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Friday, November 23, 2018

Juana and Lucas by Juana Medina

This is a book that my daughter-in-law read to her third grade class.  It is playful and inclusive, all while illustrating a point.
Juana, a Colombian girl takes on her greatest challenge—the English language—in this cheery series opener. She lives in Bogotá, where she enjoys life with her family and dog, Lucas. When English is introduced in school, Juana asks everyone she knows if she really has to learn another language. The author incorporates italicized Spanish words throughout Juana’s first-person narration, always providing enough context clues so that English-speaking readers can do some language-learning of their own (“When a grown-up says something is going to be a ton of fun, it means there will be no fun at all. Not even a single bit of fun. Nada de fun”). Enlarged words and phrases creative type placement help emphasize Juana’s lively attitude as she discovers the ways that English can be useful.
Let's all learn Spanish because that can be fun too!

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