Do you speak Español?

I bet you already knew that Spanish was the second largest spoken language in the USA, but I bet you didn't know that equates to about 41 million individuals...Holy Guacamole that's a lot of Spanish!!! Lucky for me I am a native speaker and if you know me, you will note that I throw in a Spanish word here and there.

Like "chocolate", yep! That's the word for chocolate (ha ha ha! If you didn't know, now you know that that the word is the same in both English and Spanish. So are:

hospital

medical

animal

digital

casual

familiar

muscular

lunar

regular

solar

audiable

cable

terrible

destructible

horrible

Okay I could go on, but this is not a Spanish lesson. I just wanted to reiterate the importance of knowing the language. It opens up new experiences and maybe even give you an advantage at a position or job. Plus 20 countries list Spanish as their official language worldwide.

I wrote my book in English and Spanish. In my mind, this will not only encourage children to read in their family's home language, but maybe also encourage students who are learning to read and be exposed to Spanish. This also can support parents who might not be as comfortable with the English language to continue to read with their child.

I just gave you a head start, so now go find an easy website and learn some Spanish...a little time will go a long way. My bilingual, children's book 3,585 MILES TO BE AN AMERICAN GIRL might help you too!