We mostly review CDs of children’s music with Spanish or bilingual lyrics, but Putumayo Kids Presents deserves a rank of its own.  The children’s and educational division of the well-known Putumayo Music CDs dedicate themselves to the mission of introducing cultures to kids through the art of music. And they do it very well. As a parent raising a bilingual and bicultural child, I appreciate companies that create materials that reach out to to this generation of global citizens.

I recently received Putumayo’s latest yummy release from their Playground series, “Picnic Playground.” They’ve put together a collection of 12 songs from around the globe in a smorgasbord of languages, tastes and rhythms, all with the common theme of food.  And what could be more global and bridging than food and music?  Of course, I immediately put on the only track in Spanish-Jose Conde y Ola Fresca’s “Bolitas de Arroz con Pollo” and I suddenly got an urge to cook up a batch of this classic and heartwarming dish.

My girl has a blast shouting out “Ice Cream” to the tune of Asheba’s song.  I know, I know…she should be screaming out “Helado” or “Nieve,” but Ice Cream is one of those phrases that’s just much more fun in English.  And you’ve gotta scream it out.

I’m thankful for the English, Spanish and French song descriptions included with the CD because I was able to figure out that Pascal Parisot was singing in “Mes Parents Sont Bio” about a kid’s parents who only eat organic. The tune is incredibly catchy, and now I can pretend to know what I’m singing in my bad French.

“Picnic Playground” is a real treat for the whole familia to enjoy at any time.  ¡Buen Provecho!

Oh, and I need to let you know about a great contest Putumayo is hosting which ends this week:  The Putumayo Kids Dance-Off Video Contest.  Head over to their site to find out how you could win their full kids collection (retail value of $285)!

A great way to keep up with Putumayo Kids Presents latest releases and contests is to follow them on Facebook. Sign up here.

A Giveaway!!

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to Random.org the winners are:  #6 Stephanie and #11 Ashley. Congratulations!

TWO lucky winners will each receive a Putumayo Kids “Picnic Playground” CD. For your chance to win all you have to do is leave a comment telling us which of the 12 tracks on this CD is your, or your child’s, favorite and why. To sample the songs go here.

That’s all you have to do to enter this giveaway. If you want to up your chances at winning, then click here to learn how to get additional entries.

This giveaway ends Sunday, December 13th Monday, December 14th at midnight EST.

For the part that nobody likes, but we’ve gotta have, check out the Giveaway Rules.

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Secret Phrase: "One of the greatest feats of human development is the acquisition of language. "

Our amiga Dora has gotten herself and her friends into yet another adventure.  This time she volunteers to take Swiper off Santa’s naughty list by showing him the real spirit of la Navidad is giving, not taking away, or “swiping”, in his case.  To accomplish this, they take him to revisit the Swiper of Christmas past, present and future.  A classic holiday tale, told Dora-style.

The first clip I saw of this Nickelodeon primetime special, “Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure”, was the video of her singing “La Noche Buena.”  Head over to SpanglishBaby to watch it with your kids, if you haven’t already.  I automatically liked that it’s a catchy song to introduce young kids to the meaning of the word for Christmas Eve in Spanish:  Noche Buena.  Plus, it reflects the party atmosphere and even glamour (notice how they’re all dressed in party suits!) that Noche Buena traditionally is in Latin homes.

The CD, Dora´s Christmas, features two other exclusive music video along with the 16 classic holiday tunes performed by Dora-with a Latin twist.

I found it hilarious that Dora the Explorer’s version of Santa Claus not only speaks Spanish, actually Spanglish, but also has brown-tone skin.  I had no idea you could actually tan so much in the North Pole! It wasn’t necessary to portray a Latino-esque Santa, but it’s totally cute.  Hey, we could even call him Santa José!  OK, maybe not…

Unfortunately, there´s no Spanish-language track available on this Dora the Explorer movie, either.  But there´s enough Spanish and Latino traditions to make it part of your home-viewing repertoire.  There is, however, a companion hardcover book in Spanish called Dora y La Aventura de Navidad that would be perfect to have as well.

In any case, watch it for yourself and start a new family Christmas tradition leading up to la Noche Buena with “Dora´s Christmas Carol Adventure.”  This one-hour special premieres Sunday, Dec. 6th on Nickelodeon at 8pm (ET/PT). It will encore on Nickelodeon on Monday, Dec. 7, at 9 a.m. (ET/PT) and on Nick Jr. on Sunday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m. (ET).  No worries if you don´t have cable, you can still watch it by downloading it from iTunes starting on Monday, Dec. 14th, or purchasing your very own copy here.  It also makes a wonderful gift!

A Giveaway!!

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to Random.org, the winner is:  #14-Beth Shepherd.  Felicidades!

Of course we’ve hooked one up for you to win! One lucky winner will receive both “Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure” DVD and Dora´s Christmas CD.  How giving is that?!

For your chance to win all you have to do is leave a comment telling us which of the 16 tracks on this CD is your, or your child’s, favorite and why. Click on the widget below to sample the songs:

That’s all you have to do to enter this giveaway. If you want to up your chances at winning, then click here to learn how to get additional entries.

This giveaway ends Sunday, December 6th at midnight EST.

For the part that nobody likes, but we’ve gotta have, check out the Giveaway Rules.

{Make sure you’re subscribed to the SBFinds feed via email or RSS so that you can be notified of our weekly Finds, special discounts and more awesome giveaways.}

Secret Phrase: "One of the greatest feats of human development is the acquisition of language. "

I´ve always considered myself a bit of a music snob because I am married to a Latin Musician/Song writer. With the birth of our Son, it was inevitable that music would be an important influence in his life. I, as a new mother, would prefer that he would have aspirations of becoming a lawyer, doctor or even an Indian Chief for that matter.  The reality is that there are instruments scattered from one end of our apartment to another and a live acoustical jam session can break out in any given minute. I tell myself it is what it is, and that always seems to get me through the day.

In the past, I had been invited by “Mommy Friends” to see different kid bands.  My response to their invites was: “Why? I have live music in my home,” regularly.  Honestly, having to spend an hour of my life listening to a bunch of goofy adults singing nursery rhymes could drive this sleep-deprived mother to drink. Well, that was my theory until last week.

A week ago, my son and I got to experience the musical renditions of HOT PEAS ‘N BUTTER and my former assumptions about musical performers of children’s songs totally changed. This male duo was truly a pleasure to listen to for both children and adults.  Their combination of Latin Salsero and Cumbia rhythms kept the 200-capacity venue at the Adriane Archt Center in Miami, Florida dancing, jumping and clapping. Parents and children alike were grooving to songs like “Mi Cuerpo” and “Baila /Dance.”  Hot Peas ‘n Butter is a multi-lingual band which was a welcomed surprise. They do not only have songs in Spanish and English but also French and Korean. What I found especially delightful, at least for me, was that there were no gimmicky costumes or an elaborate stage production. It was just two guys, a bongo, a clarinet, an acoustical guitar and a base guitar, and that was it. And that’s all you really need when you sound that good and have a crowd of adults and kids dancing to a song about “Bicycle Safety.”

Their live show is fantastic! I highly recommend it if they come to your town. But the CD Hot Peas ‘n Butter “Best of the Bowl” is a must-have. This particular CD is only in English and Spanish. Their clever use of languages has my 2 year old shouting “Baila… Baila…Dance… Dance!!!”  throughout our home.  One of my personal favorites from the 11-song CD is “Somos Familia.” It provides for the young listener what we call family members in English then in Spanish, but their musical rhythm reminds me of the Cuban music I listened too as a young girl with my Abuelos.

Hot Peas ‘n Butter has clearly changed my feelings about Kid’s Music. It has opened my ears to a whole new world that has my son and I dancing the time away. This Music snob has learned a valuable lesson: H P & B ROCKS!!!!

Hot Peas ‘N Butter CD’s can be found at Barnes & Noble, Borders, and on-line at iTunes, Amazon, Sony Connect, and many other music download sites. Their performance schedule can be found at www.hotpeasnbutter.com.

Today’s find was reviewed by director/producer/musician’s wife + mamá, Mara Farina.  Mara and her boys can be found chillin out bayside in Miami, FL.

A Giveaway!!

This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks to Random.org the winner is:  #9-Julie!

One lucky winner will receive a Hot Peas’ n Butter “Best of the Bowl” bilingual CD. For your chance to win all you have to do is leave a comment telling us which of the 11 tracks on this CD is your, or your child’s, favorite and why.  To sample the songs go here.

That’s all you have to do to enter this giveaway. If you want to up your chances at winning, then click here to learn how to get additional entries.

This giveaway ends Sunday, December 6th at midnight EST.

For the part that nobody likes, but we’ve gotta have, check out the Giveaway Rules.

{Make sure you’re subscribed to the SBFinds feed via email or RSS so that you can be notified of our weekly Finds, special discounts and more awesome giveaways.}

Secret Phrase: "One of the greatest feats of human development is the acquisition of language. "

I was one of those mother´s-to-be that swore I wouldn´t let my kid control my music selection. That my iPod and my playlist would be that one-sacred-thing I was not willing to give up. Either she liked MY music or ni modo.  Ay, one more parenting joke on me.

Luckily, my girl has great taste.  We do most of our music listening in the car and she has some very cool CDs (past Finds, of course!) to choose from.  But, as of late, the only one allowed is “la música del Panda.”  Yes, she recognizes the famous Little Pim panda on the CD cover from watching their Spanish: Eating and Drinking  DVD.  I can say her hand´s down favorite, and mine, is the first song on the CD:  “Clap, Clap, Clap,” an original Spanish version by the über-cool, kiddie-rock band Milkshake created for Little Pim.

You can totally tell the 15 songs on the album were very carefully and purposefully selected.  There’s some rocking Dan Zanes, a loving José Luis Orozco, and classics from Cantarima and Cantaré Music.

Little Pim created this CD for the whole family and as a complement to their award-winning language learning DVDs. Spanish Bop contains a 16-page lyrics book that highlights vocabulary from the DVD and includes an English translation of all the songs.  Makes it ideal music to sing-a-long to, if only my daughter would let me sing out loud.

A Giveaway!!

This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks to Random.org, the winner is #14-Christa Marteny. Congratulations!!

You have a chance to win both this  Spanish Bop CD and the Spanish: Eating and Drinking DVD from Little Pim.   All you have to do is go here to sample the tracks on the CD and come back here to leave a comment telling us which song you liked.

As an added bonus, if you´re picked as our winner and you´re also subscribed to the Little Pim newsletter, then they will  give you a Little Pim plush Panda as well.   (No need to leave an additional comment/entry here for that.)

That’s all you have to do to enter this giveaway. If you want to up your chances at winning, then click here to learn how to get additional entries.

This giveaway ends Sunday, November 22nd at midnight EST.

For the part that nobody likes, but we’ve gotta have, check out the Giveaway Rules.

{Make sure you’re subscribed to the SBFinds feed via email or RSS so that you can be notified of our weekly Finds, special discounts and more awesome giveaways.}

Secret Phrase: "One of the greatest feats of human development is the acquisition of language. "

I‘m sure it’s happened to you. You’re happily minding your own business and out of nowhere you start belting out the theme song from the latest movie/TV show your kids are currently addicted to. Well, you’ll be happy to know that if it happens to be a Disney movie, you can now sing to the the tune of Los Lobos!

In their new album, Los Lobos Goes Disney, the three-time Grammy award winners, cover a bunch of Disney classics with “a distinctive Latin rock ‘n’ roll twist.” In the 13-track CD you’ll find songs from The Jungle Book, 101 Dalmatians, Robin Hood and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

I remember seeing Los Lobos in concert when they opened for Carlos Santana a few years back and thinking their tunes were super catchy and danceable. Well, they’ve done it again  with Los Lobos Goes Disney. Here’s some of what you’ll find in this new CD:

• The song Heigh-Ho from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to the beat of rock ‘n’ roll drums with lyrics in Spanish that say: “Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, a casa vuelvo yo. Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, el día terminó.”
• An instrumental version of When You Wish Upon a Star/It’s a Small World from Pinocchio which really rocks
• A very danceable Bare Necessities from The Jungle Book

Track Listing
1.   Heigh-Ho – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2.   I Wan’na Be Like You  – The Jungle Book
3.   Not in Nottingham – Robin Hood
4.   The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room – The Enchanted Tiki Room
5.   Grim Grinning Ghosts – The Haunted Mansion
6.   I Will Go Sailing No More – Toy Story
7.   The Ugly Bug Ball – Summer Magic
8.   Cruella De Vil – 101 Dalmations
9.    Bella Notte – Lady and the Tramp
10.  Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah – Song of the South
11.  The Bare Necessities – The Jungle Book
12.  Oo-De-Lally – Robin Hood
13.  When You Wish Upon a Star/It’s A Small World – Pinocchio

You can get it now exclusively at Amazon.  Of course, we always hook you up with a chance at winning it!

A Giveaway!!

This giveaway is now closed. CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNER #25 Mark/Charmcity!

We’re giving away a copy of this cool CD to one lucky winner! To enter, please take part in the listening party by clicking here for your chance to hear these rockin’ tunes.  Then come back and leave us a comment about which one is your favorite song and why.

If  you have problems opening the above link to the listening party, where you can hear the full songs this whole week, then head over here to listen to excerpts of the songs and still participate in the give away.

That’s all you have to do to enter this giveaway.  If you want to up your chances at winning, then click here to learn how to get additional entries.

This giveaway ends Friday, October 30th at midnight EST.

For the part that nobody likes, but we’ve gotta have, check out the Giveaway Rules.

{Make sure you’re subscribed to the SBFinds feed via email or RSS so that you can be notified of our weekly Finds, special discounts and more awesome giveaways.}

Secret Phrase: "One of the greatest feats of human development is the acquisition of language. "

Music is a vital element of our day to day life. I´m always making up silly songs that I would never dare to sing in public, and now my girl is joining me. Her´s are much better, for sure!

Fati, a native Argentinian, and Charles are a husband and wife team and parents to two bilingual kids who decided to give life to those silly songs we parents like to make up with our kids and record them on to a CD.  She wrote the lyrics, he rocked out the tunes.  The result is El Baile del Sombrero-a quirky, high-energy, danceable CD with 17 original tunes in Spanish. The music was made with 1-5 year olds in mind, but the melodies and beats feel more grown-up, while the fun lyrics remain repetitive and basic enough for your child to grasp and even sing-a-long to.  These all-Spanish songs can easily become part of your child’s life soundtrack.

Expect some salsa, some cumbia, some tango, some pop tunes, and even an intense mariachi “Ay, ay, ay!!” in songs that give an ode to sombreros, blankies, a family of pulgas (fleas), and a rabbit who goes by the name of “Teo.”  And lucky you if you live in the New York City area since you can actually watch Fati and Charles give life to Teo and other silly amigos in one of their live shows.

You can listen to the songs and buy the CD or individual tunes at CD Baby, iTunes, and La Tiendita, via Amazon.

A Giveaway!!

This giveaway is now CLOSED.  Congratulations to our winners:  #3 BETH BUTLER and #10 MIGUEL ORDOÑEZ!!  Sorry, Miguel.  Since there was no response we had to pick a new winner:  #13 Tina R.

We’re giving away an El Baile del Sombrero CD to TWO lucky winners.  All you have to do is click here and let us know which of the songs you, or your kids, like and why.

That’s all you have to do to enter this giveaway.  If you want to up your chances at winning, then click here to learn how to get additional entries.

This giveaway ends Friday, October 16th at midnight EST.

For the part that nobody likes, but we’ve gotta have, check out the Giveaway Rules.

{Make sure you’re subscribed to the SBFinds feed via email or RSS so that you can be notified of our weekly Finds, special discounts and more awesome giveaways.}

Secret Phrase: "One of the greatest feats of human development is the acquisition of language. "

Iwas pleasantly surprised by award-winning Whistlefritz‘ Spanish for Beginners DVD + CD series because I expected my 3-year-old daughter, whose first language is Spanish, to be a bit bored with it. I was wrong.

Vanessa actually loved Adentro y Afuera’s DVD’s main character, Fritzi, a cute little mouse used throughout the program to teach children Spanish vocabulary. She also loved the songs and actually got up and danced to “El Baile de las Manos.” The rhythm was contagious, I must admit, and the lyrics simple.

One of the things I enjoyed about the DVD’s production is the variety of methods used to teach basic Spanish. The DVD includes animation, entertaining music and fun puppets, among other things, making the process of learning actually fun. I caught Vanessa giggling several times when the puppets came on. I also caught her responding to the questions asked by Maria, the program’s hostess.

The latest CD of this series, ¡A Bailar!, was also a hit with my daughter because she immediately recognized a bunch of the more popular songs and quickly started singing them.

Whistlefritz is a company founded in 2006 by a mom who wanted to teach her children Spanish, but couldn’t find high-quality immersion programs. So she decided to create her very own CDs and DVDs. Two things I really liked: both CDs and DVDs are completely in Spanish (immersion is the idea here) and you really don’t have to speak Spanish yourself to use them with your kids.

A Giveaway!!

This giveaway is now closed.  Congratulations to our winner #14: Julie.

We’re giving away a Whistlefritz’ DVD + CD set (Adentro y Afuera + ¡A Bailar!) to one very lucky winner!  For a chance to win visit Whilstlefritz website and come back to leave us a comment telling us something you learned while you were there.

That’s all you have to do to enter this giveaway.  If you want to up your chances at winning, then click here to learn how to get additional entries.

This giveaway ends Sunday, October 4, 20o9 at midnight EST.

For the part that nobody likes, but we’ve gotta have, check out the Giveaway Rules.

{Make sure you’re subscribed to the SBFinds feed via email or RSS so that you can be notified of our weekly Finds, special discounts and more awesome giveaways.}

Secret Phrase: "One of the greatest feats of human development is the acquisition of language. "

This is definitely not your traditional Spanish music for kids.  Not at all.  These are some tunes that will get la familia entera dancing with ritmo y sabor.  This is a CD you’ll be asking your daughter to play más y más.

Dan Zanes and Friends’ ¡Nueva York! is the first all-Spanish album the family musician has created and also his personal favorite.  With eleven of his CDs released to date, that’s a huge statement for Latino music.

The fiesta vibe Zanes and his amigos, in this case musicians from the Latino world, were in while making this music is definitely felt throughout their renditions of traditional songs from Puerto Rico, México, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and other parts of the Spanish-speaking Americas.  Your little one will get a musical tour of some of the most representative sounds from her roots, or be introduced to new ones, and you will be thrilled to be part of a true “21st Century party.”

Remember the “Pollitos Chicken” song from our childhood?  Listen to it explode with soul when Dan Zanes and his amiga La Bruja get a hold of it.  I don’t ever remember shaking my hips to it before. The hand’s-down favorite in our casa is “Palo Bonito”.  Camila grabs her bongos and orchestrates the family’s smashing sing-a-long to it.  Now my husband has two girls begging him to dance!

A Giveaway!!

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to the two winners:  MARCELA + CHRYSA!!

We’re giving away copies of Dan Zanes and Friend’s first all Spanish language album ¡Nueva York!, 2009 Independent Music Award Winner, to TWO lucky winners here and ONE more over at our Facebook page. We want you and your familia bailando for sure.

All you have to do to win one of the two copies here is go to the Dan Zanes website, come back to this post and leave us a comment telling us one thing you learned while there.

That’s all you have to do to enter this giveaway.  If you want to up your chances at winning, then click here to learn how to get additional entries.

Now, go to our Facebook page, become our fan, and then follow the instructions on our page to enter the giveaway of one more ¡Nueva York! CD there.

This giveaway ends tonight, Tuesday, September 8th, at midnight EST.

For the part that nobody likes, but we’ve gotta have, check out the Giveaway Rules.

{Make sure you’re subscribed to the SBFinds feed via email or RSS so that you can be notified of our weekly Finds, special discounts and more awesome giveaways.}

Secret Phrase: "One of the greatest feats of human development is the acquisition of language. "