Using Spanish Audio Books to Teach My Child to Read in the Target Language {The Traveling Bear Series}

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In the past I have stressed about the limited diversity in children's book especially in my neck of the woods. Finding multicultural or Spanish language books is nearly impossible. I've had to place "special order request" at our town's bookstore, I've ordered on-line, and family members often gift little one with Spanish and/or bilingual books. I've also purchased books when I visit Puerto Rico.

So, when I found a variety of children's book in Spanish (at a discount store) I couldn't help but feel that I had hit the jackpot, and to find books with audio CD's in them was priceless!!! 

Fumbling through the books,  I came across the children's book El Osito Viajero by Christian Hainsworth (a children's series) and I was in heaven! I quickly skimmed through it to look at the Spanish. (In the past, I've come across a few Spanish translation that were horrible!) However, this one seemed fine. 

The anticipation to see my son's reaction was killing me! :)   I surprised him not only with one book but seven! Yes, seven!  

When I showed him the collection of El Osito Viajero he was thrilled. His initial reaction was, "Mommy, now you don't have to read these book to me in Spanish!" I love that the series of The Traveling Bear focuses character building, positive values and winning attitudes in children. The book also has an impressive colorful artwork that is appealing to my child. It's really fun to look at! 

This particular Spanish audio book series will help build strong reading skills in the target language by offering challenging vocabulary words. At the end of the story it has reading comprehension questions for him to answer in the target language, and a fun, catchy song!   That my little one has already started learning. 

I wanted to assess how well he understood the Spanish audio book so I asked him the comprehension questions at the end. I was pleasantly surprise of how well he understood what he heard, and his responses were in Spanish. 

Using audio books in the child's target language is a great way to use technology to raise a bilingual child. Check out the video I posted below.

To read more about our journey in bilingualism click here. 

This post has been written for inclusion in the Multilingual Carnival hosted by Rita Rosenback from Multilingual Parenting.