Peruvian Hero: CHIMOC the super hairless dog

If your children are learning Spanish I have a suggestion to make:  CHIMOC, the super hairless dog.

There are so far 8 books of the same series, they are all great and the book comes with a CD that narrates the story and have songs related to it.

 

 

 

I have two kids, one of six and the other of almost 3 years old, both are born in The Netherlands, they speak perfect Dutch and they also speak very good Spanish. People asked me how I did it? Well, this is the “secret”: use only your native language when you talk to them, keep strong and patient, if they don’t answer in Spanish, keep pushing and tell them that you don’t understand what they say and that you prefer to get answers in Spanish because you love that language… and the most important.. Make it fun!

I brought lots of books, CD’s and DVD’s in Spanish, with their favorite series, and every time they asked for a TV serie or music I say: Ok, but in Spanish.

 

It was not easy, because we are surrounded mostly by Dutch speakers, my kids did not want to speak Spanish… to be honest many times I got disappointed and I thought that it will never happen, I almost give up a couple of times (around the 3 years old) but I kept pushing and now it seems so normal for them to speak to me in Spanish that I actually feel proud of them and of myself.

 

I love books. In The Netherlands, there are very good books for children, plenty of options to choose and I enjoy reading those to my children (translating to Spanish as I read).  In Peru, unfortunately there are almost no books for children with ages between 1 and 5 years old, you mostly find Disney translations, which are ok but I do not feel related to them, so Chimoc is actually the only good alternative and they were and are a very good help in teaching my children to speak Spanish.

 

The books are written, sung and produced by the Hermanos Paz; Peruvians, excellent illustrators, musicians and storytellers.  I really love their books, not only because of the good quality of the books and the CD’s but also because you don’t get more Peruvian than that:  the illustrations, the story itself, the music, the message, everything. I discover the books 3 years ago in Peru, and I still love them; I bought the whole collection and I enjoy together with my kids listening to them.

 

 

 

 

The first book was released in 2006: “Chimoc, the hairless dog” and tells the story of a hairless Peruvian dog who is ashamed of being different. Chimoc tries to hide using a super hero outfit, until one day an annoying flea forces him to take it off, beginning new adventures and discoveries. Throughout the story, Chimoc learns to love himself the way he is, teaching children the importance of friendship and self-esteem.

 

 

 

 

 

If you need more information about the books you can visit the webpage of the Hermanos Paz www.loshermanospaz.com