The Umbrella

The Umbrella - Ingrid Schubert, Dieter Schubert A beautifully illustrated picture book, The Umbrella invites young readers to follow the adventures of a small Scottie dog and his red umbrella in a tale entirely told in pictures. I like these wordless pictures books every now and then. This is because a child and an adult can really talk about what is happening in each picture. The child and the adult could name the dog if they wanted to, and make up more stories about the Scottie's adventures even when the book is finished. Also, wordless picture books are a nice way to put adults and children on a more even playing field as readers, so to speak.I bought this book for a little boy who is three. His parents are fluent in Spanish and English. The little boy is being raised to be bilingual. However, his grandmother (who is only fluent in Spanish), takes care of him most of the time. This book was recommended to me by a children's book buyer when she heard of my dilemma in trying to find a book that is appropriate to both grandmother and grandson. As she pointed out, this book can be actively talked about in any language and might help this little boy learn nouns, verbs, and so on in both languages.