Book Nook: Lift-a-Flap Language Learners - The Enchanted Castle

I teach German and speak German to my kids, who are also learning some Spanish. I love books that encourage language learning, even if it's just vocabulary. When kids learn the sounds and sights of other languages early on, it makes it easier to learn them later - and exposure to a new language helps increase cultural awareness in small ways.

Life-a-Flap Language Learners: The Enchanted Castle is an adorable story even without the bilingualism. Mashing together fairy tale classic characters like Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel, and more, this magical castle is an enchanting foundation for language learning. The illustrations are bold and brightly colored, and readers can explore the Spanish words (along with a helpful pronunciation guide) as they read.

Samantha Chagollan is an award-winning author and editor of a variety of children's fiction and nonfiction books. A native Southern Californian, Samantha grew up with a passion for telling and writing stories. Through the family's art store in Huntington Beach, California, she taught arts and crafts to both children and adults for five years. She went on to earn a degree in literature from Humboldt State University in Arcata, California, where she focused her studies on multicultural literature and the Spanish language. After working for several publishers in the area, Samantha is currently working as a freelance editor and writer and is probably crafting a new story at this very moment.

Evgenia Golubeva is an illustrator and writer based in Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom. She studied at the University of Cinema and Television in Saint Petersburg and the French animation school La Poudriere. Her first book, Mirror Spook, was published in Russia in 2012. She has also illustrated in magazines and educational books for children and writes for preschoolers' television shows. Evgenia uses a variety of materials in her illustrations, including inks, watercolors, and pencils, as well as working digitally. Learn more at evgeniagolubeva.wordpress.com.