E24 - Stories of Belonging: Multilingual Representation in Children's Literature

E26 - Teach My Kid to Read: Libraries as Literacy Hubs for Multilingual Learners

Beth Bevars is a library director in the Finger Lakes region of New York and a literacy advocate focused on supporting families and educators through community literacy hubs. Marion Waldman comes from educational publishing and works to expand access to evidence-based literacy resources through partnerships with libraries, publishers, and literacy organizations. Together, they support libraries across the United States and Canada in building literacy hubs grounded in the science of reading through their nonprofit organization, Teach My Kid to Read. In this episode, Beth and Marion discuss their work transforming public libraries into community literacy hubs that support evidence-based reading instruction. They unpack the inequities surrounding literacy access, the importance of decodable texts, the role of libraries in supporting multilingual learners and educators, and how libraries can become sustainable community partners in advancing the right to read for all children. Key Takeaways: 1. Libraries are uniquely positioned to support literacy because they serve every member of the community. They can provide equitable access to evidence-based reading resources for families, educators, and students. 2. Decodable books are an important missing piece in many public library collections. Libraries can strengthen early literacy support by adding structured, evidence-based texts for beginning readers. 3. Effective decodable collections should reflect the needs of the local community. Libraries benefit from selecting materials that align with school instruction, language needs, age groups, and community priorities. Timestamps: (00:00) Welcome to Literacy Across Languages! (01:41) Meet Marion Waldman and Beth Bevars (08:49) Libraries as Partners in Literacy Development (12:39) Transforming Libraries into Literacy Hubs (14:37) Training Librarians in Research-Based Literacy Instruction (16:54) Libraries as Resources for Literacy Educators (18:52) How Libraries Can Support Multilingual Families (23:10) Curating Decodable Texts, Multilingual Books, and Early Literacy Resources (27:51) Selecting High-Quality Books for Multilingual Students and Beginning Readers (31:16) First Steps for Libraries Interested in Becoming a Literacy Hub with Teach My Kid to Read Episode Resources: 1. Explore the Teach My Kid to Read community and literacy hub resources at Teach My Kid to Read [https://teachmykidtoread.org?utm_source=chatgpt.com] 2. Learn more about the Science of Reading Center at SUNY New Paltz [https://www.newpaltz.edu/science-of-reading-center/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] and its micro-credential opportunities. 3. Visit the Literacy at New York Libraries [https://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/youthsvs] page to explore more literacy resources. Stay Connected: * Visit us at ⁠literacyacrosslanguages.com⁠ [http://literacyacrosslanguages.com]. * Email us with questions or episode suggestions at literacyacrosslanguages@gmail.com [literacyacrosslanguages@gmail.com]. * Follow ⁠Mary⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-sandoval-52ab893a/] and ⁠Katherine⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-nelson-66570b57/] on LinkedIn. * Like, subscribe, and share this episode with fellow educators, or share a review to help others find us! Keywords: literacy, science of reading, structured literacy, decodable books, libraries, literacy hubs, multilingual learners, dyslexia, community literacy, evidence-based reading instruction, early literacy, phonemic awareness, oral language, language comprehension, equitable access, family literacy, public libraries, literacy equity, beginning readers, reading intervention, teacher professional learning, culturally responsive libraries, bilingual books, multilingual families, reading development, literacy coaching, community partnerships, library programming, educator support, literacy advocacy

E25 - Multiliteracy, Multilingualism, and Motivation: Raising Readers Across Languages

Yoshito Darmon-Shimamori is the founder of Library 4 Multilinguals, an author dedicated to empowering multilingual and multicultural children, and the host and organizer of the annual online conference, the Grand Multiliteracy Event. Drawing on his own bilingual upbringing, over 14 years of classroom experience, and his everyday life as a parent raising multiliterate children, he supports families and educators to nurture confident identities across languages and cultures. Yoshito has published four books designed to help young people grow up multilingual, multicultural, and multiliterate through stories and tools that are engaging, practical, and joyful. His work champions the idea that every language a child speaks is a strength, and he shares real life approaches for helping children read, write, and think across languages so that literacy becomes a bridge between home, school, and community. In this episode, Yoshito shares how his own experiences with bilingualism, literacy, and identity shaped his work supporting multilingual families and educators. Together, the conversation explores why multiliteracy matters beyond oral language development, how families can make reading and writing meaningful, and how motivation, joy, and purposeful routines help children sustain their languages over time. Key Takeaways: 1. Literacy can deeply shape how multilingual children see themselves and their identities. Children often feel a stronger sense of belonging when they can read and write in their languages as well as speak them. 2. Motivation plays a critical role in multiliteracy development. Children are more likely to persist when literacy activities feel meaningful, enjoyable, and connected to their lives. 3. Parents and educators must often create motivation for home language literacy intentionally. Unlike school language literacy, home language literacy may require purposeful opportunities and encouragement. Timestamps: (00:00) Welcome to Literacy Across Languages! (02:05) Meet Yoshito Darmon-Shimamori (07:12) Raising Multilingual, Multicultural, and Multiliterate Children (11:34) The Importance of Literacy Across Languages (13:19) Literacy Routines for Multilingual Families (19:07) Nurturing Multiliteracies in Young Children (22:16) Motivational Changes as Multilingual Children Grow Up (24:07) In Search of Lost Words, an Interactive Multilingual Graphic Novel (26:02) Finding Books in Multiple Languages (28:53) Common Challenges Raising Multiliterate Children (32:02) The Grand Multi-Literacy Event, a Free Resource for Educators and Families (36:23) Multiliteracy as a Bridge Between Cultures (38:18) Takeaways for Teaching Episode Resources: 1. Explore Yoshito’s books and resources for multilingual literacy, including The Parent’s Guide to Raising Multi-Literate Children, at Library 4 Multilinguals [https://www.library4multilinguals.com/]. 2. Watch Yoshito’s video interviews with language and literacy experts as part of his annual Grand Multi-Literacy Event [https://www.youtube.com/@library4multilinguals258]. 3. Explore dual language children’s books through BookaBooka’s Digital Library [https://www.bookabooka.com/]. Stay Connected: * Visit us at ⁠literacyacrosslanguages.com⁠ [http://literacyacrosslanguages.com]. * Email us with questions or episode suggestions at literacyacrosslanguages@gmail.com [literacyacrosslanguages@gmail.com]. * Follow ⁠Mary⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-sandoval-52ab893a/] and ⁠Katherine⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-nelson-66570b57/] on LinkedIn. * Like, subscribe, and share this episode with fellow educators, or share a review to help others find us! Keywords: multiliteracy, multilingual learners, multilingualism, bilingualism, literacy development, home language literacy, multilingual families, reading motivation, writing motivation, language identity, cultural identity, family literacy, literacy routines, multilingual children, bilingual children, reading across languages, multilingual education, language learning, literacy instruction, graphic novels, comics, manga, literacy and identity, joyful learning, literacy games, heritage languages, language maintenance, multilingual parenting, literacy engagement, culturally sustaining practices

E24 - Stories of Belonging: Multilingual Representation in Children's Literature

Shifa Saltagi Safadi is the National Book Award-winning author of Kareem Between, the Amina Banana series, and several picture books, including The Gift of Eid. Born in Syria and raised in the United States, she is a bilingual Arabic-English speaker, a former English teacher, and a former reviewer of Muslim children’s books through her blog, Muslim Mommy Blog. She is passionate about helping children develop a love of reading through engaging stories, school visits, and story times. In this episode, Shifa Saltagi Safadi shares how her experiences growing up as a Syrian American multilingual learner and later teaching middle school ELA shaped her approach to writing children’s literature. She discusses the inspiration behind Amina Banana and Kareem Between, the importance of helping students feel seen through stories, and the instructional moves that supported multilingual learners in her own classroom, including the use of audiobooks, inclusive language, and culturally responsive classroom libraries. Through the conversation, Shifa highlights how humor, representation, and belonging can transform students’ relationships with reading and with themselves. Key Takeaways: * Representation in literature matters deeply for multilingual learners. Seeing characters who share their experiences can help students feel visible and valued. * Books can be powerful tools for language development and emotional connection. Stories help students see hope, resilience, and possibility in themselves and others. * Educators play a critical role in shaping how multilingual learners view their potential. Encouragement from teachers can have a lifelong impact on students’ confidence and aspirations. Timestamps: (00:00) Welcome to Literacy Across Languages! (01:44) Meet Shifa Saltagi Shifadi (05:43) From ESL to English as an Additional Language (09:10) Books as Language Teachers (13:36) Audiobooks in the Multilingual Middle School Classroom (19:09) Writing for Early Chapter Book Readers (22:55) Writing for Middle School Readers (27:42) Muslim Representation in Children's Literature (32:38) KidLit as Windows, Mirrors, and Sliding Glass Doors (34:40) Educators' Impact on Multilingual Students (36:47) Takeaways for Teaching Episode Resources: 1. Check out Shifa's books and educator resources at ShifaSafadi.com [shifasafadi.com]. 2. Listen to Shifa discuss Kareem Between [https://www.alitlife.com/2024/12/12/starting-from-within-kareem-between-by-shifa-saltagi-safgadi/] and the Amina Banana series [https://www.alitlife.com/2025/06/23/exploring-the-amina-banana-series-with-shifa-saltagi-safadi/]in more detail in her podcast interviews with A Lit Life. 3. Find more great books for your classroom at We Need Diverse Books [https://www.diversebooks.org/about]. Stay Connected: * Visit us at [literacyacrosslanguages.com]⁠ [http://literacyacrosslanguages.com]literacyacrosslanguages.com [http://literacyacrosslanguages.com]⁠ [http://literacyacrosslanguages.com]. * Email us with questions or episode suggestions at literacyacrosslanguages@gmail.com. * Follow ⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-sandoval-52ab893a/]Mary [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-sandoval-52ab893a/]⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-sandoval-52ab893a/] and ⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-nelson-66570b57/]Katherine [https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-nelson-66570b57/]⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-nelson-66570b57/] on LinkedIn. * Like, subscribe, and share this episode with fellow educators, or share a review to help others find us! Keywords: multilingual learners, multilingual education, literacy instruction, culturally responsive teaching, representation in literature, inclusive classroom libraries, bilingual students, Arabic-English learners, identity and belonging, children’s literature, middle grade books, chapter books, audiobooks in education, literacy development, language acquisition, multilingual literacy, asset-based language, student belonging, reading identity, culturally sustaining pedagogy, empathy through literature, diverse books, Syrian American identity, Muslim representation, literacy access, classroom community, language and identity, reading comprehension, multilingual student support, educator advocacy

E23 - Scaffolds with Purpose: Leveraging AI for Multilingual Access and Belonging

Brandon Cardet-Hernandez is an educator and leader whose career spans roles as a teacher, turnaround principal in the South Bronx, and leader within the New York City Department of Education, where he served as senior advisor of education to Mayor Bill de Blasio. As the son of immigrants and a former multilingual learner, his work is grounded in expanding opportunity and access for students through rigorous and equitable educational experiences. This episode explores the concept of the multilingual access gap, reframing disparities in student outcomes as issues of access and system capacity rather than ability. Brandon discusses how belonging, rigorous instruction, and strategic scaffolding intersect to support multilingual learners, while also examining the role of AI as a tool to enhance, rather than replace, thoughtful instructional design. The conversation highlights the tension between innovation and caution in adopting AI tools for the classroom, emphasizing that meaningful progress depends on aligning research, tools, and human connection. Key Takeaways: * The achievement gap between English learners and monolingual English speakers is best understood as an access gap. It reflects differences in opportunity and system capacity rather than student ability. * Belonging is foundational to learning for multilingual students. Students must feel safe and valued in order to take the risks required for language development. * Students can engage in rigorous content when appropriate supports are in place. AI can support access when grounded in research-based instructional practices. It should enhance learning rather than simplify or dilute content. Timestamps: (00:00) Welcome to Literacy Across Languages! (01:36) Meet Brandon Cardet-Hernandez (04:58) Understanding the Multilingual Learner Access Gap (07:53) Medley Learning for Scaffolding Content for Multilingual Learners (10:52) Teacher and Student Agency in Linguistic Scaffolding (15:38) Opportunities and Cautions for Multilingual Education in the Age of AI (21:15) Increasing Teacher Capacity for Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners (27:52) The Head Work and the Heart Work of Teaching Multilingual Learners (33:58) Takeaways for Teaching Episode Resources: 1. Learn more about Medley Learning [https://www.medleylearning.com] and its approach to scaffolding existing curricula to enhance multilingual access. 2. Explore the WIDA framework [https://wida.wisc.edu] to better understand language development levels. 3. Explore research-based scaffolding strategies for supporting multilingual learners at Colorín Colorado [https://www.colorincolorado.org/ell-strategy-library]. Stay Connected: * Visit us at ⁠literacyacrosslanguages.com⁠ [http://literacyacrosslanguages.com]. * Email us with questions or episode suggestions at literacyacrosslanguages@gmail.com [literacyacrosslanguages@gmail.com]. * Follow ⁠Mary⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-sandoval-52ab893a/] and ⁠Katherine⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-nelson-66570b57/] on LinkedIn. * Like, subscribe, and share this episode with fellow educators, or share a review to help others find us! Keywords: multilingual learners, access gap, achievement gap, language development, literacy instruction, scaffolding, AI in education, EdTech, Medley Learning, teacher agency, belonging, classroom culture, cognitive demand, rigor, WIDA levels, language supports, instructional coherence, equity in education, bilingualism, biliteracy, family engagement, student agency, differentiated instruction, education technology, research to practice gap, multilingual education, language acquisition, culturally responsive teaching

E22 - Many Languages, One Brain: Cognitive Strengths in Multilingual Reading

Dr. Ana Taboada-Barber is a professor of education at the University of Maryland whose research focuses on reading comprehension and motivation in emergent bilingual and bilingual students. A former ESL teacher, her work examines how cognitive and motivational factors influence literacy development, with particular attention to Spanish-speaking English learners in the United States and South America, as well as bilingual students in international contexts. This episode explores how multilingual learners bring unique cognitive strengths that challenge traditional models of reading and instruction. Dr. Taboada-Barber invites educators to view bilingualism as an integrated language system and highlights the bridging processes that connect languages, the role of executive function in reading, and the critical impact of engagement, motivation, and content-rich learning on reading comprehension. She also offers concrete instructional strategies for building intentional cross-language connections in both bilingual and English-only settings. Key Takeaways: 1. Bilingual students are not two separate monolinguals operating independently. Their languages are always active, shaping how they process and make meaning from text. 2. The active view of reading introduces bridging as a critical process in comprehension. For multilingual learners, this includes connections between language systems as well as between reading components. 3. Multilingual learners bring powerful cognitive strengths that support reading comprehension. Executive functions and executive control help them manage attention, process language, and navigate meaning across contexts. Timestamps: (00:00) Welcome to Literacy Across Languages! (01:24) Meet Dr. Ana Taboada-Barber (05:45) All Languages are Always Active in the Multilingual Brain (09:19) The Active View of Reading for Bilingual Learners (13:17) Teaching Moves for Bridging Processes and Languages in Reading Instruction (17:15) Executive Function and Control in Multilingual Readers (26:21) Engagement as a Driver of Multilingual Reading Achievement (30:09) Integrating Literacy, Language, and Content (33:00) Designing Dual Language Programs for Transfer (35:43) Planning for Effective Bridging Processes (38:01) Understanding Executive Function and Control in Multilingual Reading (41:09) Language as Identity (43:06) Takeaways for Teaching Episode Resources: 1. Explore the Active View of Reading [https://www.nellkduke.org/the-active-view-of-reading] model (as we eagerly await the forthcoming AVR for Bilingual Learners!). 2. Learn more about Patrick Proctor, Rebecca Silverman, and Renata Love Jones’s [https://www.clavescurriculum.net/_files/ugd/84e775_caf86a569cb1465e8669acffe4f8ae93.pdf] work on CLAVES, a language-based literacy curriculum designed for multilingual learners. 3. Dive into Ellen Bialystok’s [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3305827/] research on bilingualism and executive function to better understand the cognitive strengths of multilingual learners. Stay Connected: * Visit us at ⁠literacyacrosslanguages.com⁠ [http://literacyacrosslanguages.com]. * Email us with questions or episode suggestions at literacyacrosslanguages@gmail.com [literacyacrosslanguages@gmail.com]. * Follow ⁠Mary⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-sandoval-52ab893a/] and ⁠Katherine⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-nelson-66570b57/] on LinkedIn. * Like, subscribe, and share this episode with fellow educators, or share a review to help others find us! Keywords: multilingual learners, bilingual education, reading comprehension, executive function, executive control, translanguaging, active view of reading, simple view of reading, literacy development, language acquisition, engagement, reading motivation, bridging strategies, dual language instruction, cognitive flexibility, working memory, inhibition, academic vocabulary, content-based instruction, science of reading, language systems, bilingual cognition, knowledge building, instructional planning, student engagement, oral language development