by Jana and Milena Synek
Bramhall Publishing, 2010
It may interest members to know about bilingual books available from ‘the other side of the Pond’. In the UK, these books are becoming increasingly valued both in schools and at home by teachers and parents eager for their children to learn French as a second language, or by those wishing to nurture bilingualism in young children.
Disappointed by the quality of presentation of some of the bilingual picture books available, my sister and I started up Bramhall Publishing ( www.bramhallbooks.co.uk) :a tiny, family-based publisher set up uniquely to create bilingual French/English picture books with the intention of instilling a love of French in children.
The teaching rationale behind the books is effectively that through the parallel text (the juxtaposition of the French and English versions of the story), an almost subliminal absorption of language can be achieved. Moreover, the illustrations were specially created to inspire children to reach for the books independently, and the character of Little Wolf, aloof and yet endearing, has proved very popular.
The success of this approach has been borne out by several of our participating primary schools, and the resulting action research study findings will be published on the Cass School of Education (University of East London) website early this year. (Click on the following link: Cass School of Education dual language books research )
[you can also see a review of Grey like a Wolf! by clicking the above link]
Here for the benefit of members is a résumé and some examples of illustrations from our latest title:
you ask yourselves Let us take you by the hand and show you where to look… re-visits the forest where Little Wolf, introduced in is hiding from the children, and attempts to demonstrate that the most interesting colour of all might be grey… This title takes the form of a poem in the French, gently rhyming as it goes along, and thus further facilitating an effortless absorption and appreciation of language.
Illustrations taken from
Bilingual Picture book with dual language text (French /English)
Grey Like a Wolf! sample pages [click on this link to see sample illustrations and text]
By Jana and Milena Synek
ISBN 978-0-9557946-3-6
Bramhall Publishing
To buy this book: go to: www.bramhallbooks.co.uk
OR www.amazon.co.uk
For any more information, contact jana@bramhallbooks.co.uk.
