Bilingual Personalized Books by TimTimTom - Multicultural Children's Book Day 2020
I’m so excited to review this book for Multicultural Children’s Book Day! We are a multilingual, multicultural, mixed race family living in the US, and it is very important for me to find books that not only engage my children, but where they can also find themselves represented. I was gifted with a Bilingual Personalized Book by the wonderful staff at TimTimTom for MCBD2020, and to my delight was able to completely customize it! The process is super easy and streamlined: you pick a story, and decide whether you would like it to be in one language or two. There are currently 10 languages available, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, *Spanish, and Chinese (Simplified or Traditional), and you can choose any two. You then need to add the child’s name, and are then prompted to personalize the character’s appearance. You can also add a personal message to appear at the front of the book. It all takes about 5 minutes, and you are all set. *(The Spanish is targeted towards Spain, however, Gaby at TimTimTom let me know that they aim to make the language as universal as possible so that all Spanish speakers around the world will enjoy the content).
I decided to create a book for my youngest child, Ludovic, who is 2 years old. I speak fluent English and French, Ludo’s father speaks fluent Spanish and English, but all of our children speak English as their main language. We have been introducing both Spanish and French to them so that they find it easy to navigate between them all, and also because we would like them to communicate with family in Mexico who only speak Spanish. This is why I love bilingual books!!
I chose a story about football/soccer because we all love to watch it together, and was delighted by how inclusive the appearance selection is! My kids are half indigenous Mexican, half English/Scottish, and the illustration in the book looks just like Ludovic! The book itself also includes an inclusive selection of characters who all play together, which makes the book super representative of my kids, and also their school. The only area where I had a little trouble was actually choosing the languages! English and Spanish? English and French? French and Spanish?! In the end I went with English and French as it’s less easy for me to get bilingual books in French here, which is why we have more Spanish ones at home.
The book took a couple of weeks to arrive, and it’s absolutely gorgeous! Great quality hardback, with lovely illustrations by Katrien Van Schuylenbergh. The story, written by Saskia Reusens, is fun to read, and the text is side by side in both languages, so it is easy to compare both sides and/or read one or the other without interrupting the flow. We have read it several times together (my three kids and I), and while Ludovic is a little too young to sit through the entire book, he certainly enjoys hearing his name and seeing his face in the book! My girls who are 5 and 4 thoroughly enjoy reading it with me and have already asked me to order one each for them too. There are currently 3 stories to choose from, and there will be more added over time. My daughters really want to read the Swan Lake one, which looks really cute.
I personally think that everyone should own at least a few bilingual books, whether your family is multilingual or not, as children absorb languages so easily. It’s also great practice for our adult brains. I think these personalized books are a great deal, and perfect for any occasion. I can see myself creating one as a special gift for my sister’s stepdaughter who is currently learning English.
Thanks so much to Gaby and the team at TimTimTom for this book! And for all of the staff, sponsors, and participants of MCBD2020!
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 (1/31/20) is in its 7th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen; two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those book into the hands of young readers and educators.
Seven years in, MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves continues.
MCBD 2020 is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board
Super Platinum
Make A Way Media/ Deirdre “DeeDee” Cummings,
Platinum
Language Lizard, Pack-N-Go Girls,
Gold
Audrey Press, Lerner Publishing Group, KidLit TV, ABDO BOOKS : A Family of Educational Publishers, PragmaticMom & Sumo Jo, Candlewick Press,
Silver
Author Charlotte Riggle, Capstone Publishing, Guba Publishing, Melissa Munro Boyd & B is for Breathe,
Bronze
Author Carole P. Roman, Snowflake Stories/Jill Barletti, Vivian Kirkfield & Making Their Voices Heard. Barnes Brothers Books, TimTimTom, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee & Low Books, Charlesbridge Publishing, Barefoot Books Talegari Tales
Author Sponsor Link Cloud
Jerry Craft, A.R. Bey and Adventures in Boogieland, Eugina Chu & Brandon goes to Beijing, Kenneth Braswell & Fathers Incorporated, Maritza M. Mejia & Luz del mes_Mejia, Kathleen Burkinshaw & The Last Cherry Blossom, SISSY GOES TINY by Rebecca Flansburg and B.A. Norrgard, Josh Funk and HOW TO CODE A ROLLERCOASTER, Maya/Neel Adventures with Culture Groove, Lauren Ranalli, The Little Green Monster: Cancer Magic! By Dr. Sharon Chappell, Phe Lang and Me On The Page, Afsaneh Moradian and Jamie is Jamie, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, TUMBLE CREEK PRESS, Nancy Tupper Ling, Author Gwen Jackson, Angeliki Pedersen & The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 by Mia Wenjen, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher (Founders of Inner Flower Child Books), Ann Morris & Do It Again!/¡Otra Vez!, Janet Balletta and Mermaids on a Mission to Save the Ocean, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo & Bruna Bailando por el Mundo\ Dancing Around the World, Shoumi Sen & From The Toddler Diaries, Sarah Jamila Stevenson, Tonya Duncan and the Sophie Washington Book Series, Teresa Robeson & The Queen of Physics, Nadishka Aloysius and Roo The Little Red TukTuk, Girlfriends Book Club Baltimore & Stories by the Girlfriends Book Club, Finding My Way Books, Diana Huang & Intrepids, Five Enchanted Mermaids, Elizabeth Godley and Ribbon’s Traveling Castle, Anna Olswanger and Greenhorn, Danielle Wallace & My Big Brother Troy, Jocelyn Francisco and Little Yellow Jeepney, Mariana Llanos & Kutu, the Tiny Inca Princess/La Ñusta Diminuta, Sara Arnold & The Big Buna Bash, Roddie Simmons & Race 2 Rio, DuEwa Frazier & Alice’s Musical Debut, Veronica Appleton & the Journey to Appleville book series Green Kids Club, Inc.
We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.
Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts
A Crafty Arab, Afsaneh Moradian, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Bethany Edward & Biracial Bookworms, Michelle Goetzl & Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Educators Spin on it, Shauna Hibbitts-creator of eNannylink, Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joel Leonidas & Descendant of Poseidon Reads , Imagination Soup, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Serge Smagarinsky , Shoumi Sen, Jennifer Brunk & Spanish Playground, Katie Meadows and Youth Lit Reviews
FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book Day
Our New FREE Teacher Classroom Physical and Developmental Challenges Kit http://ow.ly/kcbZ30p3QWz
Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians, and Educators
Free Understanding Developmental & Physical Challenges Classroom Kit
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