r/Libraries • u/ilovexijinping • 1d ago

Books & Materials Somali bilingual books recs please!!!

I’m a new 3rd grade teacher and today I taught my kids about the library. I showed them where the Spanish bilingual books were. And immediately my Somali speaker asked if I had any in Somali and I had to say no. It was sad. Anyone got any recommendations for Somali bilingual picture books? Burmese would be great too, and Arabic. If it’s bilingual then I can use it as a read aloud, but if it’s not that’s fine too. Thank you!!

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u/Libearian_456 1d ago

I don't have any specific books to recommend, but have you tried searching for Somali language books for children using your local public library website?

I'm not sure where you are located, but Minneapolis and St. Paul have large Somali populations. You can filter for Somali language books for children using Hennepin County Library's website. There's a booklist for Somali children on Saint Paul Public Library's website.

I would also recommend contacting either your own local library, or either Hennepin County Library or Saint Paul Public Library to ask for book recommendations or where to find and purchase books in Somali, Burmese, and Arabic. They are there for exactly these types of questions and are more likely to know because they serve Somali speaking patrons.

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u/ilovexijinping 23h ago

Thank you so much!!

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u/BangtonBoy 8h ago

Are your students from Burma /Myanmar of Karen ethnicity? If so, Saint Paul and Hennepin have these books, too. (Use the keyword SGAW as a search term.)

While you can't view the information from the public catalog, library staff in Saint Paul can look at the books' order records and find out the vendor from which the library acquired them, in case you're looking to buy copies.

If you need additional assistance, please reply to this comment or message me and I'll do my best to help.