Carmen Learns English - Judy Cox

Illustrated by Angela Dominguez
Holiday House, 2010
32 pages
Rating: 3.5
Endpapers: Bright dark pink

When Carmen begins kindergarten, she's the only one who speaks Spanish - with no English at all. And she worries about her little sister, Lupita, who will start school next year and knows no English. But Carmen is blessed with a caring teacher. Mrs. Coski doesn't laugh at Carmen, and has her teach her classmates Spanish. When she goes home each day she teaches Lupita the English that she is learning.

Carmen admires her teacher and enjoys teaching her sister and her classmates. A future teacher, for sure!

Put yourself in another's shoes. How difficult it must be fore kids when they can't understand a word. A new kindergarten student at our school knows not a work of English, only Hebrew. She cries and cries and cries. At first I felt badly for her, but then I got irritated to see (and hear) her crying all the time. Her shyness was also hindering her. Shame on me! And now, three months into school, although I still see her crying, it is very much less frequent. To be so young, alone, and not able to understand what's going on around you or be able to communicate even simple needs....well.....

I picked up this book at the library and put it back down. But as I did I flipped through the pages. Its' written in a cool font, "Providence Sans." I changed my mind - because of the font - and checked it out.