Did you know that the best time to learn a new language is before the age of ten? When children are in their earliest developmental stages, they are best equipped cognitively to develop language proficiency equal to that of native speakers, even for multiple languages at the same time! One way to encourage multi-lingual development for young readers is bilingual picture books, so here are our seven recommendations for future polyglots.
Spanish: La Oruga Muy Hambrienta/The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Largely hailed as one of the most important and iconic picture books of all time, there’s no better way to introduce children to Spanish than this bilingual version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, or La Orgua Muy Hambrienta. Side-by-side Spanish and English text allows early readers to compare how the story of the delightfully ravenous insect plays out in both languages and compare key vocabulary words in real-time.
Chinese: Chinese Kite Festival (中国风筝节) by Rich Lo
A lovely early-reader title, Lo weaves together the bright and engaging colors of a kite festival with animal names in both English lettering and Simplified Chinese characters. Additional information explains what each of the animals represents symbolically in Chinese culture, creating a wonderfully educational read that skillfully connects language development with cultural tradition.
Japanese: Up and Down (Japanese and English) by Catherine Hnatov, Illustrated by Derek Laufman
Little readers follow two curious kitties as they explore a world of opposites — up and down, open and closed, big and small, etc. — in both English lettering and a combination of Japanese kanji, hiragana, and katakana. Bright primary colors and contrasting black and white cats are perfect for the earliest stages of little bookworms’ development, as is the blocky side-by-side text of both languages.
French: The Cat in the Hat/Le Chat Au Chapeau by Dr. Seuss
Another much-beloved classic of children’s literature, this clever edition of Suess’ timeless story of a rather mischievous houseguest is presented in both English and French for little ones learning both languages at once. Even grownups may find this one enlightening, especially as familiar phrases like “But we can have lots of good fun that is funny!” are given adjacent translations.
Arabic: The Rainbow Fish/سمكة قوس قزح by Marcus Pfister
This award-winning story about kindness is presented in English and Arabic for young readers, who can enjoy the sparkly, foil-enhanced illustrations along with the titular fish’s lesson on sharing with others. Best of all, this edition can be found in multiple languages, including Spanish, French, and Korean.
German: Fly, Little Bird!/Flieg, kleiner Vogel! by Ingo Blum, Illustrated by Liubov Gorbova
A little bird who is afraid to fly learns to capture his courage and take to the sky. With print in both German and English, children can learn words from both languages as they follow the sweet story, and then enjoy the coloring pages included on the final pages.
Hindi: Our Diwali: Humaari Diwali – A Bilingual Hindi English Story Celebrating the Meaning and Diversity of Deepavali by Aditi Wardhan Singh, Illustrated by Suja Dinesh
A fantastically immersive title that incorporates Diwali traditions, Hindu culture, and both anglicized Hindi translations as well as traditional Hindi script, this story of Taran and his friends preparing for the Hindu festival of lights is a stunner. Dinesh’s colorful illustrations are a treat, and readers will learn not only the importance of Diwali but of also honoring the origins of holiday celebrations.
These are just seven of our picks for bilingual children’s books, and there are plenty more available for little learners and their caregivers in dozens of other languages besides these. But if you are looking to help your child pick up a new language while developing their native one, these titles are a great place to start. Happy reading!
To learn more about how bilingual books can help children develop their language skills, check out our article here.
To see all of our recommendations for mini bookworms, check out our bookshelf on Bookshop.
