Children Bilingual Books Hit Libraries across the Country
Why do some libraries carry more Children Bilingual Books than others? Unknown. However, I would suspect that most have yet to hear about the selection of dual-text books offered to libraries in audio, print and eBook formats. All that is about to change.
The growth of our books in libraries is nothing short of phenomenal. Finally, Patrons have the option of reading stories to their children in their native language in most any format they wish. The books we carry will propel the student to higher levels of socialization and communication with their peers. So again, why would any library not carry these books? I don’t know, but we do know what states are ahead of the curve when it comes to pleasing their patrons:
Alabama: Alabama carries a strong assortment of Children Bilingual Books thanks in large to Birmingham libraries.
Alaska: About 40,000 speakers of Asian and Pacific Island languages continue to wait for their libraries to bring them the first dual-text Sophia and Alex books in Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, and Thai.
Arizona: Children Bilingual Books are hotter than the noon-day sun in Phoenix. These librarians know the need for children of all ethnicities to feel included and accepted in their communities.
Arkansas: Libraries continue to deliver bilingual books to county and city libraries. (How do you say “Woo Pig Sooie in Ravorback?)
California: The largest selection of Children Bilingual Books can be found in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego. They know how to service their bilingual patrons in California.
Colorado: Starting to build a strong presence in Bolder and Denver area libraries. The mile high city is miles above the rest.
Connecticut: The state is slow to get started on our books. With over 400K Spanish speakers, the opportunity is huge for libraries to satisfy their patrons’ needs.
Delaware: Of all U.S. residents, 13.5% are born outside in the U.S. You may assume all these immigrants come from the U.K., Australia, and Canada, but you would be mistaken. Most arrive speaking a non-English language in the home and seek literature for their young learners.
Florida: Daytona Beach carries more Children Bilingual Books than all other Florida cities combined. Not bad for the 35th largest city in Florida.
Georgia: Our illustrator, Damon Danielson, hails from the greater Atlanta area, yet the entire state of Georgia has yet to stock a single one of his books. Tell me this isn’t so Georgia!
Hawaii: No presence in the state which is hard to believe given the great success we’ve had in Japanese, Filipino, and Chinese books. What a great benefit this would be to the people of Hawaii to find audio, print and electronic copies of our 11-volume series.
Idaho: Librarians in this state are truly on top of things with lots of dual-language audio books for their patrons. We love you Idaho!
Illinois: Like Ohio and Indiana, these three states maintain a large assortment of Children Bilingual Books. Undoubtedly, they listen to their patrons.
Kansas: We see a lot of potential for Bilingual Books in Kansas, and you may have more bilinguals than you think. Check out our books at IngramSpark, Libby, and Library Ideas websites.
Kentucky: No presence in this state. A beautiful state like Kentucky needs these beautifully illustrated books in their libraries.
Louisiana: Could any state in the union be more influenced by the French than Louisiana. You would think, right? Yet, we’re not finding a single French audio, print or electronic book from us in this state.
Massachusetts: Thank you for carrying Children Bilingual Books. Our Sophia and Alex series is spreading through Boston as fast as the Bruins speed through the playoffs.
Michigan: The collection of Children Bilingual Books is growing daily in the state thanks to key libraries picking up the books.
Minnesota: Things are warming up quickly in many Minnesota libraries. Where else can libraries find books for children in Arabic, Urdu, Dari, and Hebrew?
Mississippi: Here is an interesting fact: Vietnamese is the third most spoken language in the state, thanks in large to returning veterans who married Vietnamese women. How great would it be to pass this language onto the prosperity of these families.
Missouri: A small presence in Springfield, but it’s a start! Waiting for St. Louis and KC to jump on board.
Montana: Do you want to see a beautiful library? Go to Missoula. Now if they only carried Children Bilingual Books, they would complete the look.
Nebraska: OK, there’s no presence in the state, despite the large populations of Chinese, Vietnamese, and Spanish speakers. What better way to pull communities together than being on the same page (in one of our books).
Nevada: You can bet there’s a strong collection in Las Vegas libraries of audio books, and the payoff in a child’s education is huge.
New Hampshire: What better way to retain your French language than stocking our French books. A few French books in N.H. would go a long way in a child’s reading ability.
New Mexico: Can you believe there is no presence of Children Bilingual Books in the fine state of New Mexico, even though half a million speak Spanish in the state. That can’t be right, can it?
New York: I’m a firm believer that Queens is the most language friendly part of the country. We have a very large presence there and hope to soon get our books in the New York City Public Library (the main event).
North Carolina: Nearly 8% of the state’s population speak Spanish, but libraries there have yet to order any Children Bilingual Books.
North Dakota: All 11 volumes of our Sophia and Alex series are translated into German, one of the most common second languages in the state. I can feel the state coming on board soon.
Ohio: There is a very strong presence of Children Bilingual Books in most all major cities in the state. Leave it to the Midwest to be leaders of diversity.
Oklahoma: No presence in the state even though there is a large population of Spanish and Vietnamese speakers. Hopefully, we will give patrons the opportunity soon.
Oregon: Growing presence of Children Bilingual Books.
Pennsylvania: We have no presence in libraries there in Pennsylvania. Of 13,000,000 people in the state, an estimated 2.5 million speak a second language. That is a lot of people looking for Children Bilingual Books.
Rhode Island: What does Portugal have in common with Rhode Island? They both have a large contingency of Portuguese speakers. What do they not have in common, a large number of our Portuguese dual-text books.
South Dakota: There is no presence of Children Bilingual Books in S.D. It may be time to encourage second language learning.
South Carolina: Nearly 5% of the state’s population speak Spanish, but libraries here have yet to order any Children Bilingual Books.
Tennessee: Nashville leads the state in the number of books they stock from Children Bilingual Books. This part of the country knows the importance of language diversity.
Texas: Everything is big in Texas, and so is the need for innovative early learning books in dual text. Houston continues to lead the way in bilingual literature in the state.
Utah: May there are no books yet, but the interest is mounting.
Vermont: French, French, French! Our author’s first language is French, the first language written. We see a lot of interest in our books coming out of Vermont.
Virginia: The great literature of our country comes from Virginia. Would it be of any surprise that the state leads the area in Children Bilingual Books.
Washington State: There is great coverage in most county libraries. KCLS is one of the most respected library systems in the country. The western part of the state is well known for the vast number of languages spoken around the Seattle/Tacoma area. Most all our books are on back reserve at any given time. Our hope is that public libraries everywhere will endeavor to serve patrons of all races, ethnicities, and languages.
West Virginia: Arabic is one of the 5 most difficult languages to translate and one of the most difficult to find in a library, even though it’s the third most common language in the state behind English and Spanish.
Wisconsin: The state is no stranger to Children Bilingual Books. They recognize the importance of providing literature for all Americans regardless of race, ethnicity, or language.
Wyoming: There is no presence in any libraries as of yet. eBooks are a way to broaden the assortment of languages in any library.
In Summery
On behalf of Children Bilingual Books, we thank you for your support in serving our bilingual communities. Please note, we are expanding the number of languages in series as well as formats. We now have 100 eBooks spread over 22 languages. Act now and receive a half-off discount.
If your library has yet to carry Children Bilingual Books, we would suggest adding a few titles/languages through Libby (eBooks), Library Ideas (VOX audio books), and IngramSpark (hardback books), and then see how they resonate with your patrons. You will be pleasantly surprised to see the growth in your language sections.
Thank you for the overwhelming support and your letters!