Dora is great if you want your child to repeat everything twice - first in English and then in Spanish.  It irks me that they think that kids learn anything from hearing, "This is my grandma - mi abuela!"

My experience is that it works best when each parent speaks to the child solely in their own native language.  I can imagine that would be really difficult, though!  I don't have specific books or CD's to recommend but I think you are definitely on the right track  in looking for those sorts of things to help you get started.  Barnes and Noble has a whole segment of their site devoted to spanish-language books - I've purchased copies of "Buenos Noches, Luna" (Goodnight Moon) and other translations of classics, but I'm not sure about their selection of stories that actually derive from Hispanic countries.

Another thing to be aware of, going forward - toddlers who are raised in bilingual homes can sometimes speak a bit later than other children - when you think about it, they have twice the vocabulary to sort through - but this should not alarm you.  It doesn't reflect any developmental issue and it certainly doesn't mean that speaking two languages is "confusing" or harmful in any way.  It's a really great thing to do and very intellectually stimulating.  You're actually giving him so many MORE ways to express himself!  But be aware that when comparing him to his mono-lingual counterparts you may see some differences.

Also...it's totally common for bilingual children to express a preference for one language at around the time that they are becoming more social and spending time around other children.  They may even completely resist speaking the other language altogether .  Just persevere and keep speaking Spanish to him throughout that time and it will pass.

Not that you asked for my advice, LOL - but it is something I deal with a lot as a Montessori teacher and hopefully some of this will come in handy. At our school, we hire native Spanish-speaking assistants for every classroom and they speak only Spanish with the children all day.  We find that after being in this environment for three years, the kindergarteners are able to really understand everything said to them in Spanish even though some will be able to speak it well and others might not.  Still, they all integrate it and can understand it.


Buena suerte!

Tracy
