And if your kids are anything like ours, they might even show resistance if you’re starting this new ritual a little late. It makes sense, after all. They’re probably completely fluent in English already. They’re used to understanding what they’re hearing, and kids are creatures of habit. That’s why it’s so important to think of them as beginners and to be consistent with this new routine. I imagine they might be just as resistant to English books if you never read to them before, and decided to start reading to them at 6 years old during a time they were used to watching TV.

But it does absolutely no good if they have no idea what you’re reading. The key is to seek as much engagement and understanding as possible, even with complete beginners. When children are independent readers, if there are more than 5 words on a single page they don’t know, they need to choose a new book. And the same concept can be used with foreign language read alouds. That’s why I highly recommend choosing picture books they already know well.

If you pick picture books your children already know and love, and buy those books in other languages, they’ll never be lost while you’re reading them aloud. If it’s one of those books you’ve read hundreds of times, they certainly know the plot by heart at the very least, and there’s a very good chance they even know it word for word.

Even in the worst case scenario, they’ll know exactly what’s going on while you’re reading and develop their prosody. But in the best case scenario, they’ll actually discover the meaning of individual words through context clues and their memory. And, just like it does through repeated readings of their favorite English books, their vocabulary will grow with every repetition of these books as well.

Where to Buy Foreign Language Books for Kids

I purchased quite a few foreign language versions of picture books while overseas, but that’s probably not the most convenient way to build up your home library. Another place to check it your local library. Our library has a very good section of foreign language picture books organized by language. Some languages are definitely better stocked than others, though, and it’s unlikely to find the exact book you’re looking for in the language you want.

The very best way I’ve found to track down the picture book you want in the language you want is to go through Amazon. I even made a new account through Amazon in the country I wanted (Amazon.de for Germany in my case) - to gain access to the entire catalog of German kids books. But, even if you wanted to shop strictly on the US website, the catalog of foreign language picture books is always improving there as well.

Just by merely opening up this door to a new world for your kids can have serious benefits down the line. The early acquisition of a little sentence structure, vocabulary and prosody will make studying languages in depth significantly easier later in life. Even the exposure to the concept that the world is much larger than what they knew has its benefits. If we can help provide the access to a little more beauty in life - then we can consider that a job well done.