Rita Wirkala was born and raised in Argentina; she lived in Brazil, and then moved to the United States, where she received a PhD in Spanish Literature. As a teacher of levels ranging from elementary school to University, she knows both the difficulties and the potentialities that the unique process of learning a foreign language provides. Furthermore, as the mother of three daughters who were born in a non-Spanish speaking country and learned Spanish directly from her, the author is vividly aware that exposure to other languages early in life is the key to fluency.

The author's determination to help other children acquire such abilities prompted her to develop the present text.

With the goal of opening the doors of the Hispanic world to her students, Rita annually organizes trips various countries. These trips combine the study of language, culture and community service; her interest in cultural issues is reflected in the present text.

She is also the founder of ASISTA! (Association for the Support of Indigenous Schools Throughout the Americas), a non profit organization based on the voluntary work of her and her students. For more details see Rita's website at:

http://faculty.washington.edu/ritaw

All Bilingual Press is an educational and literary bridge between language groups. Part of its mission is to teach Spanish to English speakers using a simple language learning system, which includes Spanish materials for children, bilingual stories and audio-books.

Another priority is to organize cultural and language learning trips to Latin American countries. These feature service opportunities with local NGOs as well as language exchange.

In so doing All Bilingual Press hopes to promote multicultural appreciation and enjoyment in today's world, and subscribes to the motto "Unity in Diversity."