A GUIDE TO THE BEST OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA : KIDS : Seuss Goes Global

OF THE POPULATION of L.A. Unified public schools, 35% is deficient in English. Many educators agree that these students can be aided in making the transition to English by reading books written in their native tongues and supplemented with an English translation. Children’s Book World offers just such a selection of popular and ethnic titles. Students whose primary language is Spanish, French, Hebrew, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean or Japanese choose from a variety of classics and traditional stories. Dr. Seuss favorites, including “The Cat in the Hat” (the Spanish title is “El Gato Ensombrerado” ), are written in Spanish, French and Hebrew ($6.95). Mother Goose takes on a Spanish flavor in “Mother Goose on the Rio Grande” ($5.95), and “Treasury of Children’s Classics” ($7.95) tells the standards--”Little Red Riding Hood,” “The Three Little Pigs” and “Hansel and Gretel”--in Spanish and English. In addition to the bilingual books, there are thousands of children’s, juvenile and teen titles and videos. A kid-size couch invites readers to browse away.

Children’s Book World, 10580 1/2 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles; (213) 559-BOOK.