tres osos, tres chivitos y tres cerditos . three bears, three goats, and three pigs
During the cold winter months we have been reading some of our favorite Spanish-language illustrated fairytales. When my second born was 3 years old, he loved Paul Galdone’s The Three Bears. Later I found the Spanish translation of this book which he loved just as much. One time we even acted out Los tres osos together. First we gathered all the characters and props (cuencos, sillas, tres osos peluche y una muñeca, etc.) and set up a little casita for the bears. Then I read the story aloud while he moved everything around. He got so into it that, at the end, he wanted me to open the window so that he could let Ricitos de oro escape. I was so touched by his enthusiasm that I did in fact allow him to throw the doll out the window!
This is the magic of reading fairytales in a second language. If your children are already comfortable with the storyline, setting, and characters of a story in one language, they are able to transfer that proficiency to reading the same story in another language. Less effort is required for them to decode in a second language, thus facilitating their comprehension and enjoyment of the story.
Some of our favorite Spanish-language fairytale picture books
Los tres chivitos Gruff, Mary Finch
Los tres chivitos Gruff, Paul Galdone
Los tres osos, Paul Galdone
La gallinita roja, Mary Finch
Caperucita Roja, illustarted by Bernadette Watts
Ricitos de Oro y los tres osos, Gerda Muller
Los tres cerditos, Xose Ballesteros
El muñeco de jengibre, Jim Aylesworth
[Photo credit: Ricitos de oro y los tres osos, Gerda Muller]