Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/reading-matters-celebrating-books-about-english-language-learners/5026788/
The experience of shared culture—food, art, play, friendship, and laughter—is surely a more effective teacher than any language textbook. In these new books, children learn the language of their new country by making snow people, drinking tea, and caring for wildlife … together!
Author and illustrator Young Vo has an ingenious way of expressing language differences in his wonderful book, Gib.ber.ish. It is Dat’s first day riding on a school bus to a new school in a new country, and as his mother says goodbye, she warns him that the words he hears at school will sound like gibberish at first. But more than that, the people and words that surround him are black and white and cartoony and, frankly, rather scary. As Dat tries to understand the confusion that surrounds him, a new friend appears to help him make sense of his new world, which becomes more colorful and less frightening. Word by word, Dat’s new world becomes a brighter and happier place.
Gib.ber.ish by Young Vo (Levine Querido, 2022) Ages 4–8.
Chai! Te! Cha! Cay! Tea! The children in Luli’s child care center all come from different cultures and they have different names for the delicious beverage, but they all speak ...