Where to buy bilingual children’s books

BOOK DISTRIBUTION

Jul 12

The need for bilingual books is about much more than accessibility. For many, having books in your native language is essential to building strong reading habits. They help families feel confident when reading with their children and are a great way to maintain and celebrate culture at home.

In a city as rich in diversity as Philadelphia, we need books that reflect the languages of our city and the world. But these books can be hard to find and are sometimes more expensive (so plan ahead when budgeting or fundraising).

To help get you started building your bilingual bookshelf, here’s a list of our favorite multilingual children’s book vendors. And don’t forget, the top languages spoken in Philly other than English are Spanish, Mandarin, Russian, Arabic, Vietnamese, and Haitian Creole.

Find children’s books in 50+ languages

These digital book stores allow you to filter titles by language making it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for.

Children’s Books in Spanish

Taller Puertorriqueno Julia de Burgos Gift Shop

Children’s Books in Mandarin and Simplified Chinese

Children’s Books in Russian

Children’s Books in Arabic

KEEP ON READING

These 5 songs might be better than the ABCs at helping your child learn to read

Discover new music that makes learning fun, all while building essential early literacy skills.

How ‘reading captains’ are fueling Philadelphia’s push to improve early literacy (Chalkbeat Philadelphia)

Fortalecen las alianzas para atajar el rezago en el aprendizaje de la lectura (El Nuevo Día)

Queen City Readers transforms community volunteers into high-impact reading tutors

Teaching word reading with high-dosage synthetic phonics tutoring

Early Literacy Resources for Educators

Research, classroom strategies, workshops, and more to support you as you teach the next generation of readers.

Thank you to the 130+ volunteers of Reading Promise Week 2023

In just one week, over 130 volunteers helped us pack 11,000 literacy kits and 16,000 children’s books!

Documentary sheds light on early literacy crisis (The Philadelphia Tribune)

Want to help your child learn to read? Spencer Russell shares tips beyond the alphabet song

Remember, every parent has the ability to teach their child to read.

You’ve watched The Right to Read—now it’s time to take action.

Explore this list of ideas and resources to support young readers in Philadelphia.

An Early Literacy Initiative Brings Reading To North Philly Playgrounds (Next City)

Together is Better: A Recap of Read by 4th's 2023 Partner Network Meeting

We came together to commune, reflect, and celebrate another year of partnership-driven impact.

Structured literacy takes center stage at PA Higher Ed Summit 2023

Read by 4th is working to support the highest quality teacher preparation in literacy instruction - so that all children learn to read.

Philly’s public schools have one certified librarian—PARSL is working to change that

Every child in Philadelphia deserves to have a school librarian.

10 stats you should know about Philly’s early literacy crisis and movement

We’ve gathered some data about Philly’s early literacy crisis and those fighting it.

KABOOM!’s new Story Trails will bring neighborhood stories to life

A place to play is a place to learn.

This epic event showed families the connection between slime and storytime

And is a Neighborhood Literacy Fund awardee.

Read Across America Week is a time for activism

In addition to celebrating, make a point to better understand the early literacy crisis and how to get involved.

Vocabulary as a Building Block for Literacy

You can help our children learn, think about, and use new words.

Assessing School District of Philadelphia Student Literacy Performance in Grades K 3

Understanding how we measure performance is key to supporting young readers.

CUNY Reading Corps transforms pre-service teachers’ coursework into high-impact tutoring

In SY22-23, CUNY Reading Corps will train 800 tutors to reach more than 2,700 early readers in NYC Department of Education schools.

Maya Payne Smart reminds us it’s always the right time to talk with our kids

Talking with our children helps boost brains. This acronym can help you find the right words.

Dreaming of diverse children’s books? This program may grant your wish

The Book Wish program is helping distribute 75,000 culturally-relevant books across Philadelphia

Writing to Build Literacy

Let’s dive into the writing-reading connection.

Chelsea Clinton in Philadelphia to highlight project tying learning to everyday places (Chalkbeat Philadelphia)

COVID’s Impact on Children in Philadelphia

How were our children hurt by the pandemic and what steps must be taken to start to heal?

Where to buy bilingual children’s books

Books in languages that reflect our community and the world.

Where to get donated children’s books for your organization or community

These groups can help you find free books for Philly families.

5 education podcasts you should be listening to

Tune in to hear the latest on literacy and more.

Applying to an education program? Ask these questions to see if it’s aligned with the Science of Reading

Make sure you graduate ready to teach all children how to read.

The theme of May’s Partner Network Meeting: gratitude

Simone Partridge