Cali's Fun Bilingual Tales by Jorja Colley & Illustrated by Vicky Lommatzsch

Hello my fellow bookworms,

(c) Penguin Random House LLC, 2024

Today, I would like to share my review of the book Cali's Fun Bilingual Tales by Jorja Colley and illustrated by Vicky Lommatzsch! I received a free copy courtesy of Zeitgeist's Insider Club. This paperback bound copy boasts a durable cover with colorful illustrations that will be sure to appeal to both bilingual children and those learning English and/or Spanish! This book is perfect for those between the ages of 5 - 10 years old, as the reading is of a higher level than your learning basics. These bilingual tales are formatted as short stories in chapter form, fun reading for bedtime or learning time.

Each short story takes about as the title states, about 5 minutes to read through. Colley begins each chapter with a keyword dictionary, highlighting key terms both you and your child will learn and look out for within the following story. The stories are written in both English and Spanish, so you can follow along either side, or try to read in the language you are learning for an added challenge. Lommatzsch's illustrations are cute, child-friendly, and colorful. I would love to see this book animated with this art style at some point! The pictures help bring each story to life, with each story covering some sort of language basics, such as people and places. 

As one who is a beginner in Spanish, an audiobook version of this book would be perfect for me to learn even more! Luckily, Colley has graciously uploaded a video on YouTube of her reading her book for us. Win-win! 

If you are looking for more materials to encourage bilingual learning, check out Colley's website Jorja's Dual Language Classroom, where she features freebies, such as teacher survival kits, classroom activities, holiday activities, and more. She also has a Teachers Pay Teachers website, so you can view more tools here, as well. 

I highly recommend Cali's Fun Bilingual Tales. Both Colley and Lommatzsch have created a fun book for those learning English and Spanish, and for those who speak more than one language to just read in whichever language they choose. I had fun reading, and I hope you and your family does, too!

(c) Jorja Colley

About the Author: Jorja Colley

Jorja Colley, with a strong-willed heart for education and passion for being bilingual, has set her mind to do whatever is in her hands to help the bilingual community. She has created Jorja's Dual Language Classroom to share bilingual learning materials with educators, fueled by the dream that all children may one day have access to quality bilingual programs and resources. Jorja lives in the city of El Paso with her husband and daughter, enjoying the richness of a bilingual environment, nurtured by a bicultural life. You can find her on Instagram @jorjasduallanguageclassroom.

(c) Vicky Lommatzsch

About the Illustrator: Vicky Lommatzsch

At the age of 5, Vicky watched her older brother draw Jolly Jumper. She was so fascinated by seeing a character come to life on paper, she realized there was a magical world other than the one she lived in, where anything is possible. She has been drawing and playing in that parallel universe ever since. You can find her on Instagram @vickylomm.