Meet comprehensible input story author Carrie Toth
Do you LOVE using Spanish CI books with your middle school and high school Spanish students?
You will definitely want to get to know Carrie Toth, the author of eight Spanish readers that are perfect for your Spanish class FVR Library!
I asked Carrie a few questions to get to know her and her inspiration as an author. Read on to get to know Carrie and her work too!
I have always loved to write. I made my first book, Petey’s Scratch and Sniff Adventure, in second grade. (It was full of scratch and sniff stickers so all of my classmates loved it.)
I wrote my first Spanish language book in 2010. I had taken a class on the Spanish Civil War. There was so much information that I wanted to share with my students, but graduate level materials were not accessible to them. I created a backward planned unit on the topic and showed it to Kristy Placido. She and Carol Gaab encouraged me to write a reader to accompany it. I needed so much help that first time! It’s HARD to keep a book comprehensible.
The most important element is always a great story. I want my stories to be page turners! After an author has a solid story, THEN they can go back and work on keeping the vocabulary accessible to students! The story is always the hook to keep kids reading.
I relate most to the tone of my books. I feel like I’m drawn to dark stories. The characters go through real struggles, because life isn’t always sunshine. I like that about them.
I read a TON of Young Adult Fiction because I like to talk to my students about what they’re reading. I love dystopian settings. I also am a die hard Stephen King fan. If you haven’t read his latest book, Fairy Tale, DO IT!
Ok, this is going to sound ridiculous…I have actually finished three of my books while sitting at a table at 6 Flags (Amusement Park) during Fright Fest with my students. I don’t write slowly over time, I get character voices in my head and I have to GET THEM OUT. So a nice 8 hour undisturbed period of time is amazing! When I am editing the drafts, I like to sit in my living room with ALL THE COFFEE.☕ |
With titles like, ‘Bianca Nieves y los 7 Toritos,’ it’s no wonder Spanish students LOVE Carrie’s readers!
Carrie has graciously gifted us eight of her readers to give away during our 2023 ‘Spanish Teachers LOVE to Read’ giveaway to help you grow your Spanish class Free Voluntary Reading Library! (ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE!)
1. La Hija del Sastre – Spanish CI reader for Intermediate Low to Intermediate High level students (level 4).
2. La Calacra Alegre – Spanish CI reader for Intermediate Low to Intermediate High level students (level 4).
3. Bianca Nieves y los 7 Toritos – Spanish CI reader for Novice Mid to Intermediate Low level students (level 2+).
4. Vector – Spanish CI reader for Intermediate Low to Intermediate High level students (level 3+).
5. 48 horas – Spanish CI reader for Novice Mid to Intermediate Low level students (level 3+).
6. Papátl – Spanish CI reader for Novice High to Intermediate Low level students (level 1+).
7. Sostenible – A Spanish CI reader for Novice Low – Novice Mid level students (level 3+).
8. Bananas – Spanish CI reader for Novice High to Intermediate Low level students (level 3+).
Connect with Carrie around the internet:
🐦 Twitter: @senoraCMT
📸 Instagram: @somewhere.to.share
💻 Blog: Somewhere To Share
📚 Wayside Publishing: All of Carrie’s Books
