For parents, teachers, and others working with children, Barron-Hauwaert, an independent researcher who has a bilingual family and studies bilingual families and their language patterns, examines bilingual and multilingual families and their choice of languages, with a focus on how siblings communicate within the family setting. She draws together the experiences of about 100 families taken from an online survey, case studies from around the world, and current research to discuss what is known about bilingual families; language strategies; factors that influence language use, including sibling relationships, age gaps, family size, gender, birth order, and personality differences; families with specific issues, like twins, step-children, or adopted siblings; and five general themes of language patterns. Distributed in the US by UTP Distribution. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
