The first album in Music for Little People's Uni Verse of Song series, Spanish and English is a delightful bilingual medley of well-known children's songs, guaranteed to make learning a second language fun! Intermixing Spanish and English, these sing-a-longs also include vocabulary, designed to familiarize children with key words or phrases in both languages. Children's voices are included in each track, and do much of the singing, and listeners will hear guitar, keyboard, bass, cell, and mandolin. Play and learn at the same time in this interactive introduction to language.

Entertainment is not a problem on this CD with two languages, adult and children's voices, fun instruments and sound effects, and familiar songs. Hearing the new Spanish words to the tune of a familiar song will help serve as a memory aid while learning. The repetition of lines and choruses in both languages helps reiterate the words as well. The 14 songs are broken up in mini-language lessons, emphasizing to listeners some of the key words from the previous song. For example, immediately after Shornin' Bread, we learn how to say 'skillet', 'bread', 'baby', 'Mama', and 'Shornin' in Spanish. These vocabulary lessons involve children's voices and help with pronunciation so your child can learn. Since the songs are children's songs, they also include fun sounds and voice inflections, such as the strong baritone of the bear in The Bear Went Over the Mountain, the chickens clucking at the beginning of Many Colors, or the royal trumpet introduction and cartoonish voice and giggles of the king in King Cole.

It is a natural human inclination to repeat new sounds and words, so expect your child to join right in on the vocabulary lessons. If they don't, encourage them by going over some words together. If you are unsure of the meaning of any word, you can always look it up in the cover booklet, so you are sure to answer your child's questions correctly. You can also help teach your little one by having them filling in one blank, which is a Spanish word; for example, "Row, row, row your _____", and they would fill in the Spanish word for boat, "barco." Or, you can begin by saying a sentence in Spanish and having your child translate, and once they've gotten it down, you can say a word in English and see if they remember the Spanish equivalent. Your child will amaze you at how quickly he or she learns to do this! Even without prompting from mom and dad, children will enjoy moving to the beat and begin adding in the Spanish words almost unconsciously while they are simply trying to sing along.

My three-year-old friend, Sam, is actually the one who brought this CD to my attention. His mom had gotten it for him on his third birthday, and it is generally listened to on car rides. Sam said his favorite 'song' was This Little Piggy because he loves playing that with his mom at home. (Sam loves to be tickled.) I asked him to tell me the story of the little piggies in Spanish. He was struggling at first to remember the words, but after his mom fetched the CD from the car and we put it on the stereo, Sam was able to keep up with the CD for almost the whole track. I was shocked to realize a three-year-old knew more Spanish than me, but it is also something to be proud of (in Sam's case, at least).

--Audra

Music for Little People is an award-winning producer of music as well as a premier catalog resource for families searching for the best in music and musically related products for children.

The Music for Little People label has won 140 awards including 3 Grammy nominations and a gold record for "Toddler Favorites." Their music has been featured in the movie Down In The Delta, on the television series "Clueless", Lifetime's "Any Day Now" and various television commercials, as well as many custom compilations, software programs and publishing add-ons.