each book, an explanation of the artwork that is included on each page. The artwork in the books are quite diverse, coming from all over the world.

One of the things I loved about this series is that it provides learning opportunities for younger and older children. For a younger child that is not very verbal yet, the books are great because of the great colorful pictures, and simplicity of the text. With older children, a parent can talk about the artwork, where the artists are from in the world, etc. The books also provide questions that create an interactive experience. For example, “Can you walk like an elephant?/Puedes caminar como un elefante?”

These books will open a world of color, art and fun to your little one. Make sure you check them out!

The Giveaway!

We’re giving away one set of the entire Arte Kids collection (5 books) to FIVE lucky winners! All you have to do is visit the Arte Kids site and come back here to leave us a comment letting us know which of the five books you’re the most excited about reading to your child. Then, enter the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Before I share about the creative people and organizations that put these wonderful little bilingual books together I must say that my two-and-a-half bilingual baby girl approves! They are perfect for my vibrant explorer who is busy putting all the words she knows in Spanish (with some English) together because the illustrations are not only unique, but strategically placed to provoke conversation. For instance, in the Colores Everywhere! book the colors white and black are on side-by-side pages. On the left page there is a big white, three tiered cake and on the left there is a black dog. The text next to the cake reads, Te gusta comer pastel?/Do you like to eat cake? and on the right it reads, Claro que si/ Oh, yes, I sure do! My nena looks for those two pages and replies to the dog, “No perro es mi pastel!/No, dog, that is my cake!”

Now, the reasons why I, a bilingual mother raising a bilingual baby, love the books. First and foremost, I love the way the code-switched titles reflect our local central Texas linguistically diverse community. Here, in central Texas, we speak in English and Spanish (sometimes within a single utterance) just like the titles of the books! Secondly, I appreciate the effort the San Antonio Museum of Art and the San Antonio Public Library Foundation have put in creating books that promote art and bilingual literacy through reading! As an avid art lover I also think the illustrator, Madeleine Budnick, did a wonderful job displaying the museums art pieces in three little books designed with children (like toddlers) in mind. As a mommy who is always on the look out for bilingual books for my nena, I like to think I have developed a keen eye in identifying quality bilingual books and I whole-heartedly think these books fall under that category.

These books have inspired me to head on south (an hour from my home) and visit the San Antonio Museum of Art with my little girl with our library tote bag carrying our bilingual books. The plan is to try and locate the artwork in the book while visiting the museum. Though she is only two-and-a-half I think she will enjoy identifying the artifacts at the museum as she already does this with icons she has seen from other books, like with certain animals, colors, and shapes.

I hope you enjoy learning about shapes, numbers, and/or colors in Spanish and English with your sprouting little ones. Suerte!

The Giveaway

One Lucky winner will receive ONE 3-book series (pictured above). Just visit the Arte Kids website and leave us a comment telling us which of the three books you think your child would like best, then enter the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway