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.

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

Puppies, Santa Claus and Christmas, what more do I need to say?  Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws, Disney´s newest Blu-ray and DVD title that releases today, perfectly combines these magical elements to bring the holiday season to your home-paws and all.

The Buddies-Budderball, B-Dawg, RoseBud, Buddha and MudBud-are a group of adorable talking puppies that have become world-wide famous thanks to the three previous movies they have starred in.  Santa Buddies is the fourth Buddies film and the first one to spread Christmas cheer with their version of a classic Santa Claus tale.

This was my girl´s first encounter with the man she calls “Ho, ho, ho”, i.e. Santa Claus.  But, now, she will probably forever believe that Santa Paws, Santa’s canine companion in this movie, is actually part of the tale. And that sleighs are led by a group of puppies that talk, fly and climb down chimneys.  Not that I mind, not at all.  I am one of those moms that enjoys her girl’s fantasy worlds and how they are forever evolving.  These puppies, who in our house speak in Spanish,  have surely brought the Christmas joy to this house.

Now, if I can get my daughter to sit on Ho, ho, ho’s lap for one decent picture.  Maybe if Santa Paws was around, maybe…

A Giveaway!!

This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks to random.org the winners are:  #33-Letessha and #65-Christie.  Congratulations!

TWO lucky winners will receive a Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD) of Santa Buddies:  The Legend of Santa Paws.  For your chance to win all you have to do is leave us a comment telling us which of the Buddies pups is your or your child’s favorite 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 Sunday, November 29th 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. "

We’ve been blown away by the beauty and the captivating characters of UP,  Disney*Pixar’s newest movie to hit the home-entertainment stands in full force today, November 10th.  When it came out in theaters, amongst critical buzz and massive audience approval, and took its righteous first place at the box office on its opening weekend, I was acting nonchalant as if I really didn’t care that I didn’t yet have an excuse to take my then toddler girl to the movies.  But, now, I can lose my aloofness and admit I was the excited one when our screener copy was sent to our house so we could watch and write our review.  Yep, movie night has been every night (and some occasional mornings) since then.  And globos (balloons) has been the favorite word coming out my girl’s mouth for the last week.

The lightness represented by the tons of colorful globos that lift up 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen’s house and transport him, along with Russell-an uninvited, over-enthusiastic 8-year-old, to South America in search of new adventures is felt throughout the whole movie.   How is it possible that something so light and airy as balloons, even if it is thousands of them, can lift up a bolted house?  A house so full and heavy with memories of a lifetime lived together and of those unlived dreams that never cease to motivate us.  The balloons are Carl’s desires and dreams, which never, not even with age, should die.  He just needs a strong force, and a dead-end of sorts, to push him to use his innate talent as a balloon salesman to conjure up the plan which sets this story in motion.

As much as Carl wants to avoid change and remain inflexible, he’s constantly challenged by the whimsical and humorous characters in his journey.   There are many valuable life lessons magically interweave within a powerful and action-filled story your kids will devour, making UP one of the most honest, comical and heartfelt animated movies of our times.

On the technical aspect, we’re very pleased to see the thought and effort that has gone into the Spanish version of the movie.  Not only are the voice-actors first class, but they’ve also translated on the animation itself any visible text to Spanish.  So you actually hear and read the whole experience in Spanish, feeling as if that was the only version there was!  Very thankful for that.  Oh, yeah, the “talking” pack of dogs were a hit, too!

This is one movie that’s destined to become a classic, so  make sure you get your copy.  Starting today, UP is available in a four-disc Blu-ray Combo Pack and a two-disc DVD package.  Both include DisneyFile, a digital copy of the movie that can be downloaded to your computer and viewed on an assortment of electronic devices.  For extra entertainment, Disney Home Entertainment has enhanced both the Blu-ray and the DVDs with very cool bonus features.

This, and all of our Finds, are available at La Tiendita.

Of course, you can try winning a copy here as well!

A Giveaway!!

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to Random.org the winner is #25-Judy Brittle.  Congratulations!

We’re giving away one four-disc Combo Pack (Blu-ray, DVD, Disney File and bonus features) to a lucky winner.  For your chance to win leave a comment telling us where you would like to be lifted up and away to by a ton of dream-filled balloons.

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 15th 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. "

An interesting fact about the third installment of the popular Ice Age saga Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (or Ice Age 3) is that since its premiere in theaters worldwide this summer, it has made three times more revenue internationally than it has in the U.S.  In some foreign countries it has been the biggest hit since the movie “Titanic” made impact.  Such is the case in many Latin American countries where the film has been released in Spanish and Portuguese versions using famous telenovela personalities as voice actors, such as Angelica Vale and Carlos Espejel.

Why do I even mention this fact?  Well, because the theory as of to why it’s done so well in Latin America is that Ice Age’s family-centered theme is very attractive to Latino audiences.  You see, the story of Ice Age is that a dysfunctional family of sorts travels together and encounters adventures along the way.  The family is made up of  pre-historic mammals who have found each other while migrating south to avoid the ice age.  You have the father figure in Manny-a woolly mammoth, Ellie-his pregnant woolly mammoth wife, Sid-a goofy ground sloth, and Diego-a manly smilodon.

In Dawn of the Dinosaurs the herd starts to disintegrate now that Ellie is expecting a baby, making Sid and Diego feel left out.  Diego decides it’s time to go out on his own, while Sid embarks on his own adventure at being a “mother”, only to cross paths with a very angry and comical T-Rex which brings the adventure to new heights.  Without spoiling the plot, I can tell you that the strong family-ties that have united this pack is what will bring them together to save Sid, once more.  As strong as the herd is, they still need the help of a new friend with Rambo ambitions called Buck.

It’s no secret that once you include dinosaurs, especially cute baby dinosaurs, into any kid-oriented plot you will get tons of attention and delight from them.  Ice Age went that familiar route and created another fast-paced, yet tender and comical movie for kids.  The comedy relief is still being provided by the very popular Scrat, a squirrel who’s obsessed with his acorn and is oblivious to the great-scale impact his actions have.  This time, love strikes, but, is it enough to make him let go of that acorn?

The movie was just released on DVD this week.  Movie studios are fighting hard to keep up with the technology and are offering movies in many formats to fit your needs.  For example, the Combo Pack comes with a Blu-ray, a DVD and a digital copy you can burn into your portable devices.  It does come at a price ($39.99), but it does pay-off in options and extra content such as interviews, special Scrat shorts, games, such as a Digital Story Maker from scenes you choose, a “Walk the Dinosaur” music video, deleted scenes, and more fun stuff.

A Giveaway!!

This giveaway is now closed.  Congratulations to the winner:  #5-Tati!!

We’re giving away a set of two DVDs, Ice Age and Ice Age: The Meltdown to one lucky winner.  For your chance to win we ask that you leave a comment telling us which of the Ice Age characters is your favorite 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 Sunday, November 1st 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 don’t know of any preschooler who is not totally into Dora the Explorer, do you? And, if you’re raising bilingual children, she’s the perfect character to support you along the way because, let’s face it, preschoolers think she is cool!

My daughter has the lunchbox and the plastic cups and the coloring books and the movies, of course. So, if your niños are anything like mine, they’ll be happy to know there’s a new Dora the Explorer prime time special premiering this weekend on Nickelodeon. “Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom” airs Sunday, November 1, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT).

In this episode, Dora continues her magical storybook adventure – which started last fall with “Dora Saves the Snow Princess” – by coming to the rescue when a greedy king steals the crystals that give color to the kingdom. In “Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom,” Dora and Boots have to help their new friend Allie turn her colorless kingdom into a bright wonderland before it’s too late.

Unfortunately, this special episode of the insanely popular Dora the Explorer TV show, does not have a Spanish language track option which, as you probably know by now, we highly recommend you use if you’re raising bilingual kids. However, some Spanish is better than none at all and you should use this viewing opportunity to explore some new vocabulary with your little ones.

“Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom” is currently available in DVD nationwide. You can get your copy via La Tiendita. Or, you can enter to win one below…

A Giveaway!!

This giveaway is now closed.  Congratulations to the winners:  #2-Claudia Thomas, #23-Gingerannbeck, #11-Donna K, #1-Tati, #10-Benita G.

We’re giving away one DVD of “Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom” to FIVE winners! To enter, please visit our sister website, SpanglishBaby, to read all about how Dora the Explorer was born. Then come back and leave us a comment about what you learned.

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 1st 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. "

I just had another of those reality check moments that happen way too often once you become a mom.  I honestly thought my daughter would be bored by watching the Little Pim Spanish Eating and Drinking DVD we were sent because, well, she already understands Spanish since it´s the only language she hears at home.  If you visit our sister site, SpanglishBaby, you already know we´re raising her bilingually with what´s known as the minority language at home method.

I have to admit I was totally wrong.  She now constantly requests to watch “El Panda”, which would be the adorable Panda that takes you on a language journey in all Little Pim DVDs (in seven languages so far and seven more in the works).  My girl´s amused by the constant repetition of simple words and phrases that she already knows since they’re part of her everyday.  The excellently produced video rapidly engaged her into repeating the phrases out loud.  It also helps that the video features little kids in activities that are easily recognizable for children.

The 35- minute DVD is made up of seven five-minute series allowing you the flexibility of viewing with your baby or toddler just as much as you like.  Of course, mine sat through the whole thing and started asking for más as soon as the credits rolled.

This is an excellent video series for parents wanting their kids to learn basic vocabulary in any of the seven languages it´s available in.  I personally recommend the Spanish set for parents raising bilinguals using the one-parent/one-child method as one more tool to reinforce the language.  For parents, like Roxana and myself, that speak only Spanish at home and might be concerned that our kids aren´t getting enough exposure to English, it could be a good idea to watch the English/ESL video as well.

Oh, and this just in-last week Little Pim released their very first music CDs in French and Spanish.  The Little Pim Spanish Bop has 15 cheerful songs that highlight vocabulary taught on the DVDs. They just released it and we already have one for you to win!

If you become a Little Pim Fan on Facebook you’ll be the first to know about more special Little Pim contests and promotions just for bilingual families.

Find the Little Pim series on Amazon, via La Tiendita.

A Giveaway!!

This giveaway is now closed.  The winner is #22 Marcela!

We’re giving away a Little Pim set with the following to a lucky winner:

• One Spanish DVD

• One English DVD

• One Spanish Bop CD

For a chance to win this set (retail value of $50.85) visit the Little Pim Blog and tell us something fun 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, September 20th, 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. "