Marie and Her Friend the Sea Turtle by Nicole Weaver

Marie and Her Friend the Sea Turtle

By Nicole Weaver

About the book: This story is about the love that developed between a little girl named Marie and a stranded sea turtle. The story tells the struggles Marie had as she helped the sea turtle back out to sea.

What I enjoyed: I loved that the story is told in three languages, English, Spanish and French. Many families are bi-lingual and this story allows the native language speaking parent/grandparent to sit and read with the English speaking child. And it exposes that child to a third language.

The illustrations are lovely, with bright colors and lots of action.

About the author: Nicole Weaver was born in Port-au-Prince Haiti. She came to the United States when she was ten years old. She is fluent in Creole, French, Spanish and English. She is a veteran teacher of French and Spanish.

Nicole’s schedule is jammed packed with teaching, writing, reading, reviewing, reading and more reading.  I was very thankful to Nicole for carving out a little time to answer some questions.  Let’s click our fingernails on those keys and give a warm blogview welcome to Nicole!

The tri-lingual component of this book is what lured me in.  Nicole, tell me, what benefit(s) do you feel a child gains from being exposed to bi or tri-lingual books during this stage of their young reader lives?

Nicole:
Children are like sponges they learn very quickly.  Studies have shown children have a unique ability to pick up a language faster than adults.  In my experience, I have found this to be very true.  I taught a group of Mexican children in Houston Texas, at the end of the school year they were able to communicate very well.   Later on, I decided to teach at the high school level, students encountered a lot more difficulties mastering the language.


What resources to you suggest for parents who want to include exposure to another language in their child’s early years development?

Nicole:
The local library is a great place to start.  Look for places where classes are being taught by native speakers.  The Alliance Française is a good place to start.  Most big cities have an Alliance Française.


Nicole is excited to announce that Marie and Her Friend the Sea Turtle will be available on Kindle for the low price of $4.99. Nicole, what can a Kindle reader expect if they purchase this book? Are the illustrations included?

Nicole:
All the illustrations are included.  The only difference is the Kindle edition is not in color.


What is next for you?

Nicole:
I have a second trilingual book due to be published summer 2011.  I am currently working on revising several manuscripts that I will be submitting to publishers.


Where can our readers find out more about you and your books?

Nicole:
Readers can go to my blog: http://marieandherfriendtheseaturtle.blogspot.com/

Thanks for stopping by Strands of Thought, Nicole.

Lovely readers, don’t forget, Goodreads is hosting a giveaway of The Weaver this month. Be sure to enter to win and add it to your to-read shelf. 

Comments

  1. Janet Ann CollinsMarch 3, 2011 at 2:24 PM

    I've seen the great difference learning more than one language at an early age can make for children. Besides being a touching story this book should help inspire kids to do that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMarch 3, 2011 at 2:49 PM

    This is a lovely review about a great book. Congratulations to you both. One of my favorite topics in a kid's book...

    ReplyDelete
  3. DorothyMarch 3, 2011 at 4:04 PM

    Wonderful review and what a neat looking blog, too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMarch 3, 2011 at 4:30 PM

    Wow Nicole! Exposing kids to 3 languages. That's great!
    Blessings,
    J. Aday Kennedy
    The Differently-Abled Writer & Speaker
    Children's Author of Klutzy Kantor & Marta's Gargantuan Wings
    www.jadaykennedy.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kai Strand, AuthorMarch 3, 2011 at 4:53 PM

    Thanks ladies for stopping by and for the kind words!

    ReplyDelete
  6. billkirkwritesMarch 3, 2011 at 5:32 PM

    Very nice interview, Kai. And what a terrific idea to convey the story in three languages, Nicole---now you have me intrigued to see if I can remember enough Spanish and French from my youth to follow the story.

    While stationed in Thailand in the early '70s, a few of us connected with a grade school in a nearby Thai village to help teach English to the children. We got a chuckle during the assembly as each class demonstrated our read-and-repeat English lessons for all the teachers. My class had a distinctive southern accent and my buddy's class sounded as if they were right out of the Bronx.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nicole weaverMarch 3, 2011 at 6:57 PM

    Hi Kai,

    I just got home from parent teacher conferences. Thank you so much for posting the review/interview. I also want to extend a thank you to all who took time to leave a comment. Your support brings joy to my heart.
    Nicole Weaver
    http://marieandherfriendtheseaturtle.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kai Strand, AuthorMarch 3, 2011 at 7:43 PM

    Bill, that's a great story! I never thought about that before. So funny! Thanks for sharing that with us.

    Nicole, it is a pleasure to have you here with us. Thanks so much for stopping in.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousMarch 4, 2011 at 10:32 AM

    Thanks! for sharing this great review.

    ReplyDelete

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