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Carmen Learns English (2010)

by Judy Cox(Favorite Author)

3.59 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0823421740 (ISBN13: 9780823421749)

languge

English

genre

Middle Grade & Children's

publisher

Holiday House

review 1: Carmen is a young girl who speaks Spanish who goes to school and learns English. She is scared of school but is determined to show her sister how to talk in English before she has to start school the following year. Over the course of the year Carmen’s teacher asked her to teach the class some Spanish. Carmen ended up teaching her class some Spanish but also teaching her sister everything she had been learning in school. The illustrator had this experience before entering school except she was the younger sibling. She was able to learn from her older brother how to speak English before she entered school. This story is inspiring to me because the teacher allows Carmen to play a vital role in the classroom. The teacher creates an environment where all are welcome and appr... moreeciated. This book also displays the anxiety children face upon entering a school where they do not know the language. Genre: Realistic Fiction
review 2: Cox, author of Cinco De Mouse-o!, offers a new (partly) bi-lingual text about Carmen, who is new to America and nervous about starting Kindergarten since she doesn’t speak English well. Her teacher’s Spanish is “muy terrible,” but as Carmen’s English improves, she teaches her classmates and teacher more about Spanish, and gains confidence and acceptance as a result. “I nodded. In my head I repeated the word over and over so I would not forget….When I got home, I taught Lupita that important new word.”The storyline parallels the experiences of the book’s illustrator, Angela Dominguez. Like Carmen, Angela is a first-generation American. Spanish was her family’s first language, and her older sibling learned English in the first grade, then taught these newly acquired skills to Angela. Carmen masters English well enough to teach the new language to her little sister Lupita. Children will enjoy the twist of Carmen (a child and student) as a teacher (an adult role) at home and at school.This is a good choice for launching discussions about acceptance – and validating children’s struggles to learn an unfamiliar language and culture (for example, Carmen learns jump rope rhymes and hopscotch). It may springboard discussions that will aid new English speakers to adjust to their new environment. Carmen’s English (while better than her teacher’s Spanish) is imperfect, but shows improvement as the book progresses. “’Excuse me?’ I said as polite as la Senora Coski. ‘Excuse Me? I don’t got an accent. It’s you who got the accent.’”Colorful, simple illustrations convey lively energy and effectively underscore Carmen’s emotions. less

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