BOOK DESCRIPTION/REVIEW

Growing up, I always loved comic strips. I couldn’t get enough of Condorito, Mafalda, Archi and La pequeña Lulú. Looking back, I know at least the jokes in the first two were more for an adult audience than anything else, but I still loved them! While I haven’t introduced my kids to any of these comic strips just yet, I recently got my hands on a copy of El globo grande y mojado a TOON book by Liniers, a renowned Argentinian cartoonist who draws his inspiration from his own two little girls.

My daughter, who’s 7 years old and an avid reader, was immediately enthralled by a format she’s not really familiar with and wasted no time taking over and reading the sweet story to her little brother. The best part is that she actually made different voices for Matilda and her little sister Clementina and made the sound of the different noises Liniers includes throughout his easy-t0-read comic.

El globo grande y mojado tells the perfect little story of what it’s like to be a big sister — a role my girl had no trouble identifying with which, I believe, is one of the reasons she enjoyed this book so much. Not to mention that the cartoons are truly expressive!

BOOK DETAILS

Title: El Globo Grande y Mojado

Author & Illustrator: Liniers

Ages: 4+

Publisher/Year: TOON/Candlewick/2013

ISBN: 978-1-935179-32-0

Price: $12.95

Website: Toon Books

The Giveaway!

We are giving away one copy of El Globo Grande y Mojado to FOUR lucky winners. All you have to do is leave us a comment letting us know what’s your child’s or your favorite comic strip and enter the rafflecopter below.

Ends November 28th 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GoComics features the classics, such as Peanuts, Calvin & Hobbes, and Doonesbury, but also has a wide array of newer comics, like Big Nate (Nate el Grande) that younger readers will love. Some of the strips are illustration-based, and others are more densely worded. I love that some of the Spanish versions present a high-level reading challenge for kids while still being fun.

The app is updated daily, is quick to load, and offers hours of digital entertainment without all the noise and distraction that come with many of our kids’ favorite apps. Use the free version, or pay $0.99/month to get an ad-free app experience, a daily comics email, and access to content and discounts on the GoComics website.

Find GoComics in iTunes and Google Play

Available for iPad, iPhone, and Android

Recommended for ages 10 and up

Price: FREE (basic account); Pro Membership available for $0.99/month

Check out more about GoComics here.

Courtesy of Donna Pham

Students from seventh through twelfth grade at the school where I teach are interested in comics. Actually, I have recently learned that the correct term for these books is graphic novels. I see them reading during lunch, on the school bus, and sometimes they even try to sneak reading them during class. I love when I see the kids so excited to read.

Learning Spanish can be challenging and tedious for teenagers. Older students often have to struggle to acquire the language. As a teacher, I have always tried to tap into my students’ interests in order to make learning fun. The comics that they so love to read were perfect for the Spanish classroom.

I started by introducing my students to the iconic Malfalda character from Argentina and found other comics on-line that were easy to understand due to the illustrations that accompany the dialogue. I wanted to give the students the opportunity to not just read comics in Spanish, but encouraged their creativity by having them write and illustrate their own works.

The library technician at our school, Tommy Kovac, is a talented and published graphic novelist. He has experience both in writing and illustrating some amazing stories. His graphic novel “Wonderland” was published by Disney and selected by the American Library Association’s “Great Graphic Novels For Teens” list. Tommy took the time to teach my students about the creative process of writing and drawing graphic novels. The students were enthralled and intrigued to learn the process involved with writing and illustrating in one their favorite genres.

Courtesy of Janet Doan

I assigned a project that had the kids take what they learned to create their own comics in Spanish. They were enthusiastic and eager to get started, and spent the next couple of days in class working. The work that the students produced was absolutely incredible! My efforts to teach Spanish benefit enormously when I take a creative and artistic approach for engaging the learners.

So much that I do in the classroom interests my own bilingual children. The activities that we do in class, the books that we read or the songs that we sing can all be adapted to further the linguistic abilities of my own bilingual children. My young sons loved looking at and having me read them the projects of my students. They too were inspired to create their own stories, draw their own characters and tell me their tales in Spanish.

Sometimes tapping into our children’s creative and artistic natures fosters learning and imagination beyond our expectations. Introduce your children to comics in Spanish, encourage them to write their own, and wait to be amazed by the results.