The Boy Who Couldn't Smile: Bilingual - English / French (Paperback)

The Boy Who Couldn't Smile and its companion book, The Girl Who Couldn't Smile, recount an allegorical tale in a faraway village of the Aigoites where a child faces isolation, feels alone, and cannot smile. Large text in both English and French surrounds the cartoon characters and recounts a story that explores issues of acceptance and belonging in a world that is different and often not inclusive.

Vocabulary, color, illustrations, and translations are all used to interweave cultural and linguistic features into a storyline enjoyed by both children and adults. Whimsical illustrations reflect a generic culture. Each of the story's characters takes on the page's random background color. Dress is a universal composite of all eras. Characters are neither privileged nor beautiful or handsome, but they are lovable and cuddly. The bilingual aspect of these books is a rewarding component that introduces youngsters and others to languages and culture different from their own while enjoying an imaginary child's adventure in search of identity and acceptance.

These books address the needs of bilingual teachers, ESL instructors, home-schooling parents, librarian story readers, and preschool caretakers. Grandparents can enjoy reading to their grandchildren. Only native speakers of the target language are selected as translators. Linguistically, the text is saturated with phonological items contrasting the two languages for a richer learning experience. The reader can expect the use of native idioms and customs.