Reading in Bilingual and Multilingual Families: Home Language, Dual-Language Books and More

Many families reading to children speak more than one language at home, and many parents worry about which language to read in. Will reading in Spanish, Mandarin, Haitian Creole or Tagalog hold a child back in English at school? Should a parent whose English is less confident read in English anyway?

The guidance from pediatric and literacy organizations is reassuring: read in the language you know best, and read with warmth and conversation. This guide covers why, and how to make the most of books in a multilingual home.

Read in the language you’re most comfortable with

The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages families to read with children in the language they are most comfortable with, and describes multilingualism as an asset rather than a risk factor for language delay.

Colorín Colorado, a bilingual literacy resource from public broadcaster WETA, explains one reason this matters: children who first learn to read in their home language tend to have an easier time learning to read in a second language, because they already understand how reading works and need to learn new sounds, letters and words rather than the whole process from scratch.

There is also a simpler reason. A parent reading in a language they speak fluently can read with expression, explain words, tell stories around the book and answer questions — the rich conversation that makes shared reading valuable. Reading haltingly in a less familiar language can lose much of that.

What this can sound like:

“At home we read in Spanish. At school you read in English. Both languages are yours.”

When the books are only in English

Not every family can find books in their home language, especially for less widely published languages. The AAP notes that families can still share English-language books in their home language by pointing to pictures, asking questions and making up stories.

Ways to do this:

• Tell the story from the pictures. Picture books with strong illustrations work well. Global Babies, a photographic board book about babies around the world, needs almost no text at all.
• Translate as you go. You don’t need a perfect translation. Paraphrase in your own words.
• Talk about the pictures. “What is she doing? Where do you think they’re going? Have we ever done that?”
• Let older siblings read the English and you discuss in your home language. Everyone contributes.

Bilingual and translated books

Dual-language (bilingual) books print the text in two languages, often side by side or one above the other. Translated editions are the same book published separately in another language.

Ideas for using them:

• Each adult reads in their strongest language. In a family where one parent is more comfortable in Korean and another in English, each can read the parts they’re comfortable with.
• Read one language first, then the other. Some families read the whole book once in each language on different nights.
• Let children teach you. A child who is learning English at school may enjoy helping a parent or grandparent with English words, and learning home-language words from them in return.
• Compare. Older children may notice where a translation chooses different words. “Why do you think they said it this way in English?”

Translated editions of familiar books can be a good way in: a child who already knows a story in one language can follow it more easily in another.

Books about living in more than one language

Some books show children what it’s like to grow up between languages and cultures — and can open conversations in your own family.

• Mango, Abuela, and Me by Meg Medina: Mia’s English and her grandmother’s Spanish don’t meet at first, so the two teach each other, word by word. It mirrors what many multilingual households actually do. Ask afterwards: “Who in our family is learning a language? How do we help each other?”
• Dreamers by Yuyi Morales: the author remembers being new to the United States and to English, with a baby in her arms, and finding her way into the new language through picture books at the public library. Reassuring for parents who are learning alongside their children.
• Likkle Miss Lou by Nadia L. Hohn: a childhood story of Louise Bennett Coverley, who became known for poetry and performance in Jamaican language. Because it treats Patois as a language worth celebrating, it is useful for any family whose home language or dialect has been treated as “less than.”
• Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal: each of Alma’s six names comes with a relative’s story. Names often carry a family’s languages, so this is a natural way into talking about yours.
• The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi: newly arrived from Korea, Unhei wonders whether to choose an American name, and her classmates fill a jar with suggestions. Good for children who have been asked to shorten or change their name.
• Islandborn by Junot Díaz: too young to remember the island her family left, Lola builds a picture of it from what relatives and neighbors tell her — a reminder that older family members are a source of language and memory.
• Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto: a lost ring and a kitchen full of tamales on Christmas Eve. Holiday cooking is often when families use their home language most, so it can prompt talk about your own traditions.

For older readers:

• Front Desk by Kelly Yang: ten-year-old Mia works the front desk of the motel her immigrant family manages and discovers that writing in her new language can push back against unfairness.
• Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan: a girl’s sudden move from a comfortable life in Mexico to a California farm labor camp in the 1930s, including the work of adapting to a new country. Content note: the story begins with her father’s death.

More titles are collected in our Hispanic Heritage Month guide and on the diverse books topic page.

Code-switching and mixed-language reading

Many bilingual families naturally move between languages in the same conversation, and some children’s books do the same, mixing words or phrases from two languages. If your child asks about a word in another language in a book, it’s a chance to talk: “That’s a Spanish word. In our family we say it like this.” If your family mixes languages while reading or talking about a book, that’s fine. The point is understanding and connection, not keeping the languages strictly separate.

Using the library

Colorín Colorado suggests visiting the library to find books in the home language. Practical tips:

• Ask the children’s librarian what languages the collection includes. Some libraries have larger world-language collections at specific branches, and many can request books from other branches through holds.
• Look for bilingual story times. Some libraries offer story times in languages other than English. Planting Stories, about the librarian Pura Belpré, who told stories in Spanish and English to New York children, is a good book to share before a first visit.
• Check digital collections. Library e-book and audiobook services may include titles in other languages.
• Ask about materials for adults learning English. Many libraries have resources for the whole family.

Our guide to using your public library covers cards, holds and digital lending in more detail.

Keeping the home language alive as children grow

As children spend more of their day in English at school, many families find the home language starts to fade. Reading can help keep it alive:

• Keep reading aloud in the home language long after a child reads English independently.
• Find series or comics in the home language that match a child’s interests.
• Encourage grandparents and relatives to read or tell stories, in person or by video.
• Let older children read to younger siblings in the home language.

Every family’s language situation is different, and there’s no single right balance. What matters most is that children hear rich, warm language and see books as part of family life — in whatever languages your family speaks. See how to read aloud for techniques that work in any language.