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Karen
  Reply with quote  #1 
Hello all,

My son is 2 1/2 and speaks English very well. He also understands Russian, although he uses very few Russian words. My husband and MIL (who lives with us) left Russia as adults so it is their native language. My native is English but I learned Russian in college and lived there for two years. My husband and I speak Russian about 20% of the time with him and with each other. My MIL speaks Russian about 95% of the time. We live in Massachusetts, US.

Can you help me with something? I’m particularly hoping to hear from native Russian speakers who live or have lived in an English-speaking context. Does anyone know of books that present the Russian alphabet to toddlers? I’ve looked at kniga.com, searching for “azbuka,” and it’s embarrassing to say how long it took me to realize that most of the books I found were actually primary-school textbooks. (I was a little puzzled that they were 200-400 pages long….) I would really, really like to find a Russian book that presents approximately one letter per page, and a little bit of text that I can read him about how Alligator and Avtomobil both start with A. Etc. There are probably thousands of books like this for English but I haven’t been able to find any in Russian.

We have blocks and little cardboard cards with letters and pictures, but not being a native speaker it’s hard for me to *talk* about the various letters with him the way I can about English letters.

Huge thanks in advance for any suggestion!

Karen

 
Karen
  Reply with quote  #2 
OK, responding to my own post. I have since found a couple Russian alphabet books that I like, so far. They are not what I was expecting, but they are good. If anyone is interested, let me know and I will post more information about them.

I found them on kniga.com, which I mentioned in my previous post. I’ve realized lately that their inventory changes quite fast and it pays to keep checking if you can’t find what you want. I offer this merely as a tip for fellow parents who might want Russian-language materials! Another example: when my son was much younger, I couldn’t find any board books on kniga.com. Now they seem to have lots of them. Again, just passing this along since I wish I had known this a couple years ago!
 
Katya
  Reply with quote  #3 
Karen,
I live in Ukraine and speak only English to our son.
I know how hard it is to find English language literature, games, flash cards, DVDs etc. here in Ukraine.
I find almost everything i need on eBay. Check it for Russian books, DVDs etc.., there definitely should be some (not as much as English, but still)
Please let me know if I can help somehow.
I wouldn’t mind finding things you need here and shipping them to you.
My best
Katya



 
Esther
  Reply with quote  #4 
Karen,
Just make a book yourself out of cardboard and paper! Think of all the time you spend looking on the internet for a book; this time can be used to make a book yourself. It doesn’t matter if you’re not artisically inclined or crafty; your kid will love whatever you make!
I think this is the easiest and most fun way for you to get appropriate books for toddlers.
Esther.

 
Alexandra
  Reply with quote  #5 
I realize that this is an old thread, so I might not get any replies, but…

Karen, thanks so much for starting this thread!

Karen (or anyone else), how would you go about looking for board books on kniga.com? (Is there a better way than guessing by the number of pages?) I would love to get my hands on some Russian board books!

-Alexandra

P.S. – My grandmother and some of her friends self-published a book of poems for children in Russian, which includes a very cute Вкусный Альфавит. I can get a copy for anyone who’s interested.

 
Marina
  Reply with quote  #6 
Hi,
I see that everyone is struggling here.  I came across talking azbuka, it’s about $30 but at this point I’m willing to try that.  My 3y.o. is not in school yet but tries to speak English with me and we speak only Russian at home, or so we try.

 
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