I’m so excited to be writing this post…it’s an exhilarating time for me as I announce the launch date for my first bilingual children’s book with acclaimed author Jude Lennon.
“Am I Nearly There Yet?” (¿Ya Estoy Llegando?) Follows the adventures of Frida a Monarch butterfly as she makes her migratory journey down to Mexico for the ‘Day of the Dead Festival’. But, Frida is a day dreamer. She wasn’t paying attention and the other butterflies have left without her. Who will help Frida find her way? And, will she get to the festival on time?
The idea of a bilingual children’s book was presented to me last October by Jude when she took part in one of the taster lessons for my online Spanish course. I loved the idea! I knew I wanted to be a part of it straight away and couldn’t wait to get started!
I wanted a story that was fun but educational at the same time, with room for children to investigate further for their own learning at their own pace. I knew I wanted something about the Day of the Dead as I’d been looking for a bilingual book on this for a while, but those that are available in the UK are either expensive or poor quality. When I learnt about the journey the Monarch butterfly makes to Mexico arriving on the same day each year – which just happens to be 1st & 2nd Nov…well I knew this was what our book had to be about!
I invited all the children in my Spanish classes to get involved with this project. They did some fantastic illustrations that I’m very proud to be using throughout the book. The illustration for the front cover (see above) was done by Daniel Bassey (age 13)!
We have confirmed the official launch date to be Wednesday 28th September, and will be holding the launch at Sandbach Library from 4pm. There will be a reading in both languages followed by Q&A and some butterfly & day of the dead crafts for the children.