In her article “Raise a Bilingual Kid” author Rachel Morris offers pratical and informative ideas for helping your child learn a second language. Since I am not , as the article says, “lucky enough to be a bilingual family” already, I was especially interested in the ideas for what my daughter and I could to to learn a second language together. Educational DVDs, music CDs, audiobooks and books can all help both parents and children learn words and phrases in another language.

Our library has a Spanish language collection for both children and adults. The children’s area also features some foreign language stories. Almost 200 biligual books for children feature the English translation along with another language, including German, Spanish, French, Japanese, and Chinese.

Check out these books for parents to learn more about bilingual kids:

7 steps to raising a bilingual child
by Naomi Steiner
 
Raising bilingual children: a parent’s guide 
by Carey Myles

Raising multilingual children: foreign language acquisition and children
by Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa
 
Growing up with two languages: a practical guide
by Una Cunningham-Andersson
 
The bilingual family: a handbook for parents 
by Edith Harding

Don’t forget!!—The 4th annual El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library will be celebrated on April 30, 2009, from 5-7:30 PM in Marvin Auditorium. Read a brochure in English and Spanish which includes tips on reading to and with children, a list of recommended books, and a list of Web sites for further information.