Juvenile (K-12) Collection: Foreign-language books
Finding foreign-language books in the Juvenile Collection
The Juvenile Collection includes over 4100 books with text at least partly in a language other than English, 7% of the collection (just over 13% of the Marriott Library's overall physical book collection is in languages other than English). These range from learners' dictionaries (Let's learn Japanese picture dictionary, call number 495.6 G6532le; The first thousand words in Russian, call number 491.7 A5129fi) to translations of beloved English-language titles (Prosciutto e uova verdi [Green eggs and ham in Italian], call number 372.412 S496gr I8sa; Przygody Hucka [The adventures of Huckleberry Finn in Polish], call number 817.4 C625h P6ry) to works of fiction and non-fiction in their original language (Rico, Oskar und der Diebstahlstein, call number 833.92 S8226rod; Народные русские сказки : из сборника А.Н. Афансьева, call number 398.2 N2324; 꿈 공장을 지켜라!, call number 895.73 K965kk 2014; Les questions des tout-petits sur la mort, call number 306.9 A89q; Malintzin : la noche de Marina, call number 921 M3372ba). About 300 of these books are bilingual, with text in English and another language (Niwechihaw = I help [Cree and English], call number 372.412 N6243ni; Dzání yázhí naazbaa' = Little Woman Warrior Who Came Home [Navajo and English], call number 979.1 P2724dz). There are even several books with text in three languages: Pie-biter = Comepasteles = 派王阿 [English, Spanish and Chinese], call number 372.412 M1332pi 1998; Nantu, Aujujai = Nantu y Auju = Nantu and Auju [Achuar, Spanish and English], call number 398.2 M4672ma E5; 小王子 = Le petit prince = The little prince [Chinese, French and English], call number 843.91 S137pe C4hu; Daniel and Ismail = דניאל ואיסמאעיל = دانيال واسماعيل [English, Arabic and Hebrew], call number 372.412 I235ig E5st.
The principal focus is on languages taught here at the University of Utah. The foreign language most represented in the Juvenile Collection is Spanish, with just over 1100 titles, followed by French (over 800 titles), Korean (over 300 titles), Portuguese, Chinese, German and Japanese (over 200 titles each), Italian and Russian (over 100 each). There are smaller numbers of books in Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Latin and 37 other languages. We have all seven of the Harry Potter novels (call number 823.914 R8842) translated into 15 different languages (16 if you consider traditional and simplified Chinese characters to represent two different languages), and at least the first in an additional six languages. Other titles available in multiple translations include Le petit prince, which we have in the original French and in 17 other languages, and The Hobbit, which we have translated into eight languages.
About half of the books in a foreign language are in the literature section (the 800s); another 700 or so are in the picture books (372.412). The rest are scattered throughout the remainder of the collection by topic.
To find books in a specific foreign language in our catalog, do a subject search (from the Advanced Search page) for "Spanish language materials" (or "French language materials", etc.) -- be sure to include the quotation marks. Then narrow your results using the Collection facet, on the right side of the screen when looking at search results in the catalog: clicking on Juvenile Collection (or Marriott Reserve) will restrict the display to items in that collection. To see only the bilingual books, add "bilingual" to your search ("Korean language materials bilingual").
You can also see spreadsheets of books for the following ten languages (results from the catalog will always be more current):
Use of children's literature in foreign-language classes at the college level and beyond
The resources listed here discuss the advantages of using children's literature in foreign-language classes for college students and other adult learners.
- Australian university students reading francophone picturebooks: an original study, by Christèle Maizonniaux (2017)Bookbird, v. 55, no. 1, p. 24-32
- Extensive reading of children's literature in first, second, and foreign language vocabulary acquisition, by Dominic Cheetham (2015)CLELE journal [Children's literature in English language education], v. 3, no. 2
- Connecting reading and writing using children's literature in the University L2 classroom, by Priscila Leal (2015)Reading in a foreign language, v. 27, no. 2, p. 199-218
- The contribution of children's literature to the teaching and learning of French language and culture: a case study of an Australian university, by Christelle Maizonniaux (2013)Dissertation (Ph.D.), The Australian National University/Université Stendhal-Grenoble 3
- The place of children's literature texts in teaching German as a foreign/second foreign language, by Sevgi Arkılılıç Songören (2013)Procedia - Social and behavioral sciences, v. 70, p. 1825-1830
- Using children's literature in the college-level world language classroom, by Maripaz García (2011)in Research informing practice--practice informing research : innovative teaching methodologies for world language teachers, edited by David Schwarzer, Mary Petrón and Christopher Luke, p. 35-57 [hard copy at P53.82 .R47 2011; not available online]
- Integrating children's literature into a college foreign language class : a teacher-researcher's perspective, by María de la Paz García (2007)Dissertation (Ph.D.), University of Texas at Austin
- Extensive reading in Japanese, by Claire Ikumi Hitosugi and Richard R. Day (2004)Reading in a foreign language, v. 16, no. 1, p. 20-30
- Beyond Struwwelpeter : using German picture books for cultural exploration, by Gisela Moffitt (2003)Die Unterrichtspraxis / Teaching German, v. 36, no. 1, p. 15-27
- Children's literature in adult education, by Laina Ho (2000)Children's literature in education, v. 31, no. 4, p. 259-271
- Independent reading for beginners : using children's books in a reading lab, by Pennylyn Dykstra-Pruim (1998)Die Unterrichtspraxis / Teaching German, v. 31, no. 2, p. 101-109. This special issue of Die Unterrichtspraxis was devoted to children's and young adult literature.
- Teaching the concept of childhood and nineteenth-century German children's books in an intermediate German course, by Peter Blickle (1998)Die Unterrichtspraxis / Teaching German, v. 31, no. 2, p. 110-115
- Children's and young adult books in the intermediate and advanced German class : two projects, by Eva-Maria Metcalf (1998)Die Unterrichtspraxis / Teaching German, v. 31, no. 2, p. 148-153
- Children's books in the foreign language classroom: acquiring natural language in familiar contexts, by Aleidine Kramer Moeller and Richard J. Meyer (1995)in Broadening the frontiers of foreign language education: selected papers from the 1995 Central States Conference, edited by Gale K. Crouse, Phillip J. Campana and Marcia Harmon Rosenbusch, p. 33-45
- Acquiring literacy in a second language : the effect of book-based programs, by Warwick B. Elley (1991)Language learning, v. 41, no. 3, p. 375-411 [hard copy in ARC; not available online]
- Children's literature for ESL adults, by Ann Silverman (1990)TESL talk, v. 20, no. 1, p. 201-207 [hard copy in ARC; not available online]
Some recent acquisitions
La montaña de libros más alta del mundo by Call Number: 372.412 B7155mu S6alISBN: 9788491420507Publication Date: 2018-05-15Lucas has always dreamed of flying. Each year at Christmas or when he blows out his birthday candles, he wishes for a pair of wings. His mother tells him there are other ways of achieving this goal. Once he begins to read, he discovers she is right!
Mamá the alien by Call Number: 372.412 C6832maISBN: 9780892392988Publication Date: 2016-05-15In this lighthearted bilingual immigration story, a young girl sees the word alien on her mother's Resident Alien card and concludes that her mother is from another planet until the girl finds out that the word has more than one meaning.
Yo voy conmigo by Call Number: 372.412 D5428yoISBN: 9788415357841Publication Date: 2017-07-01A girl likes a boy, but the boy doesn't seem to know she exists. What to do? Her friends give her some advice: remove your pigtails, your glasses, your costume wings, your bird hat, and try to be talkative. The boy finally pays attention to her, but after removing so many things, even the birds are gone from her head. The girl realizes that she is no longer herself, so decides to get back everything that makes her her.
Was wir schon alles können! : Geschichten, die stark machen by Call Number: 372.412 P9355waISBN: 9783811233935Publication Date: 2016Ein Tier pflegen, den ersten Arztbesuch meistern, Freundschaften schließen oder beim Einkaufen helfen: In vier humorvoll erzählten Geschichten erleben Kinder immer neue Herausforderungen, die es zu bewältigen gilt, wie sich Mut, Furcht und Stolz anfühlen und was es bedeutet, sich zu streiten, zu versöhnen und Verantwortung zu übernehmen.
Jetzt bestimme ich! by Call Number: 372.412 Z443jeISBN: 9783551518163Publication Date: 2015On her seventh birthday Anki decides that instead of following her parents choices it is time to make her own.
Beauty beside me = Shimá sání bitł'aakał noot'ishígíí by Call Number: 398.2 Y388beISBN: 9781893354777Publication Date: 2011-10-16Grandmother cooks, weaves, and dances. She herds the sheep, makes cedar beads, and lulls tired grandchildren to sleep. While she does all these things, she wears her beautiful Navajo skirts - velvet skirts of many colors that swish and sway as she moves.Grandmother's life is filled with beauty of the best kind: beauty of kindness, beauty of family, and beauty of love. Her actions are a lesson to all those around her, especially to her bright-eyed and observant granddaughter. By following in the footsteps of her grandmother, the girl discovers the true meaning of beauty and the magic of a simple life well-lived.
Más allá de las ciudades by Call Number: 741.5972 G1927maISBN: 9786075276151Publication Date: 2019-10-01Lina spends her days asking why she is in this giant building in the middle of nowhere. In this place, every morning a strange instinct leads a different person to throw themselves from the roof. However, without fail, a group of birds come to catch them and whisk them away on a new adventure. Lina reflects on the moment she had to do it, and how her friend left in that way. This fantasy novel is filled with hope and adventure.
Rodrigo Raubein und Knirps, sein Knappe by Call Number: 833.914 E564roISBN: 9783522185004Publication Date: 2019Knirps ist überzeugt, dass ein echter Raubritter in ihm steckt. Er will unbedingt vom berüchtigten Rodrigo Raubein höchstpersönlich lernen! Doch der fordert zunächst eine Mutprobe. Als Knirps auf die Kutsche von Prinzessin Flip stößt, sieht er seine Chance gekommen. Kann es etwas Gefährlicheres geben als einen Prinzessinnenraub? Noch ahnt er nicht, dass auch der mächtige Zauberer Rabanus Rochus es auf die Prinzessin abgesehen hat.
Mon coeur après la pluie by Call Number: 841.92 L1265moISBN: 9782896074389Publication Date: 2019Today it's raining and the rain turns puddles into lakes. So there is no playing outside and everything must happen inside.
El sueño de Berlín by Call Number: 863.7 A4578suISBN: 9788467871432Publication Date: 2016-04-30Ana is a teenage girl who suffers from OCD. When her classmate Bruno finds out, he tries to help her. He convinces her to sign up for the end of year trip where she could finally achieve her goal of seeing Nefertiti's Bust in Berlin. This novel uplifting novel is inspirational and highly emotive.
El hombrecito vestido de gris y otros cuentos by Call Number: 863.64 A4545hoISBN: 9788484648390Publication Date: 2019In these short stories Fernando Alonso masterfully introduces us to characters who dream, who wish, suffer and laugh. They are characters who are not satisfied with the reality that surrounds them and want to change it.
Escarlatina la cocinera cadáver by Call Number: 869.93 C8344es S6coISBN: 9788469808955Publication Date: 2020Román Casas asks for a cooking course for his birthday which coincides with the Day of the Dead. Instead, he receives a black coffin which contains a 19th century cook, Scarlatina, a creepy spider, and the Dodoto. Together they travel to the Underworld for adventure, mystery and humor.
