Reading is one of the best tools to raise a bilingual child!
Books have always been an escape for me. Reading has opened my world. It has made me travel while sitting in my living room Reading made me laugh and cry. It made me evade when I needed an escape from the real world.
But books can be more than an escape. They can support you in your journey of raising your children bilingual.
So today, we’re talking about all the good stuff that can come from reading with your bilingual child. We’ll discuss why reading is one of the best tools to raise a bilingual child. I’ll give you tips on how to develop the love of reading in your little one (spoiler alert: you don’t have to break the bank for that!). I’ll also share with you some of our favorite books to read!
So keep reading.
Why is the Love of Reading Important to Raise a Bilingual Child?
Language development
Reading helps kids grow their vocabulary and develop their language. It improves speech and communication skills.
Has your child ever discovered a new word in a book you read, and kept using that over and over again in the following weeks? Reading will do that!
Reading sharpens memory and helps your child get a hang of the language.
So however annoying and boring it may seem to read the same book every night for weeks at a time, keep it up! Your kids love it and it will help develop their vocabulary in whatever language you’re teaching them.
Awareness of different cultures
Books are wonderful tools to expose your multicultural kids to different cultures and make them travel without leaving their bedrooms. Books are especially a good tool for children growing up in multicultural households.
Reading can help your child develop empathy and understanding of others.
I have used books to expose my kid to different religions, including the Baha’i faith, Buddhism, and Islam.
I read her books with characters living in different countries than the one we were in. When we were living in the US, I made a point of reading books set in African countries or with black characters. Some of our favorites were:
- Baby Goes to Market by Atinuke
- Chicken in the Kitchen by Nnedi Okorafor (set in Nigeria)
- Akissi comic series by Marguerite Abouet (Set in Cote d’Ivoire)
- I Want to Ride the Tap-Tap by Danielle Joseph (set in Haiti)
- Eza ma Poupée (set in Benin)
Building confidence
Reading to your child and encouraging a love for reading also helps boost your child’s confidence in learning. It can help them become self-learners, become more curious, and develop a love for learning. It expands their vocabulary, and builds their independence, and self-confidence.
Reading can build the confidence of your child to communicate with others.
How to Raise Your Bilingual Child by Giving Them the Love for Reading?
Reading to your child out loud
According to Jim Trelease the author of The Read-Aloud Handbook, reading to a child sends a pleasure message to the child’s brain.
I can confirm that our bedtime routine, which includes reading, is one of the favorite moments of my child’s day. I’ve even used books to sometimes bribe her into getting ready for bed (don’t judge me!). And it usually works because she loves our reading routine so much!
Because of this, she’s always excited to discover a new book, even if she doesn’t know how to read yet.
Of course, you have to make reading exciting! Don’t underestimate the effect of different voices and self-made sound effects! Ask your kid questions while you’re reading. Point to the pictures to help your child associate words with pictures. In other words, engage, engage engage your child!
Let children choose books
To encourage your bilingual child’s love of reading, it’s important to let them choose books that interest them. Forcing them to read books they don’t care for would just bore them down. It may even turn them away from reading altogether.
If you’re worried they would pick inappropriate books, you can give them the choice between books you find appropriate.
Letting your child choose their books leads to a positive attitude towards reading.
It’s also important to let your child read any type of material they prefer, whether it’s poetry, comics, or magazines, as long as it’s age-appropriate.
Talk about books
Talk about the books you read with your child. Ask them what they think about them. Point out if you notice in real life a situation that happened in the book. Find books about topics that interest your child. For instance, is your kid interested in dinosaurs, do they enjoy soccer, are they a music fan? Tell to your bilingual child about books on topics they love, are passionate about, or are interested in.
Find those books in different languages to give your child different perspectives.
The point is to associate books with what your child enjoys and finds interesting.
Make sure your bilingual child has access to books
This one is a biggie! You can’t expect your child to develop a love for reading if they don’t have easy access to books.
I will always remember how my mama used to bring home boxes of books to read, and how she would drop us off on Wednesday afternoons at the local library in Plateaux (my love for libraries probably comes from these afternoons). We would spend hours just browsing book aisles and reading. And I loved it!
Making sure your bilingual kids have access to books doesn’t mean you have to break the bank every month to buy them new books. Books can be expensive!
Plus there’s nothing more discouraging than buying a pricey book just to realize that your child isn’t interested in it.
So how can you make sure your child has plenty of books to read without using all your money?
Look for cheap or free books
Use the resources you have available to you for free or cheap: libraries, second-hand bookstores, and book exchanges with other bilingual parents.
When I lived in Miami, I registered my kid to a county program that offered one monthly book for free to children from 0 to 5 years old. Registration was free and books were available in Spanish and English. We also made regular trips to the local libraries for story time or just to browse and borrow books (for free!)
Finding affordable books while living in Africa
Now that we live in Abidjan, I take advantage of the national library in Abidjan. There, I paid 2500 francs for my kid’s yearly subscription.
There’s also the French Institute where we can access a media library for 6500 Francs CFA per year.
Another way to get cheap books is to get them at the market here. We have what we call “librairie parterre” (literal translation: bookstore on the floor). They are basically street sellers selling used books for very cheap.
And if you live in an African city like me, and want to splurge on new books, local authors/ locally printed are the way to go. They are usually much cheaper than imported books.
Be resourceful. Try to find if there’s a national or local library in your city. Look for non-governmental organizations that may offer access to children’s books (e.g. Association Des Livres pour Tous, Centre Eulis, Centre d’activite Marie McLeod in Abidjan, Centre Guelewar in Dakar).
Other libraries in Abidjan:
Surround your child with books that reflect their lives
Reading about characters similar to themselves can help increase your child’s interest in reading. For instance, seeing a book about a child that looks like them, has a similar family situation, or lives in a situation similar to theirs can pick your child’s curiosity and encourage them to choose a book.
That’s not to say our children should only read books about characters that look like them. On the contrary, encouraging diversity is crucial.
But, instead of sticking to princesses and fairy tales from faraway countries, maybe we can also encourage our children to read more stories that can reflect their everyday lives.
Encourage your child to read to you
Even when they don’t know how to read yet, you’ll be amazed at how much your child can recount the story by memory or by looking at the pictures. It’s also a fun way to learn about their perspective, and which part of the book they prefer.
Listening to your child read to you will remind you why you’re doing this and will encourage you to continue!
Bilingual Children’s Books French English
So, what can you read to your bilingual child? Everything! There are no rules.
I like bilingual books because it allows children to be exposed to both languages. Plus both parents can read it even if they speak different languages. So here are some of my favorites.
- Lima’s Red Hot Chili, by David Mills. This funny book is about a little hungry girl who decides to eat a delicious spicy chili pepper. It exists in French, English, Spanish, and tens of other languages. A classic.
- Am I small, by Philipp WInterberg. This book was translated into more than 200 languages.
- Nelly’s Box – La boîte de Nelly: A bilingual children’s book in French and English, by Elisavet Arkolaki.
- Cousins Forever – Cousines pour toujours: Α bilingual children’s book in French and English, by Elisavet Arkolaki.
- Je te souhaite un joyeux anniversaire: Édition français-anglais (I Wish You A Happy Birthday: French-English edition), by Michael Wong.
- Je t’aimerai toujours: Édition français-anglais (I Will Always Love You: French-English edition), by Michael Wong
- Mon été enneigé: Une histoire sur la résilience, by Onaolapo Dagunduro. This one isn’t bilingual but exists in both French and English.
- Mon grand accueil: Une histoire de gentillesse, Onaolapo Dagunduro.
- My Snow Day / Ma journée de neige, Ally Nathaniel. This is another book translated into many languages.
- Under the Stars/ Sous les etoiles (French Children’s Book) by Sam Sagolski.
That’s all for today! What about you? Tell me if you have a reading routine with your child. What are their favorite books? What other tools do you use to raise your bilingual child? Send me a message here or find me on IG @backtotheotherland to tell me!
