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Carmen Learns English

by Judy Cox
32p. 978-0-82342-174-9.
COPY ISBN
K-Gr 2 Older sister Carmen tells Lupita, who is about to enter kindergarten, about her first day of school, when she could speak only Spanish. She recalls other children teasing her about saying the wrong words or mocking her accent. Yet with a kind teacher's help, Carmen mastered English well enough to teach her new language to Lupita and then to begin to use it at school, where classmates learn Spanish from her. Dominguez's average-quality paintings convey a childlike energy and effectively express Carmen's moods. This charming celebration of bilingualism captures both the fears and delights of learning a new tongue.-"Mary Landrum, Lexington Public Library, KY" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.
Mexican American Carmen reminisces about struggling to learn English at school. Her teacher speaks terrible Spanish, but she's sensitive enough to suggest that if the class can help Carmen learn English, she can help them learn Spanish. Carmen's earnest first-person narration can sound stilted ("But school was not all the time good"). Dominguez's ink, watercolor, and acrylic illustrations are warm-hearted. Glos.

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