I am sure that your book will become a classic.
“Through powerful examples and vivid imagery, Pearson explains the complex and often perplexing phenomenon of bilingualism in a most sensible and practical way. Parents, educators, policymakers and even the curious monolingual should appreciate this important book. It is at once practical, entertaining, and insightful. Pearson draws from her rich experience as a seasoned researcher and student of human behavior to separate fact from fiction, and to inspire all of us to celebrate the richness of linguistic diversity in our lives.”
This is an invaluable resource for today's parents - it provides them with clear, accessible, empathetic, and trustworthy guidelines they can use to help the child learn a second language. This book helps parents prepare their children for the future, a future where every child will undoubtedly need to speak more than one language.
This book is not just for parents who are bilingual themselves and who plan to bring up a bilingual child but it makes a powerful case for every child being able to speak more than one language in today's world. A timely and well-written book!
I've really enjoyed your book and think it is going to be very helpful to parents and the field. Here is a short statement that I hope will be useful:
This volume is a significant contribution to the literature for parents who hope to raise bilingual children and for everyone who supports them in that goal. It offers us a clear account of relevant research, practical advice, and the stories of real families that demonstrate the strategies in action. The result is a book that inspires confidence that the choice of bilingualism is a good one for parents, for children, and for our society.
Barbara Pearson' s "Raising a Bilingual Child" is a wonderfully written, sparkling composite of research results, personal narratives, practical advice, and wise enthusiasm for the project of bilingualism, its joys, pitfalls, and the individually sensitive decisions that parents must make. It moves from a global perspective--- more people are bilingual than monolingual---to the challenging choices of daycare, schools, and bi-lingual living, while bringing a linguist's awareness of the intricacy of language and stages of acquisition to the foreground. It is not only useful and informative, but articulates anew the advantages of promoting bi-lingualism in society. It is both a handbook for parents. a reference book for teachers, and a natural text for courses in education and language.
Let me start by congratulating you for taking such a monumental and frequently controversial task as is the issue of raising a bilingual child. The book is comprehensive in its scope with the inclusion of very current research both on acquisition of L1 and L2. I was thrilled to read the chapter on bilingualism and children with special needs. At the same time, the book is an easy to follow guide for parents who are questioning how to raise a child to be bilingual and biliterate in a society that is mostly monolingual. As I talk to parents who are expecting a child (including my own family members), they are full of questions on the HOW TO. I think in most cases we have surpassed the question of is bilingualism something that we want for our child and are stuck on the best means to achieve it. I thoroughly agree with your insights and recommendations which are both research based and at the same time flexible and comprehensive enough to accommodate different family situations. I intend to share the book with many people as soon as it is published.
I enjoyed reading "Raising a Bilingual Child" and found it informative and accessible. As both a principal of bilingual programs and the father of bilingual children, I am often looking for information about many of the issues covered in the book. I was particularly impressed with the chapter entitled "Are there any children who cannot learn two languages?" My school has many students with learning differences and we frequently have to address this very question. Ms. Pearson adds valuable insights to this and other key topics in her book and parents and educators would benefit greatly from reading "Raising a Bilingual Child".
Raising Bilingual Children contains a wealth of information from one of the leading researchers in the field that parents will find informative and useful. Pearson has used her keen insights about the issues that parents' are concerned about to paint an indepth and interesting to read handbook. Parents will find loads of useful information and suggestions to help them raise their children bilingually.
(Thank you to all the "blurbers." I was a little worried about people saying it was "monumental." At 298 pages, it's about a chapter longer than I wanted it to be, but I didn't want to cut from the largest part, people's stories. So I was thrilled when Chris Rosenberg of Starr King Elementary in SF used the "a-word." Informative and ACCESSIBLE. (...as well as practical and entertaining. We'll see about that last one. My husband is finally inspired to read it.)
The book goes to production any day, for an April 15, 2008 release. [bp home]