The best gift we can give any child is the love of reading. But how do you get a child who doesn’t like to read in their first language to read in a foreign language? Start by reading to them, telling them stories, teaching them browsing strategies, and providing time and resources. There are several free and low cost options for free voluntary reading during the pandemic.
There are several free websites with digital books.
The Stories First Foundation founded by Dr. Beniko Mason and Dr. Stephen Krashen, is a great website for online short stories.
I love ebooks for kids, it has over 1,400 books in French, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, and English.
Epic is awesome and has hundreds of books in French, Spanish, Chinese, and English. There are digital books, audiobooks, and videos at various levels. I selected some titles and linked them to this classroom library slide so students can just click on them. I change it every couple of weeks to include holidays or themes we are studying.
The Fable Cottage has free stories in French, Spanish, Italian, English, and German.
The French Experiment and The Spanish Experiment have free on line stories for students.
Check out these websites: Global Storybooks Portal , Indigenous Storybooks and https://jeunesse.short-edition.com/.
Cécile Lainé and Anna Gilcher have created a monthly publication in French called Le Petit Journal Francophone. Martin Bex has created Revista Literal, a collection of student created short stories.
Fluency matters has e-libraries and e-courses in French, Spanish, and German. Each e-library includes 5-6 books for as little as $2 per student.
Terresa Marrama, the Compelling Language Corner, has awesome e-books and e-courses in French, Spanish, and German. Most E-courses include the book, audio, and quizzes or activities. She writes mysteries and also LGBTQ+ friendly novels. She has FVR packages that include 9 books for up to 150 students for $100 for one year, or you can purchase individual titles beginning at $2 per student.
Mike Peto, My Generation of Polyglots, has e-books available on his website.
Browse the eBook library with novels available in French, German, Japanese, Latin, Portuguese and Spanish. Subscriptions are $29.99 per book for 1 teacher and up to 300 students. I joined his CI master class and his e-books and Maravillas are included in the subscription, it’s a deal!
Puentesebooks is the website for Jennifer Deggenhart’s novels in Spanish and French. Many of Jennifer’s books deal with identity and how important it is to know who you are. There is a FVR package of 9 novels for $100 for 150 students in Spanish. For French, there is a 5 novel package for $100 for 150 students. Ebooks can also be purchased as individual subscriptions for $2 each.
Mira Canion has 8 Spanish books for up to 300 students for $258 for a one year subscription or $68 dollars for 1 book for up to 300 students, on sale through January 2nd, 2021. The French e-library includes 3 novels for $109.00 for up to 300 students. I love her novels, I use La France en Danger and we create our own Picasso Museum as we read the novel.
Tina Hargaden has an e-literature library for $199.00 with access to all books in several languages.
Fangloo is a digital reader subscription through Teacher’s Discovery. 35 readers in Spanish for $99 for a year subscription for up to 150 students. There is a free trial.
Nothing kills the love of reading more than copious post reading activities. When I read for pleasure, I don’t normally answer comprehension questions. I prefer to ask my students, did you like the story? Another option is to have students rate the book with a star system. How many stars would you give this book?
