For Cryin' Out Loud

I couldn't have said it better myself:

Confessions of a Community College Dean shares his understanding of why bilingual education is so important in our culture.

If you've ever met anyone from a country outside of the U.S., you might be intimidated, like I am, when you discover how many languages they speak, fluently. There are many cultures who encourage their students to learn not two, but many different languages from an early age. Why should our country be any different?

Read on for more from Dean Dad:

"In the last few weeks, two of the biggest, most respected and sought after employers in our service area told me, independently and without prompting, that they desperately want bilingual employees.

Given two similarly qualified candidates, one bilingual and the other not, both employers made it abundantly clear to me that they’d hire the bilingual one in a heartbeat. The ability to communicate with Spanish-speaking clients (or, more importantly, potential clients) is a major business advantage, and one for which they’re willing to pay."

Each of the sixteen Kane/Miller Spanish language titles, from our Libros del Mundo series, are also available in English. These are great resources for young readers, or adults with little knowledge of Spanish, for an introduction to reading, writing, and speaking another language.

What are your thoughts on bilingual education in the U.S.?

Guji Guji Honored

The International Latino Book Awards awarded our Spanish edition of Guji Guji second place in the Best Children's Picture Book category.

Chih-Yuan Chen wrote Guji Guji as well as On My Way to Buy Eggs. Both titles are available in Spanish as part of our Libros del mundo series in paperback editions.

USS Boxer Humanitarian Mission

A few weeks ago, my son's preschool sent out a notice about a humanitarian mission that one of the parents was participating in as part of his role with the US Navy.

My son chose over a dozen stuffed animals from his collection to donate and Kane/Miller provided Spanish language books from our Libros del Mundo series.

Photograph from

Dougal the Garbage Dump Bear

by Matt Dray

Just this week, emails have been circulating with stories about the mission and the ways in which these books (and hundreds of stuffed animals) are reaching children in South America. This note was sent from Navy Dad, Jeremy, to his wife, who then shared it with the staff and family members from school:

You remember those donated books? Well 1 set was dropped off in Dental this afternoon and that is the PERRRFECT place to drop them off. Here's why:

They don't bring very young children on board for surgeries but a couple pre-teens do come on. I went there for a cleaning and noticed an 8 or 9-year-old girl sitting with one of our translators. I turned to the Dental Officer who is a buddy of mine and said, "Isn't she a little young to be here for surgery or dental work?" He said, "Yes, but when any adult comes in for surgery they have to bring an escort to help them home after the surgery. A few of them bring their older children as escorts. So while they are waiting in the Dental area for their friends/family’s surgeries to be done I always see if any of them need any teeth pulled or anything."

The girl was looking sort of bored so I remembered the donated Spanish kids books from Kane/Miller...I ran up to my stateroom and grabbed 1 of the 2 sets. I gave them to the enlisted translator and said, "Ask her if she likes to read and if she does tell her she can look through these books and take one or two." The translator asked her and she said, “Yes, she likes to read.”

While I was waiting I noticed the young girl going through them and she started reading one. When I came out afterwards I noticed she was gone and so was the book.

Kane/Miller loves being able to give back to the community when we can and we so enjoy hearing stories about how our books are used, and knowing that children around the world are now reading our editions - and translations - of some pretty wonderful books.

How has your school or family given back?

International Ask a Question Day

It's not as if we have all the answers, but there certainly are several questions we address in our children's books. Here are several:

¿Quién se esconde? (Libros del Mundo)	¿Quieres Jugar? (Libros del Mundo)
Are We There Yet?	Could a Tyrannosaurus Play Table Tennis?

Duck's Key, Where Can it Be?	What's Going On?
Who's Hiding?	Why?

Favorites (Continued)

Continued from the Previous Post...

Picture Books
From Spain

Sebastian's Roller Skates
Written by Joan de Deu Prats
Illustrated by Francesc Rovira

This section - with over three dozen titles to choose from - was also a challenge for me to narrow down to just one book. Sebastian's Roller Skates really jumped out at me, however, in that it really can work with just about any reader (of any age, gender, background, etc).

Sebastian not only masters a new skill (roller skating, of course) but he also gets over his fear of public speaking and builds up his confidence to the point of finally being able to speak to Esther - a girl from school - which he never thought he'd be able to do at the beginning of the story.

We all have our little quirks (perhaps it is public speaking) that makes us feel not-so-confident or not as comfortable doing (maybe roller skating is one of them) so this book does really speak to readers of all ages and encourages us to try something new - even if it does require a helmet.

Picture Books for Older Readers
From Australia

Fox
Written by Margaret Wild
Illustrated by Ron Brooks

I need to tred lightly when discussing this title, because it is dark, sad, and ultimately, a tale of deception. I don't want to give away the storyline for those who have not read it, but it is certainly a book that will haunt readers and have you thinking about friendship, temptation and betrayal long after the book has been closed.

Several middle school teachers - upon first reading Fox - mentioned the story's similiarities to Shakespeare's Macbeth and several of these teachers use Fox in their classroom as an introduction to this classic work.

Whether you're dealing with playground disagreements or boardroom arguments, this book is an emotional and startling look at the realities of life and working or dealing with others.

First Fiction
From Australia
Jack Russell: Dog Detective
(Book 4): The Lying Postman

The Lying Postman is - by far - my favorite book from the Jack Russell series. Involving a new postman to Jack's route, and a "he said," "she-said" situation, Book #4 in this canine caper series keeps readers guessing until the end as to whether or not the postman is telling the truth.

Also introduced in this mystery is a new character - Ralf Boxer - a little chihuahua who surprises Jack with his courage and shatters every stereotype that Jack has regarding these small dogs.

Gift Books
From Australia

Could You? Would You?
by Trudy White

Trudy has made a fine book for readers of all ages with Could You? Would You? I've personally used this book as a discussion starter with both my four-year-old son and with adult friends. Others that I know have used this book in writing workshops to help get through writer's block.

Be careful though - many of these questions will bring up childhood memories which may have you longing for the times when you could cuddle in a sheet-made fortress under the stars or thinking about what you'd like to do with the time you have left.

What's your favorite Kane/Miller book?

What's Your Favorite K/M Book?

People often ask what my favorite Kane/Miller book is. That's an impossible question to answer since - as a small company - all of our office staff has a chance (and plenty of time) to fall in love with every book we release.

I've thought long and hard about this question and have finally decided to select one title per catalog section just so I cover all the bases. It's only fair that I answer the question. Selecting favorites from these sections was not easy but I'll explain my reasoning behind each choice.

All of my "favorites" are great books for readers of any age in that they speak to both children and adults in very different ways (the mark of a great illustrated book, in my mind).

Frontlist Titles (March 2008)
From France

Jukebox
by David Merveille

For anyone who loves music (don't all children?) this book is wonderful! It covers over a dozen different musical genres which means that there is - most likely - something for everyone. But what it also highlights is that music is something that inspires people, allows us to reach into our imagination (very child-like), reminds us of times past, or enables the listener to reach outside of their (ordinary) every day life.

For young children who may not be familiar with each type of music mentioned, this book will give them the opportunity to perhaps pick their favorites and be introduced to new and different ways to enjoy active listening.

Libros del Mundo
From Japan

¿Quién se esconde?
by Satoru Onishi

From the Spanish language edtions of fourteen K/M titles, I chose the translation of Who's Hiding? based on the fact that it is an excellent book for beginning Spanish readers - of any age - to use as a way to learn colors, animals, and questions that may be useful (Who's crying?, Who's hiding?, Who's backwards?) or not.

Non-Fiction / Concept Books
From Slovenia

Why?
by Lila Prap

Another book featuring animals and questions, Why? answers many questions that I know my son will eventually be asking me. I am prepared ahead of time and can help him learn more about the specific creatures - typically found in a zoo - such as zebras, lions, giraffes, and monkeys (to name just a few).

Board Books / First Picture Books
From Belgium

The Nights of the World
Written by Corinne Albaut
Illustrated by Arno

This was a tough choice to narrow down this section to just one book, but since young ones like books that "do" things, I selected this one with its picture-changing shutters that show day and night on alternating windows. The fact that it represents children from five different regions aound the world as well as being a comforting, gentle book about bedtime makes it a great pick for all of these reasons combined.

To Be Continued...

International Language Week

Our Libros del Mundo series now contains a total of twelve titles. Two more will be released in March 2008 but here is a listing of all fourteen:

from Germany

Apolo
by Caroline Gregoire

From the Netherlands

Benny
by Sieb Posthuma

From Australia

La cama grande de Sofia
by Tina Burke

From Germany

Contando con Apolo
by Caroline Gregoire

From Taiwan

En camino a comprar huevos
by Chih-Yuan Chen

From Italy

Feliz Cumpleaños Tengo 1
Written by Matteo Faglia
Illustrations by Luana Rinaldo

From Taiwan

Guji Guji
by Chih-Yuan Chen

From Germany

Lo que Eduardo sabe hacer
by Wilfried Gebhard

From Switzerland

Marta y la bicicleta
Written by Germano Zullo
Illustrated by Albertine

From the Netherlands

Pescadito
by Sanne te Loo

From Japan

¿Quién se esconde?
by Satoru Onishi

From Australia

¿Quieres Jugar?
by Deborah Niland

From South Korea

El salon de Minji
by Eun-hee Choung

From England

Suerte
by Gus Clarke

Make an Appointment

Minji's Salon

From South Korea, Eun-hee Choung takes imaginative play to a whole new level in this picture book about a young girl and her make-believable salon. Minji's mother heads to her hairdresser for a color and cut while at home, Minji creates a whole new look for her canine volunteer.

The Spanish edition of Minji's Salon, El salón de Minji, joins the Libros del Mundo series in March 2008, ensuring that all young children (most particularly, little girls) will have a new character to remind them of yet another way to make playtime and dress-up time into an interactive at-home adventure.

Minji's Salon
by Eun-hee Choung
978-1-933605-67-8
Hardcover with Dust jacket
$15.95
March 1, 2008

El salón de Minji
978-1-933605-79-1
Paperback
$7.95
March 1, 2008

Learn a Foreign Language Month

To celebrate this December event, I'm including a listing of all our Spanish language titles available in our Libros del Mundo series - including two upcoming March 2008 releases.

From Germany

Apolo

by Caroline Grégoire

From the Netherlands

Benny
by Sieb Posthuma

From Australia

La cama grande de Sofía
by Tina Burke

From Germany

Contando con Apolo
by Caroline Grégoire

From Taiwan

En camino a comprar huevos
by Chih-Yuan Chen

From Italy

Feliz Cumpleaños Tengo 1
Written by Matteo Faglia

From Taiwan

Guji Guji
by Chih-Yuan Chen

From Germany

Lo que Eduardo sabe hacer
by Wilfried Gebhard

From Switzerland

Marta y la bicicleta
Written by Germano Zullo Illustrated by Albertine

From the Netherlands

Pescadito
by Sanne te Loo

From Japan

¿Quién se esconde?
by Satoru Onishi

From Australia

¿Quieres Jugar?
by Deborah Niland

From South Korea

El salón de Minji
by Eun-hee Choung

From England

Suerte
by Gus Clarke