Describes an interdisciplinary effort to identify books and reading material suitable for minority children in the United Kingdom who speak languages other than English, such as Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Punjabi, and Urdu. Educators as well as writers, translators, and publishers get information about: (1) how minority languages can be used to help children consolidate language and literacy learning in the first language and accelerate development in English; (2) the importance of design and typography on the effectiveness and usability of multilingual resources; (3) ways to involve parents in bilingual language learning; (4) ways to promote speaking and listening in other languages, including use of storytelling and drama; (5) cultural perspectives on literacy and teachers’ and children’s views on dual language books; (6) specific design issues, including use of space and organization of text and image, as well as considerations for translation; (7) support for writing in other languages, including use of word-processing tools; and (8) key steps in creating an effective multilingual learning environment. Classrooms in which English co-exists with many other languages are the norm in large numbers of schools in North America, Europe, and Australia, suggesting that mainstream publishers can find international markets for multilingual resources. Contents: 1. Creating the right ethos 2. Resources for speaking and listening 3. Resources for reading. 4. Writing as a resource
