Animals/Los animales is Vol. 6 in a series of bilingual Spanish/English books for children. Each volume treats a different topic appealing to children. There are different levels for each volume targeted to different age groups. Level 1 is intended for infants to toddlers. Color photos and illustrations were carefully selected to captivate your child's interest. Words and sentences were judiciously chosen and crafted to facilitate learning for both age groups. Words are re-entered throughout the book to help your child feel a sense of accomplishment. It is suggested that only one language be read at a time. Start with the child's first or "native" language for several reading sessions, then introduce the second language. At no time should the two languages be read during the same session. This volume should be of interest to English speakers who want to teach their child(ren) Spanish as well as Spanish speakers who wish to teach their child(ren) English. In addition, speakers of other languages will find the book useful for teaching their child(ren) both Spanish and English. Offered here are bilingual print books and bilingual ebooks that are suitable for the bilingual education of young people. These bilingual print books for children and the bilingual ebooks for children can play a major role in any bilingual or ESL education program for children. There are four levels for each topic or title making it easier for ESL or bilingual children to progress from one level to the next. Level 1 is for infants and toddlers and would be primarily read by parents to their young children. Level 2 is for toddlers and pre-schoolers and could be used by parents for the younger children or by day care and pre-school personnel in environments where an English/Spanish bilingual component is included in the program. Level 3 is for pre-schoolers through kindergarten. And level 4 is intended for K-2. Parents, caregivers, and teachers should not hesitate to use a lower level book with an older child who is just beginning bilingual language study or whose age does not match his knowledge and ability in the language. While a child may be at the age for grade 2, his language learning "age" may be at the toddler or pre-school level. There is a full range of topics, 20 volumes in all, in the series of English/Spanish print books and English/Spanish ebooks that provide a thorough preparation in English/Spanish education. English/Spanish print books for children and English/Spanish ebooks for children readily contribute to English/Spanish education for children. Offering children's print books as well as children's ebooks provides parents, caregivers, and teachers with a choice and flexibility of format to meet the needs of child education. Children's bilingual print books have the advantage of convenience of use while children's bilingual ebooks include media and are easier to store, making children's bilingual education more accessible and convenient than ever before. These are not fiction story books. They are juvenile non-fiction bilingual print books and juvenile non-fiction bilingual ebooks that are educational in nature, scope, and purpose. As such they meet the academic content stantards for juvenile non-fiction bilingual education. For book examination and consideration by schools and teachers these books may also be categorized as juvenile non-fiction education Spanish, juvenile non-fiction languages Spanish, and juvenile non-fiction English/Spanish.
About the Author: John F. Wilhite, Ph. D., is a retired university professor of Spanish and Latin American culture with expertise in the teaching of Spanish and ESL. He has 35 years experience in writing and editing. He is dedicated to writing educational bilingual books for children of all ages and Spanish textbooks for high school and college students. In addition to print books, Dr. Wilhite is enthusiastic about the multimedia and interactive features of ebooks and their potential for providing engaging as well as informative educational materials at all levels of learning. Kym Anderson Wilhite, M.Ed., TESOL, has been teaching children at the high school and elementary levels for 30 years. She teaches both Spanish and ESL. Both recognize the need for second-lnaguage learning to begin as early as possible. And both believe that the US is unofficially a bilingual nation. Thus, English speakers should learn Spanish and Spanish speakers should learn English. They hope these books will help achieve these ends.