English has several standards, and this one is American

English is not governed by a single academy. It has grown several written standards instead, and the largest split an English-reading parent meets is between American and British spelling: the -or and -our endings, -ize and -ise, and words like airplane beside aeroplane.

Our editions use American English. That is worth saying plainly, because a parent in Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India or South Africa will notice it on the first page and deserves to know before buying rather than after.

  • If you read British English, expect to translate a handful of words aloud.
  • Say your own word after the printed one. Do not skip the page.

A first-words book is where the differences live

The vocabulary that splits between Englishes is not academic. It is nouns for food, clothes, transport and babies, which is precisely what fills a book for a two-year-old.

In our editions you will find truck, diaper, stroller, candy, cookie, pants, apartment, garbage, eggplant and zucchini. A British or Australian family says lorry, nappy, pram or pushchair, sweets, biscuit, trousers, flat, rubbish, aubergine and courgette.

  • Point at the picture and use your family's word. The picture is the real content.
  • A child who hears both words has learned two, not been confused by one.

No accent is the correct one

English is spoken as a first or official language across dozens of countries, and India, Nigeria, Singapore, Ireland and the Caribbean all have their own established varieties. None of them is a deviation from a purer form.

This matters for reading aloud. A child does not need a broadcast accent from a parent; they need a familiar voice using the language regularly, which is the thing an app or a recording cannot supply.

  • Do not soften your accent for your child's benefit. It has no benefit.
  • Your child will get an accent from their friends and their school, not from you.

When English is the second language at home

Many families buying a bilingual book are not English-first. If your English is your weaker language, take the other line and let the English come from wherever it is strongest, including a partner, a nursery or the wider world.

The general guidance for bilingual families is to read in the language you speak most comfortably. A confident, expressive reading in your strongest language does more for a two-year-old than a hesitant one in your second.

  • Split the page: one parent takes each line, if that is how your house works.
  • Reading the English imperfectly is still worth doing. Silence is the only bad option.