Books on Children Navigating Two Languages

In this article in Reading Today, Jennifer Graff and Stephanie Short (University of Georgia) recommend books that deal sensitively with the issue of language brokering among children new to the United States:

• Uncle Rain Cloud by T. Johnson (Charlesbridge, 2001) – An adult must rely on his eight-year-old nephew to communicate in a new culture.

• Pepita Talks Twice/Pepita Habla Dos Veces by O. Lachtman (Pinata Books, 1995) – This bilingual picture book describes how a primary-grade girl mediates phone conversations, helps in the grocery store, and translates in her classroom.

• My Favorite Chaperone by J.D. Okimoto (Candlewick Press, 2004) – This short story describes the cultural adjustments of a family from Kazakhstan.

• Dancing Home by S.F. Ada (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2011) – This intermediate-level novel explores Margie’s identity as a recent arrival from Mexico.

• A Step From Heaven by A. Na (Penguin Books, 2001) – This first-person account follows Ju’s story from young child to college student dealing with a volatile family situation.

“Talking Twice: Representations of Language Brokering in Children’s Literature by Jennifer Graff and Stephanie Short in Reading Today, October/November 2012 (Vol. 30, #2, p. 18-20); Graff can be reached at jgraff@uga.edu. 

From the Marshall Memo #460