Me llamo Adrian, tengo doce años y vivo en Madrid. Tengo una gata que se llama Cativa. Es negra. Tengo una hermana que se llama Andrea y tiene nueve años. Me gusta salir con mis amigos para jugar con ellos, ir al parque al lado de mi casa. Me gusta leer y ahora voy a leer una historia que se llama “El hermanito” (escrito por Victoria Bermejo.)

Fati is from Argentina and Charles is from Brooklyn, NY. When they got married and started a family, it was very important to both of them that they raise bilingual children. Two years ago, during the summer of 2008, they started singing songs in Spanish on the weekends in a Brooklyn park. Their musical outings grew in popularity to the point where they  decided to formalize their project by recording a CD and launching their company called Abbasubi.

Most of the songs center on everyday life (going to school, getting dressed, taking a bath, etc.) and are a neat way to help young children maintain contact with the Spanish language.

Click here for a link to a PDF of the story.

Maria is the author of  “Amigos estelares” and also the editor of Léeme Un Cuento, a marvelous Spanish-language web site filled with original children’s stories and other great kid content like lullabies and tongue twisters. There are even short stories written by kids for kids. Check it out!

The address is: http://www.leemeuncuento.com.ar

Photo: Looking to Space, used under license from iStockPhoto.com

La fruta misteriosa

Pues…acampar era una tarea que les daba mucho trabajo a los viajeros. Todos iban de aquí para allá afanosamente mientras sacaban las alfombras de vivos colores de los carromatos y las tendían en el suelo.

Después fueron a recoger leña e hicieron una gran hoguera. Enseguida se oyó el alegre burbujear de las ollas y sartenes sobre el fuego y empezaron a flotar por el pequeño campamento unos deliciosos aromas de comida. Y cuando la cena estuvo lista, todos se reunieron y la compartieron alrededor del fuego.

Después de haber comido su ración, una niña llamada Polly, que formaba parte de los pequeños del grupo, se volvió hacia su mare y le señaló un árbol muy grande lleno de jugosos frutos anaranjados.

(Show your support for this podcast by purchasing the complete transcript of this story. Click here to buy and download. Price: $1.99.)

Pues…el monito travieso y el viejo búfalo, que tenía muy buen corazón, vivían en un vetusto bosque cerca de una gran pradera. Cada día, cuando el sol estaba en su cenit y apretaba en el cielo despejado, el viejo búfalo iba a los lindes del bosque y se tumbaba bajo la fresca sombra de un árbol. Allí echaba una cabezadita hasta bien entrada la tarde. Y cuando el sol ya no picaba tanto, iba a pastar con la manada a la pradera.

En cuanto al mono travieso, vivía en las ramas de un magnífico árbol. Y cada día, mientras lo otros monos se acicalaban unos a otros y charlaban sentados en el suelo, él esperaba a que el viejo búfalo fuera a echar una siesta bajo la sombra del árbol.

-¡Je, je, je! Creo que voy a divertirme un poco -exclamó alegremente palmoteando con sus manitas.

Un día el mono esperó hasta asegurarse de que el búfalo estaba profundamente dormido. Y entonces bajó del árbol y enroscando la cola en una rama, se quedó colgado justo sobre la cabeza del viejo búfalo.

-¡Groaaaaaa! -chilló el mono.

P.S. I know that is a rhino, not a water buffalo, in the photo but it was the best image I could come up with. Isn’t it cute?

Archive photo, circa 1900,  from George Eastman House

This story, originally published in English, is an entertaining story about Carla, a girl with an extremely unusual taste in food. Every day she brings a new creation to school and the other children all think she’s rather odd. That is, until one of them forgets to bring his lunch to school and well, let’s just say that hunger has a way of changing a child’s mind!

This week’s story is read by Beth Butler, creator and founder of the Boca Beth Spanish-English language learning system for children.

Beth, who previously lived in Chile and Mexico but currently lives in Tampa, Fla., spent 10 years in preschool and elementary school classrooms before creating her award-winning language learning program for parents and teachers educating bilingual children.

Research shows that adults don’t have to be bilingual or even proficient in a second language to introduce young children to a foreign language. And many of us already know how quickly little minds can soak up new words and then have their little mouths repeat those words when we’re least expecting it! That’s why the quality of input is so important.

The Boca Beth series of products, which include music, video, hand puppets and coloring books, are presented in a bilingual format with the English presented right alongside the Spanish.

“We teach to the whole child,” Beth says, “incorporating music for the auditory learner, DVDs for the visual learner, musical shakers and puppets for the kinesthetic/tactile learning and coloring/activity books for the beginning reading.”

¡Muchas gracias! to Beth for reading this story.

Learn more about Beth and the Boca Beth learning system here.

You can buy “El sándwich de Carla,” either in its Spanish or English versions, from Amazon.com.   (There is also a free “Carla’s Sandwich” activity guide on the Flashlight Press website for this book.) The book is very colorful with wonderful illustrations. It’s the kind of book that young readers would greatly enjoy having.

“Before You Were Here, Mi Amor”, written by Samantha R. Vamos is a bilingual picture book about the preparations members of a family make in anticipation of the birth of a child. The story is read by Carrie Ferguson Weir of Los Pollitos Dicen and Bilingual in the Boonies.

Samantha originally hails from the Midwest and currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family. “Before You Were Here, Mi Amor” is her first published children’s book.

Samantha says:

“Writing has always been a passion (along with Peppermint Patties, dogs, movies, reading, traveling, Halloween, music, my family, shooting endless photos of my child, and much more). I’ve been writing stories for over twenty years and publishing my writing has been one of my greatest dreams. I was most influenced to write by my mother, but both my parents, as well as my paternal grandfather and maternal grandmother, are and were excellent writers.

I love writing stories for children. My first book, “Before You Were Here, Mi Amor” was inspired by the birth of my sister’s children. The idea for my second book, “The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred” popped into my head as I was cooking. I laughed, suddenly envisioning a cow contributing her milk and a hen offering her eggs. My plot began evolving and I started writing. I have also written a novel, which I am currently revising.”

Samantha has graciously agreed to autograph three copies of her beautifully-illustrated book for three lucky listeners of Cody’s Cuentos. All I ask is that you donate $10, which will go towards paying for the postage and packaging since the book is a hardcover, oversized item. (U.S. addresses, only.)  If you’re interested, please send me a message with your complete name and mailing address via Cody’s Mailbox. Only three copies available, so act quickly.  Samantha is also holding a special drawing on her website to give away one copy of her book this summer.

Also on Samantha’s website are activity worksheets based on the words and illustrations in the book. You can download these worksheets for free and then print them out. Great material for elementary school teachers and parents teaching young children Spanish.

Finally, a special “¡gracias!” to Carrie’s friend Bob August who professionally recorded Carrie’s reading at Fluid Studios in Nashville, TN.

Elsa is a sweet little girl who wants to give her dear grandmother a present. But what kind of present can a little girl offer, that will bring her grandma joy and not cost a cent? Listen to this story to find out.

Cody’s Cuentos’ reader, Cristina, does a wonderful job bringing this short story to life. You can get the full transcript PLUS a complete word-for-word English translation in this blog’s  Intermediate section.

Enjoy the sunshine!

This is an adorable story about a patchwork quilt, a little girl and her grandmother. Get the enhanced transcript of “La colcha de retazos” in the Cody’s Cuentos online store.

Quilt and photo by Rebekah

A serial dog killer is on the loose in a wealthy Hong Kong neighborhood. For the past 20 years someone has been leaving chicken, laced with poison, along Bowen Road, a popular path for joggers and dog walkers in Hong Kong. More than 100 dogs have been poisoned since 1989. The authorities have never caught the person (or persons) responsible. There is currently a $150,000 reward in Hong Kong currency ($19,000 U.S./15,000 euros) for information that leads to the arrest of this villain.

I wrote “El carnicero de Bowen Road” after reading a news article about the case in the Wall Street Journal. And while the real-life serial killer of Bowen Road doesn’t carve up his/her victims, to me he (or she) is a butcher just the same. On the remote chance anybody out there reading this blog entry has information that can help the Hong Kong authorities catch this dirty rotten scoundrel, please contact the Hong Kong SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). Here’s the web site address: http://www.spca.org.hk/

Get the bilingual transcript for “El carnicero de Bowen Road” in Cody’s Cuentos online store.

Photo by Joan Vincent, used under license from iStockPhoto.com

Photo: “Hide and Seek” used under license from iStockPhoto.com

This is a Spanish translation of  “Franny B. Kranny, There’s a Bird in Your Hair!”
written by Harriet Lerner and Susan Goldhor. This is a Latin American Spanish translation, so you will hear “ustedes” instead of “vosotros” in this story. Complete Spanish transcript available as part of the Cody’s Cuentos’ Advanced Story Pack.

Anita Bonita tiene una larga e hirsuta cabellera, que siempre la mete en problemas. El pelo de Anita Bonita se enreda con él mismo, en nudos terribles con los botones de su vestido.

El pelo de Anita Bonita ha hecho estornudar todos los días a la niña que se sienta junto a ella en el autobús escolar.

La cabellera de Anita Bonita incluso se atoró en la puerta del refrigerador, pero Anita Bonita ama su largo e hirsuto cabello. Entre más hirsuto y largo, le gusta más.

Continue reading this story by purchasing the complete Anita Bonita transcript, which is part of the Advanced Story Pack, only available here at Cody’s Cuentos.

In this interview, Harriet talks about the true stories behind these amusing cuentos and gives us her opinion about classic fairy tales.

In Spanish, we retitled Harriet’s stories “¿Qué tan terrible puede ser comerse una semilla de manzana?” and “Anita Bonita, ¡hay un pájaro en tu cabello!” and you can find both of them, along with their Spanish texts, only here at Cody’s Cuentos.

Enjoy!

Alicia y su muñeca Carlota jugaban en el jardín. Alicia estaba un poquitín aburrida.

Había mucho silencio porque su mejor amiga, que vivía al lado, se había ido a visitar a su abuela. Entonces, de pronto, se oyó un ruido extraño. Parecía que alguien estaba llorando. ¿Quién podía ser?

Y entonces apareció entre los árboles, al fondo del jardín, una criatura muy extraña. Pero como Alicia tenía muchísimos libros de cuentos de hadas y libros muy bien ilustrados, no tardó ni un minuto en saber qué era.

-¡Es un dragón!  -exclamó-. ¡Mira, Carlota, un dragón de verdad!

No se asustó, porque se veía de lejos que el dragón no era fiero. No era muy grande y estaba muy trastornado, porque unos grandes lagrimones le bajaban por las mejillas.

-¡Pobre de mí! –gemía-. ¡Pobre de mí, pobre de mí!

-¡No te preocupes! –dijo Alicia, sacando su pañuelo y ofreciéndoselo al dragón para que pudiera secarse las lágrimas.

——–

A transcript of this INTERMEDIATE story is available in the Cody’s Cuentos online store.

Photo: “Happy Dragon” by Nicole Young, used under license from iStockPhoto.com

Chema y Emma viven en la ciudad. Viven con sus padres y su perro Picasso en un piso cerca del parque.

Cierto día, durante el desayuno, Chema le pregunta a su mamá: -¿Cuándo es mi cumpleaños?

Y su mamá le responde:  -El 29 de abril.

Entonces, Emma le pregunta a su mamá:   -¿Y yo? ¿Cuándo es mi cumpleaños?

A lo que mamá le responde:   -El 29 de abril.

An enhanced transcript of this BEGINNER story is available in the Chema & Emma story pack. The transcript includes:
•    The entire story in Spanish.
•    An English translation of the story.
•    An explanation in English of key vocabulary and grammar items presented in the story.
•    A practice exercise.

One last thing, I made a mistake when I wrote this story but the audio was already recorded by the time I realized it and I wasn’t able to get it re-recorded. In the story we find out that Chema and Emma are twins. In Spanish, the word for twins is gemelos but this refers to identical twins. Fraternal twins, twins born from two different eggs, are called mellizos in Spanish.

Cronch, cronch, cronch -crujió Rosy.

Monch, monch, monch -mascó Katy.

Crujían y mascaban, y crujiendo y masticando, Rosy y Katy devoraron sus manzanas hasta el corazón.

Repentinamente, Rosy dijo: -¡Me tragué una semilla de manzana! ¡Caray , me tragué otra! -y se rió.

-Oh, no -dijo Katy en su tono de mayor preocupación-. ¡Ten cuidado!

¿Por qué? -preguntó Rosy-. ¿Qué tan terrible puede ser el comerse una semilla de manzana?

This original story was written by Cody’s Cuento’s listener Harriet Lerner and her sister Susan Goldhor. The English version “What’s so terrible about eating an apple seed?” is available on Amazon.com. But the Spanish translation is only available here at Cody’s Cuentos. The entire story in Spanish is available as part of the INTERMEDIATE story pack in the Cody’s Cuentos store.

Want to read more of this BEGINNER-level story? Click here to get the Chema & Emma 3-story pack.

By the way, “Chema” is a boy’s name in Spanish. It is the nickname (el apodo) of the male name “José María.”

In any case, I was imprinted at a very early age to not only enjoy classical music but to love it. My parents spent a lot of money for me to take piano and violin lessons. I even went to summer music camp and eventually got good enough, as a teen, to be made the church pianist at two different churches! While other kids would say they wanted to be a doctor, a fireman or a professional athlete when they grew up, I’d tell people I wanted to be a concert pianist. It wasn’t until I was well in my teens that reality sunk in and it was clear I wasn’t going to have what it took to be a concert pianist. But my love for the music of Mozart has never dimmed.

Today’s podcast is an audio biography of one of the greatest music composers who ever lived. An enhanced transcript of this ADVANCED story is available in Cody’s online store. The 10-page transcript contains the full story plus definitions of 48 Spanish words and a question and answer worksheet. You can find the enhanced transcript in Cody’s online store. Enjoy!

Portrait of Mozart by Barbara Krofft

I’m putting this podcast in the INTERMEDIATE category even though it is filled to the brim with examples of the Spanish present subjunctive. The sentences are short and easy to understand so anyone at an intermediate Spanish level can understand this episode without much difficulty. Find the enhanced transcript, which contains the complete text, definitions of Spanish words, plus a written exercise to help you practice using the present Spanish subjunctive inside Cody’s online store.

Foto: “Cutest kid in San Francisco” by Bartificial

Tell us a little about yourself and about your book, “Hago mi sueño realidad.”

I am a native Georgian, as in Georgia, United States. I’m married to Clarence Spencer and we make our home in Hampton, Georgia.  We have one adult son, Solomon Dante. A graduate of Georgia State University with a BA degree in Psychology/English. I am also President/Owner of Dante’s Publishing, a three-year old company that started as a self-publisher for my own books when expanded to provide services to new and unknown authors.  I am also a poet, trainer, ordained minister and have authored two other books of poetry, Pearls from the Soul and The Maze.

The book I’m Living My Dream is an inspirational  rhyme that encourages little people to hold fast to their dreams.  I believe that children are inspired with their life dreams at an early age.  And oftentimes they are taken away by playmates and well-meaning adults. There are three messages in this book:

1. If you throw your dream away, your life will be empty.
2. Don’t allow anyone to take it away and…
3. If it happens, you can pick it up again.

Is the theme based on a real-life experience? If so, can you tell us about it?

The theme is based on a fictional story.  A friend asked me to write it for her dream fulfillment conference.  While I was reciting it, someone from audience came up to me to say that she saw a vision of a children’s book while I was speaking.  I thanked her.  Later on, I started thinking about what she said, and a year later I published I’m living My Dream.  Interestingly, I was speaking poetry at a church event and recited the poem again.  A lady in the audience approached me tears running down her face.  She said the poem described her story exactly.  She left that day thinking about reclaiming her dream to be come a writer.  This poem is extremely powerful and it’s fictional–but inspired by God.
Do you speak Spanish? If not, what prompted you to author a bilingual book?

I do not speak Spanish fluently.  However, I love the language and studied it for four semesters in college.I decided to present it with Spanish because of the numerous Spanish-speaking people who have come to the U.S.  I had not seen any bilingual books so I stepped out to make a difference.  Also, I thought it would be a good resource for kids learning either language.  A large county purchased it for their 2008 English as a Second Language program; I was extremely excited about that.

Do you have any more bilingual books for children in the works? If so, can you tell us what it is about?

Have only been discussing a second book that would address children living/coping in a diverse environment.  Any thoughts on other topics would be welcomed.

The book is available for purchase on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com. Contact Mignon Spencer via her web site: www.dantespublishing.com