The Madrid Book Fair is a couple of days away, so we’re extra busy with preparations. This will be our first year with our own stand at the fair, and we’re very excited about this amazing opportunity to meet so many families in Madrid. We’ll be in booth number 178, so if you live in Madrid please stop by to say hi and check out our newest books!

Book Fair Information:
From May 27th until June 12th

Monday to Friday:
11:00 am until 2:00 pm
6:00 pm until 9:30

Saturday, Sunday &  holidays:
10:30 am until 2:30 pm
5:00 pm until 9:30 pm

Remember that we’ll be at booth 178, see you there!

Many of you have written us with your questions about bilingualism for the experts at Sinews, and we often receive questions about when Sinews plans to give a bilingualism workshop for parents in your city. But a group of parents from Cartagena took matters into their own hands and invited our friends at Sinews to visit them and give a workshop. Thanks to their initiative and the cooperation of the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas in Cartagena (which is allowing them to use their meeting space), everything is ready for this special workshop:

May 14th from 10.00 am to 13.00 pm

Sinews presents its “Workshop for parents: Bilingual Children: ¿HOW? ¿WHEN?”
at the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas building in Cartagena (c/ Ronda de Ferrol, 12 A - 30203, Cartagena)

The price for this workshop is 50 euros/parent and 75 euros per couple, and it includes a copy of our fabulous book “CONSIGUE QUE TU HIJO SEA BILINGÜE”, by Barbara Zurer Pearson.

Space is limited, but there are still spots available. If you live in the area (Murcia, Lorca, Águilas, Torrevieja…), this workshop is a great opportunity for you to learn more about raising bilingual children and ask any and all questions you may have. Bilingualism expert Mariana Lombardo (who is also available for on-line consultations with families interested in bilingualism) will be happy to answer all of your questions.

Click here for more information about the workshop.

It’s time for the annual Kids in Madrid Fair! As always, there will be music, shows, magic, crafts, fun activities and more…all in English! This year’s fair has a bilingual Carnaval theme, so be sure to dress up your kids in their favorite costumes and visit Hotel Convención this Sunday March 6th from 11:00 am to 7:30 pm. Bilingual Readers won’t be participating directly this year, but our good friends at Australian Kids will be selling all of our books at their stand. Please stop by to say hello!

For those of you who missed the presentation of Barbara Zurer Pearson’s book Consigue que tu hijo sea bilingüe, Barbara will be featured on today’s edition of Madrid Live on Radio Círculo. Tune in to Radio Círculo (100.4 FM) at 6:30 pm (or tomorrow at 9:30 am) to listen in as Ann Bateson interviews our favorite linguist!

Barbara Zurer Pearson just arrived in Madrid and will be spending a few days here promoting her book, so we’re taking advantage of her stay to have an official presentation for parents and the media. The event is being sponsored by the wonderful people at the Instituto Internacional and will be held in their headquarters on calle Miguel Ángel 8 at 7:30 pm on Wednesday October 6th. This will be an informal workshop-style presentation where readers can truly get to know the author and try to find answers to their specific questions about raising bilingual children. For more information on this event, please call 91 354 6857 or email info@bilingualreaders.com. We hope to see you there!

*Want to tell a friend about the presentation of Consigue que tu hijo sea bilingüe? Click here to download the pdf version of the invitation. The more the merrier!

As we mentioned a few weeks ago in our post about fall highlights at Bilingual Readers, we have just published our first book for parents, Consigue que tu hijo sea bilingüe. We decided to publish this book in response to the many questions about childhood bilingualism we receive from parents on a daily basis. We’re confident that this clear cut, down to earth book by Barbara Zurer Pearson, a linguist with over twenty years’ experience in researching childhood bilingualism, will provide our readers with many of the answers they’ve been looking for.

And for those of you who live in Madrid, you’ll even get the chance to personally ask the author anything you like in a couple of weeks! Barbara Zurer Pearson will be spending a few days in Madrid promoting her book, so we’re taking advantage of her stay to have an official presentation for parents and the media. The event is being sponsored by the wonderful people at the Instituto Internacional and will be held in their headquarters on calle Miguel Ángel 8 at 7:30 pm on Wednesday October 6th. This will be an informal workshop-style presentation where readers can truly get to know the author and try to find answers to their specific questions about raising bilingual children. For more information on this event, please call 91 354 6857 or email info@bilingualreaders.com. We hope to see you there!

*Want to tell a friend about the presentation of Consigue que tu hijo sea bilingüe? Click here to download the pdf version of the invitation. The more the merrier!

image from unesco.org

Today is International Literacy Day, a yearly event which draws attention to literacy needs around the world. This unique celebration was created by the UNESCO in 1967 and provides a great reminder for parents, children, teachers and book lovers across the globe to cherish the gift of reading and help make that gift possible for those who may not otherwise learn how to read. The UNESCO website reminds us that “some 776 million adults lack minimum literacy skills which means that one in five adults is still not literate; 75 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out.” While these figures are astounding, it helps to know that there are many people out there working hard to make sure that each and every child gets the opportunity to learn how to read.

By teaching our children to speak and read in more than one language, we are also giving them the even greater power of being able to break down the language barriers which often prevent us from making a difference with our neighbors abroad. This is just one more reason why we encourage bilingual families to make reading a priority at home. If literacy is power, bilingual literacy may just be one of the most powerful tools we can give our children. What a great privelege it is for us to take part in raising this new generation of bilingual readers.

For more information on International Literacy Day and some of the activities taking place around the world, please visit: www.unesco.org