Motivating Your Child to Read: Make it Personal with Flattenme Books

Reading, like any other skill, improves with practice.  When it comes to reading in the minority language motivation is key.

Motivating Kids to Read in the Minority Language

Motivation is important when reading in general, but when you have a child who speaks two languages one language is always stronger and reading in the second language can be more difficult for children so it’s important to find ways to motivate them.  Why would they choose a book in the minority language or the language they are less dominant in? Because that book is special!

We have read books in Spanish at home to both of our children from the day they where born and both kids still have to choose at least one book in Spanish for our bedtime reading routine.

My daughter learned to read in English at school and like most bilingual children she was able to transfer her reading skills and can read in Spanish as well.  She has grown up to love reading and books, just like me.  But the amount of time she reads in Spanish on her own has decreased as homework and extracurricular activities take up more and more of her time.  Because of this it is important that she is motivated to read in Spanish and sees it as something fun and inviting.

I am always looking for books in Spanish that on her preferred subjects and favorite characters and we have a nice collection at home already.  She likes books about animals, Dora, Curious George and the Disney characters but nothing compares to her new book: “Ariane y La Sirenita Brillante” (personalized mermaid book ) from Flattenme because in this book she is the main character of the story!

FlattenMe Books

Award-winning Flattenme personalized books and gifts magically transform your star into a superhero, mermaid, pirate and more. Your child’s face and name are used throughout the story.

Just send one picture of your child and choose one of the 8 stories available including titles for younger and older children on subjects that range from potty training  to mermaids and fairies. Most of the books are available in 9 different languages including Spanish, French, German and Swedish among others.

There are many personalized books out there but I have never seen anything like the Flattenme books.  The illustrations are gorgeous, the stories are well written, interesting and fun and the quality of the book and work done to incorporate your child’s picture into the illustrations is superb.  My husband is a graphic designer who specializes in image retouching and even he was impressed.

I have had my eye on Flattenme books for a couple of years now, ever since Oprah recommended it on her gift guide. But I try to buy books only in Spanish so I was thrilled when I discovered that Flattenme has many of their titles available in other languages including Spanish ! ¡Fantástico!

We sent my little girl’s picture and picked the GlitterGills story featuring a mermaid’s adventures under the sea (we knew she would love that!) . 8 x 10 custom keepsake-quality custom storybook. Child’s name and face are featured throughout story. A week later we received the book and I have to say both my husband and I where so excited we couldn’t wait for my little girl to come back from school to show it to her.

When she saw the book she couldn’t believe it.  She was jumping up and down with excitement and immediately started reading it.  Since we got it she reads “Ariane y La Sirenita Brillante” on her own at least once a day and I am so happy that she is so motivated to read in Spanish.

The book was such a hit that we had to get one for my 5 year old, he picked a book about wood fairies because he would love to have wings and be able to fly.  Now both of my children have their own book and I have tow invaluable keepsakes that I will hold on to and cherish long after they have outgrown them.  Now that I think of it I might have to get copies of both of these so I can keep one and they can take one to read to their kids.

Flattenme also has personalized T-shirt, posters, invitations, water bottles and many other products, so head on to their website and take a look.  You can like Flattenme on Facebook or follow them on twitter to learn more about their products and promotions.

Check out how Flattenme works with your child’s picture to create a magical personalized gift.

Disclosure: I received a personalized copy of “La Sirenita Brillante” to review but was not financially compensated in any way. All opinions expressed here are honest and my own and are based on my observations. This post may contain affiliate links. 

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Paula Bendfeldt-Diaz

Paula moved from her native Guatemala to SW Florida with her husband and two children and together they are discovering what it means to live life between two languages.

Paula studied architecture and now makes a living as a freelance writer,traveler and amateur photographer.She started her writing & publishing career as the editor of Bebé y Mamá, the first parenting magazine in Guatemala.She is the founder of www.GrowingUpBilingual.com and www.365thingsswfl.com and writes articles in Spanish and English for both magazines and the web on travel,food and bicultural and bilingual parenting .

When she is not on a plane or road trip she likes to create recipes inspired in the flavors of her native Guatemala.

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