28 Bilingual English-Spanish Fairy Tales & Fables

One request I see over and over is for bilingual audiobooks. These are especially valuable to busy families needing educational activities kids can do independently, as well as for those families in which the parents don't speak Spanish, but are raising bilingual children. 

This post contains affiliate links.

Bilingual Fairy Tales

So when Adam Beck reached out to me and asked me about sharing his book, 28 Bilingual English-Spanish Fairy Tales & Fables (aff), I agreed. Adam is an author and bilingualism expert. He's written numerous books on bilingualism for parents. And this book is a tool he created to help engage children with familiar stories as they learn and practice a new language.

This is a very simple book - there are no illustrations. But the stories are short and fun retellings of familiar tales such as The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg, and many more.  

It comes with full text in English and Spanish; first the English story, followed by the Spanish version. Inside the book is a link for you to type into your web browser for access to the individual audio files for each story. Just click to listen. This is perfect for monolingual parents raising bilingual kids. But it is also great as an activity to keep the kids busy while parents are working at home. Teens will also benefit from listening to the stories for the pronunciation guidance.

Beck has also included different ways in which to use the book with children of various ages, which is super helpful, not just for parents, but educators, too. 

And, of course, audiobooks as a whole are incredibly useful tools when it comes to language acquisition. Children can listen to them over and over to learn not just pronunciation, but basic grammar and word placement within a sentence. They are a great way to build up confidence in young learners.

Ready to get your copy? Buy it now!

More Spanish Fairy Tale Resources

If you'd like to supplement this book with additional fairy tale resources, take a look at these sites:

• 6 Enchanting Stories to Read and Watch Online :: FluentU
  
  
• 11 Spanish Fairy Tales: Free Reading Materials for Every Age :: Spanish Academy
  
  
• Fairy Tales in Spanish :: The Fable Cottage

Other Posts You May Enjoy

• Bilingual Children's Books for the Holidays
  
  
• Guacamole: A Cooking Poem
  
  
• New Books to Celebrate Día
  
  
• 8 Picture Books for Jolabokaflod That Feature Latinos
  
  
• 7 New Titles for Classrooms this Hispanic Heritage Month

Aunt Katie's Place: Bilingual Audiobooks for Language Learners

This is a sponsored book post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. It may use affiliate links.

It has been quite a while since I've taken the time to talk about audiobooks. But make no mistake, I believe that audiobooks are an essential part of learning. A few years ago, I dedicated a whole week to them and wrote about the many benefits that they provide to beginning, intermediate, and advanced readers. I urge you to read that post to learn why you should incorporate audiobooks into your own classroom or life at home.

So I was pretty open when I received an email from a new author who is launching a new series of books with a free audio download to accompany each one. The first book, Gracie: A bilingual adventure in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is now available in THREE versions: Spanish/English, German/English, and French/English.

There is so much to love about this first book! The illustrations, the storyline, the audio... every last one of them is sweet and lovely and engaging. When you first open the book, you are directed to the author's (Kathryn Leslie, aka "Aunt Katie") website - dubbed Aunt Katie's Place - to download the free audio. You have two options: a bilingual version (English and the target language), or an immersion version (target language only). I chose the bilingual version to go with my book. 

When I first sat down to read it with the accompanying Spanish/English audio, my 2-year-old happened to walk by and he was immediately captivated. He climbed onto my lap and quietly listened and looked at the illustrations as I turned the pages in time with the audio. He pointed to different items on each page as we read along. 

Oh, my goodness. The audio. It's just ADORABLE! And so professionally done. I can't tell you how much we enjoyed listening to it. The Spanish translation is beautifully done by Paula Torreiro, a high school English professor in Spain.  And the music and sound effects really give the story life... they even kept my 2-year-old's rapt attention. (No, 2 is not the target age range!) 

Katie tells the English side of the story, which is perfect because this first story is based on the author's real-life experience when she and her mother found Gracie (the subject of the story) in a parking lot and went on to adopt her. In fact, in the back of the book, you can see a picture of Gracie with Katie's mom, Nancy. 

And the ink and watercolor illustrations are just perfect. They were drawn by Argentine artist, Anita Morra. In fact, you can watch a short video that shows how Morra created her illustrations for Gracie: 

In addition, the back of the book contains a Look-and-Find section of beautiful plants native to the Ashe county area of North Carolina. The author challenges the reader to look for the plants inside the pages of the book. It's so educational!

And I love how personal and authentic this series is. For example, the dog barks heard in the audio is from the real Gracie! And the lovely music written for the audio was composed by Aunt Katie's talented brother, Peter. Go visit the website to learn more about this excellent book series. You can tell that Katie has poured her heart and soul into creating this quality product! 

Want a peek before you buy? Watch the book trailer...

Special Deals!

Now here's the awesome news: Aunt Katie's Place offers special deals to libraries and teachers who purchase multiple books. These deals include bookmarks, mini posters, wall posters, and table tents.

And here's the even more awesome news: Mommymaestra readers can get 15% off their purchase at Aunt Katie's Place with the code: mommymaestra20. This offer is only good on the author's website (link above) and is good through June 2020.

NOTE: The hardback versions are only available directly from Aunt Katie's website. Everywhere else (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Target) only offer paperback versions. 

(Audio)Book Review: Juana & Lucas (GIVEAWAY)

Hispanic Heritage Month is drawing to a close, but learning about Hispanic cultures continues year round in our household. And one of the ways we do that is with books.

Candlewick has a recently added a new Latina author-illustrator to their roster. Juana Medina was raised high up in the Andes Mountains by her mother, aunt, and abuelos. Today, she teaches at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Her new book, Juana and Lucas (aff) is partially based on her own childhood and her love for Bogotá, Colombia. 

If your kids love Anna Hibiscus or Judy Moody, they will love this new bilingual series about Juana and her dog, Lucas. This first book introduces us to Juana - where she lives, who her friends are, what she likes and doesn't like, and especially about her best amigo, Lucas. But the real focus of this book is about Juana learning to be bilingual. At first she absolutely hates learning English and fights it all she can. But then something happens to change her mind...

This book is so much fun to read. Not only is it cleverly written, but it is obvious that an aritst wrote it because the formatting is so unusual. In a style reminiscent of Geronimo Stilton, the text expands and shrinks, curls and streaks across the pages. It is visually stimulating for young readers. In addition, Medina's ink and watercolor illustrations are engaging, often hilarious, and complement the text providing additional information.

I love not only the topic of this book - bilingualism - but also the fact that the book itself is bilingual with Spanish words sprinkled in. 

I also had a chance to listen to the audiobook and it was fantastic. Narrated by Almarie Guerra, it is obvious she is perfectly fluent in both languages as her pronunciation is flawless. I've written before about the important role that audiobooks play in a child's education. But unfortunately, there are not very many sources for children's bilingual audiobooks. So I really hope this one takes off for Candlewick. 

This book would be an excellent read-aloud for the bilingual classroom.

The Giveaway

Candlewick Press is generously giving 5 MommyMaestra readers a chance to win a MP3 or Audio CD (winner's choice!) and copy of Juana & Lucas.

To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter below.

Buena suerte!

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Honda Road Readers GIVEAWAY

Is your family hitting the road this summer? Are you planning any long car trips to get to your favorite lake, national park, or family reunion? Or maybe you'll just be spending a lot of time driving to and from summer camps or other fun activities. Those drives are the perfect time to boost your child's reading skills. I've partnered with Honda to share a special resource you don't want to miss!

We live in a pretty small town, and the nearest museums, shopping mall, and theater is half an hour away. So we easily spend an hour in the car three times a week or more. I trained my kids from an early age to grab a book before we head out and spend that time reading.

Well, Honda is thinking about your kids, too, and that's why they've created Honda Road Readers, a children's audiobook app to help kids read and use their imaginations during those long car rides. You can get classics to the latest bestsellers delivered directly to your phone. If you own a Honda, you can simply enter your VIN number and you will have access to five free audiobooks per Honda VIN for one year.

Don't own a Honda? Although you’re not able to buy audiobooks in the app, you can still enter the giveaway below and redeem the free codes.

All you have to do is download Honda Road Readers on iTunes or Google Play. The Peter Pan audiobook comes already installed for free. But you have over 100 other titles to choose from. All the books are organized by age, so it's easy for you or your child to pick the ones best suited for their age group.

What I love most is that many of the titles have a "Discuss with your Family" feature, so that parents can nurture their kids' reading comprehension skills. To access this feature, all you have to do is click on the little "brain" icon next to each title.

Honda has also partnered with the National Teacher of the Year Program to create a "Teacher's Picks" category. Maybe you'll find some titles that your child's teacher has assigned them for summer reading?

The only thing I don't like is that this app doesn't include any bilingual or children's books by Latino authors. (Hey, Honda! Diverse books matter! Let me know if you'd like some suggestions...I have tons!)


The Giveaway

Honda has generously offered to give two free audiobooks to 15 MommyMaestra readers! (Thank you, Honda!) Plus you get Peter Pan when you download the app, so that's 3 free books to take you through the summer - that's one book each month before school starts back up!

To enter the giveaway, just use the Rafflecopter below.

¡Buena suerte!

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Disclosure: This offer is made possible by a partnership with Honda Road Readers. All thoughts and opinions are mine. 

Tu Historia Preferida CDs

Another special find for homeschooling families today. I was recently contacted by Tu Historia Preferida, the Spanish division of Your Story Hour (YSH), to review one of their CD sets. According to their website, YSH is a "global, non-profit, interfaith Christian educational organization working with children, youth and families of all denominations." Their radio show focuses on teaching kids family values and lessons through engaging stories.

Tu Historia Preferida (THP) was launched in 1985 and produces stories in Spanish. Radio stations throughout Latin America, Europe, and the U.S. run the stories. They also offer audio CDs for purchase via the YSH website.

I received their Historia 1 CD set. The stories included are:

• Mas Allá de Horizonte
• El Descubrimiento de América
• El Regreso de Colón
• Las Cadenas de Colón
• Benito Juárez...Benemérito de las Americas I
• Benito Juárez...Benemérito de las Americas II
• Benito Juárez...Benemérito de las Americas III
• Benito Juárez...Benemérito de las Americas IV
• El Hombre sin Patria
• El Muchacho que se Escapó

I'm not a fan of Christopher Columbus, but do realize that he is an important figure in history. I did, however, LOVE the stories of Benito Juárez. The stories are really well done and engaging for both adults and children. Various voice actors play the parts of the different characters, and they even include sound effects to accentuate the story. Ileana Gutierrez (Tía Eleana) and Thony Escotto (Tío Daniel) are the hosts of the Spanish radio show and they introduce the stories.

The English YSH CDs are also available for download as MP3s. I also went online and ordered a few of them to explore with my kids. I love some of the titles in their Great Stories series!

Unfortunately, the Spanish versions are only available on CD. But if you don't mind waiting a few days to receive your CD album, this is an awesome resource for enriching your homeschool lessons! 

Homeschoolers: Get Ready for Back to School with August Audio Fest at Best Buy!

If you are a homeschooling family like ours, then the following scenario is probably pretty familiar:

After finishing their math and grammar lessons on the computer in the "school" room, my kids grabs their reading assignments and curls up on the couch. When she finishes reading, my daughter turns on her favorite Beatles CD for a little background music, and then they move into the kitchen for a science experiment. When they completes that, they gets out their art supplies at the dining room table for their art lesson.  The two of them work steadily while listening to their classical music selection for the week and then break for lunch. After lunch we move back into the school room for some Spanish, then my two might wrap up the school day back on the couch listening to an audiobook.

Can you relate even a little bit? In addition to doing, there's one thing my kids do a lot of during the school year: listening.  

So it's important to me that we have good equipment to facilitate my kids' learning. 

That's why I want to be sure and let you know about the August Audio Fest at Best Buy. It starts today - August 3rd - and features one month of audio deal specials for you to take advantage of! You can visit any of their stores and test out the latest and greatest audio products, including Bluetooth speakers and headphones (great when you teach two kids at the same time and one of them is listening to their math/science lesson on the computer) to car audio (we listen to audiobooks on the road, too!) and home theater solutions such as Denon's HEOS wireless speaker.

The HEOS is a wireless multi-room sound system for your whole home. It doesn't matter where you are, if you have a speaker in that room, it will stream music from your favorite internet radio service (Spotify? Deezer? Tunein? Napster?) or your own music collection, including songs stored on your iOS or Android phone or tablet.

If you download MP3s for school, such as audiobooks or classical music, your kids can enjoy them anywhere in the house, even in their own rooms at bedtime.

The HEOS speakers come in several sizes to accomodate smaller or larger rooms. The free HEOS app lets you control the speaker from your smartphone or tablet, too, so you don't have place the speaker in a spot that is easily accessible by little fingers. 

You can even buy multiple speakers to place in several rooms of your house and then connect them wirelessly to enjoy music and more throughout your home. And if you have a wired network, no problem. It comes with an ethernet port for you to hook up!

I want to leave you with a short list of some of my favorite audiobook and music MP3 download websites. Some of them are free!

• Maestro Classics 
• Kiddie Records Weekly
• MusOpen
• ClassicCat
• LibriVox
• Books Should Be Free
• Kids Know It - Educational Songs
• Children's Vinyl Record Series

Disclosure: I'm a Best Buy Ambassador which grants me early access to information on special deals that I can share with all of you. I received a Denon for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions though are my own. 

Lorito Books: Pat Mora's Gracias/Thanks {GIVEAWAY}

Dear Readers,

Although I will be sharing another resource over the weekend, today is the final giveaway as part of my annual Back-to-School Fiesta! giveaway month. Phew! It has been a long month and a LOT of fabulous giveaways. I'm tired. How about you?

Today's product is no less wonderful than all the others I've shared. I've written about Lorito Books before and they remain my favorite go-to place for bilingual audiobooks.

The audiobook above is one by Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros founder and poet, Pat Mora. (Are you remembering to make the mission of Día a daily ritual at your home? Are you reading together everyday to nurture your child's love of reading?) Gracias * Thanks is one of the few award-winning bilingual books perfect for Thanksgiving. In fact it has won the following awards:  ALA Notable, Belpré Illustrator Honor, and Golden Kite Award.

Gracias * Thanks

Written by Pat Mora

Illustrated by John Parra

Narrated by Rosi Amador and Pat Mora

Original Music byBrian Amador

In a series of poetic sentences, a young boy tells about some of the everyday things for which he is thankful. Come share the joy, and think about all the things for which you can say, ¡Gracias! Thanks!

This hardcover book and CD is a new release from Lorito Books...just in time for Thanksgiving!

One lucky MommyMaestra reader will win this audiobook set:  Pat Mora's Gracias/Thanks from Lorito Books.

To enter this giveaway, just use the Rafflecopter below.

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Spanish Audio Books {GIVEAWAY}

Does your family or classroom have any children's audio books? You may remember the week I dedicated several months ago to the value of audio books. So many people continue to be surprised at hearing that using books with CDs is a wonderful way to develop your child's literacy skills.

Our Spanish giveaway for the day is a collection of audio books that have been sitting by my desk awaiting review or a giveaway.

First up is the Spanish version of a book that I reviewed last May. El loro Tico Tango is a fun, fun, FUN book for kids. The storyline captivates young minds and the illustrations in the books are bold and bright and lively. What makes this particular book that much more desirable is the audio CD that accompanies it. One of our favorite voice-over actors, Brian Amador, sings the song of el loro Tico Tango. Your children will be dancing and humming, singing and smiling before this story is over. The music is irrisistable and the sound-effects bring this story to life. It is a great way to introduce your children to poetry, rhyme, and colors.

Next we have El mono azul by Graciela Sverdlick. Published by our friends over at Lorito Books, this book follows the story of Tomás, the blue monkey who tries too hard to win the heart of Esmerelda, the green monkey, and learns to appreciate his true talents. It is narrated by language instructor, Miguel Amézquita who was born in Guatemala. This little story will have your kids giggling by the end.

And finally, I'm pleased to offer you a new title, Uno Dos Tres: My First Spanish Rhymes. It is a lovely collection of Latin American rhymes selected by the Cuban-born translator, Yanitzia Canetti. Perfect for both Spanish-language learners and Spanish-speaking children, this book includes a dual language glossary in the back, and comes with an audio CD with which children can sing along. This books has just been released this week, so it is an extra-special treat!

THE GIVEAWAY

One MommyMaestra reader will win a copy of each of these books and their accompanying CD.

To enter, simply leave a comment below.

The deadline to enter is 11:59 EST, Monday, August 27th. The winner will be chosen using Random.org. and contacted via email - so be sure to leave a valid email address in your comment! (If I have no way to contact you, I'll have to choose someone else!)
And to increase your chances of winning, you can:

1) Follow the MommyMaestra on Facebook.
2) Follow me on Twitter (@LatinMami).

Don't forget to let me know by posting a separate comment for each entry!
By entering this giveaway, you agree to the Official Sweepstakes Rules. No purchase required. Void where prohibited.

¡Buena suerte!


Disclosure: At my request, the publishers of these books sent me copies of each book to review and/or giveaway. All opinions expressed above are my own.

This giveaway is now closed.

El loro Tico Tango/The Parrot Tico Tango AUDIOBOOK

So in order to try and clean off my desk which is suffering under the weight of the many books that I have been wanting to share with you, I've decided to just dedicate this week to exactly that: BOOKS!

You'll probably remember how I feel about audio books, and the fact that I think they are an excellent tool for developing literacy skills. So I'm starting off with a couple from some of my favorite voice-over actors, The Amador Family (remember them from this feature?).

Published by Barefoot Books, The Parrot Tico Tango is written and illustrated by Anna Witte (who also wrote Lola's Fandango). But Barefoot offers the book with an accompanying CD featuring the book as sung by Brian Amador - with a little help from his family.

I LOVE this book. The story line follows a day in the life of el loro (the parrot) Tico Tango, as he flies about the rain forest stealing all the fruits from the other animals. BUT his pilfering ways don't last for long and soon he has to work his way back into the good graces of his forest friends. The story is predictable for children helping them to develop critical thinking skills as they anticipate what will happen next, all the while building to a climax that relieved my children who were worried that he'd get away with it all. :)

But the best part of this book is the CD and the fun and lively song that is sung by Brian Amador. Before I knew it, my toe was tapping and I was humming along with the song, as were my children. Learning is just so much better when you can do it to music, no?

The book is perfect for children in Pre-K and Kindergarten as it teaches the different colors and various animals found in the jungle, fruits, and sequence. But my 2nd grader enjoyed it just as much thanks to the music, the engaging story line, and the beautiful illustrations.

And you know what else? This book is also available in Spanish with the song perfectly done and using Witte's beautiful translation that is not word for word, but rather conveys the message and the emotion in a well-written manner.

You can hear an audio sample here on the Sol y Canto website. (Sol y Canto is the Amador's band.)

If you click on the titles (links) above, they will take you to our sister site, the Latin Baby Book Club, and my online store.

Con mucho cariño...

Disclosure: The books mentioned above were sent to me at the request of the Amador family. All thoughts and opinions expressed are strictly and fanatically my own. Ciao!

Lorito Books {Giveaway}

Not long after my kids received their copy of The Polar Express with its read-along CD, I discovered Lorito Books. At the time, it was a new company that had just launched its collection of audiobooks. I'm happy to say that they have done well despite the sluggish economy, and have, in fact, really grown over the past year.

The company's president, Pam Fochtman, saw a need in the community for these materials. The company is committed to developing second language literacy and promoting the beauty of Latino culture. And they believe that audiobooks are a valuable tool to accomplish these goals.

Their high quality, word-for-word audiobook read-alongs for young readers and second language learners are carefully chosen for their culturally relevant content and values. Their products include Growing Up With Tamales/Los tamales de Ana, The Desert is my Mother/El desierto es mi madre, Icy Watermelon/ Sandía fría and other popular titles in Latino children’s literature.

I've had the pleasure of reviewing several of their books with CDs through the Latin Baby Book Club, and I especially appreciate how Pam has chosen native speakers - who just happen to be outstanding storytellers - to record the books. You can learn more about the narrators on the Lorito Books website.

Pam has generously offered two of her new releases as giveaways for MommyMaestra.

The sun shines through the windows of Martha’s Panadería onto the shelves of freshly baked treats. The bakery holds tray after tray of hot Mexican sweet bread—conchas, orejas, cuernitos, empanadas, and cochinitos—all ready for hungry customers...

The Runaway Piggy/El cochinito fugitivo is a bilingual takeoff on the gingerbread man story. It's full of the sounds and people that make up a traditional Latino neighborhood. There is a cochinito cookie recipe included in the back of the book and even comes with piggy cookie cutters! You can listen to some audio samples here, or learn more about the story here.

Older readers will enjoy The Case of the Pen Gone Missing/El caso de la pluma perdida. The character is a Latino "Encyclopedia Brown" who gets tongue-tied when the most popular girl in school asks him to solve a mystery.  It's very sweet. You can read a review of this book on the Latin Baby Book Club. Brian Amador of Sol y Canto is the narrator. This book is available as either a stand alone audiobook or a book + CD set. You can hear an audio sample here.

THE GIVEAWAY

Two MommyMaestra readers will receive a copy of one of the books with CD.

To enter to win, simply leave a comment below letting me know which book you'd like to win.

The deadline to enter is 11:59 EST, Monday, January 23rd. The winners will be chosen using Random.org and contacted via email - so be sure to leave a valid email address in your comment! 

And to increase your chances of winning, you can:

1) Visit Lorito Books' website, then come back and leave a comment telling me which audiobook you'd like to hear most.

2) Follow MommyMaestra on Facebook

3) Follow me on Twitter and tweet the following: Win bilingual audiobooks from Lorito Books and @LatinMami http://bit.ly/xRqrmL #bilingual #audiobooks #giveaway

Don't forget to let me know by posting a separate comment for each entry!

By entering this giveaway, you agree to the Official Sweepstakes Rules. No purchase required. Void where prohibited.

¡Buena suerte!

Juanita the Spanish Lobster from Maestro Classics {GIVEAWAY}

I'm so excited this week, because I will be running THREE giveaways! I've already shared one with you, and today's is another treat.

I am always looking for ways to introduce my kids to classical music. I have a nice collection of CDs that I play on a regular basis with classical pieces from Mozart, Grieg, and many others. A week or two ago, I clicked on a link that had caught my eye, and it led me to the most wonderful website: Maestro Classics.com.

You cannot even begin to imagine my delight to discover a company that produces educational materials centered around classical music - for young children! They offer a series of classical CDs, each one dedicated to a particular orchestral story. Inside each CD set you will find a short story (length varies depending on the particular story), a section about the story, another section about the music, and one or two bonus soundtracks. It also comes with an activity booklet.

You can also sign up for their Kids Club and receive monthly puzzles, games, and other activities in your email. January's email was focused on Swan Lake, and came with a video, music excerpt, link to their curriculum guide, and a coloring page. Yes, I said curriculum guide. Their awesome site also includes a section with education materials perfect for homeschoolers, teachers, and parents. Yay!

Intrigued, I purchased their album, Juanita the Spanish Lobster, and downloaded the MP3 version because, a) I prefer to be able to download it on my children's school computer, and b) I was too impatient to wait for the actual CD. The best description of this story is found on their website: 

"Juanita is an imposing Spanish lady lobster. Not content to knit seaweed with the other lobsters in the grotto, Juanita prefers to dance a fierce flamenco and sing about her troubles. She loathes her boring underwater life and longs for more excitement. Thinking she can find more fun on the land, she leaps into a fisherman’s lobster trap one day. Her admirer, a lovesick little lobster named Caradoc (as in the Arthurian knight) saves her from certain doom. In the end, a newly contented Juanita learns to love the grotto, and she sings about her marvelous life with all of the other sea creatures."

Not only did I love it, but more importantly, my kids loved it! They have been listening to it over and over. We sat and listened to the story, then learned about who created it and how, then listened to it again, then learned about the different music styles used in the story. It was just fantastic. The MP3 download came with a pdf version of the activity booklet, which was perfect because with two children, I was able to print up the same pages so that they could each have a copy to work on. It is filled not just with activities, but also with a History of Flamenco and Amazing Facts About Lobsters.

Now for the best part: They offer a Spanish version of this particular CD! Juanita la langosta española has been completely translated into Spanish by the very talented, Yanitzia Canetti, whose translations of children's literature I have admired for its smooth sophistication and the way in which it captures the essence of the story. 

The music on the Maestro Classics CDs are performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Stephen Simon. The narrator of Juanita the Spanish Lobster is Dr. Konrad Czynski (a.k.a. Yadu), professor of Humanities at Minnesota State University-Moorhead. (He has, in fact narrated several of the other CDs including Peter & the Wolf, Mike Mulligan & His Steam Shovel, and The Sorcerer's Apprentice.)

But the narrator of Juanita la langosta española is Rosi Amador, lead singer of Sol y Canto. Rosi has narrated a number of childrens books, including recent releases by Barefoot Books (which I mentioned yesterday).

Below is a short video of Maestro Classics' co-creator, Bonnie Ward Simon, talking about Juanita la langosta española:

THE GIVEAWAY

Maestro Classics is kindly offering a copy of their Juanita la langosta española CD to one MommyMaestra reader.

To enter to win, simply leave a comment below.

The deadline to enter is 11:59 EST, Monday, January 23rd. The winners will be chosen using Random.org and contacted via email - so be sure to leave a valid email address in your comment! 

And to increase your chances of winning, you can:

1) Visit Maestro Classics' website, then come back and leave a comment telling me which CD you'd like to hear most.

2) Follow Maestro Classics on Facebook

3) Follow me on Twitter and tweet the following: Win a a copy of Maestro Classics' Juanita la langosta española from @LatinMami http://bit.ly/xtAwyq #Spanish #classicalmusic #giveaway

Don't forget to let me know by posting a separate comment for each entry!

By entering this giveaway, you agree to the Official Sweepstakes Rules. No purchase required. Void where prohibited.

¡Buena suerte!

The Value of Audiobooks



© Helder Almeida - Fotolia.com

 Since I have dedicated this week to audio books, I want to take a moment to explain why and to sing their praises. Growing up, the only experience I had with them was a small set of cassettes that someone gave me when I was about three or four years old. It was a set of two or three cassettes and the accompanying children's books, the only one of which I can remember was Sinbad ("Don't worry about me men, I'll be all right!"). So I never REALLY enjoyed the beauty of listening to a book on tape. Back then, it was sort of frowned upon. Like you were cheating; too lazy to read the book, so you decide to listen to it instead.

So I never really thought much about them. But a little over a year ago, my mother sent my kids a copy of The Polar Express...and it came with a CD. One evening, too tired to read to my kids, I popped the CD in and laid down on the bed with my kids. Moments later the sound of Liam Neeson's voice swept me and my children away and off to the North Pole. That was their favorite book for weeks. Maybe even months.

The thought that maybe I was missing the boat and depriving my kids slowly crept into my brain and began to take hold. I began to notice little snippets of conversations by other homeschoolers and articles would catch my eye. And then, through my work with the Latin Baby Book Club, I was contacted by a publisher who was selling bilingual books with an accompanying CD (more about them later). I received samples and listened to the tapes.

And I was SOLD.

This past Christmas, I purchased several books from Barefoot Books during their Winter Sale. Both of them came with a CD. My children LOVED them. And I learned a valuable lesson: Audio books are a valuable tool to increase literacy in children. In fact, I would go so far as to say that ALL children should have access to audio books.

The act of listening to a story has such powerful impact on a child's literacy skills. I could see in my own children how it refines their listening skills and helps to build reading comprehension. If you have a child who is struggling to understand what he is reading, using audio books in conjunction with their reading practice could actually improve their ability to remember what the story is about, and help them internalize the meaning.

My husband asked me, "How do you know he's not just memorizing it?" I don't. Yes, he might be. And that's okay, because when I go back and ask him to read it again, pointing to the words as he reads, he remembers the story, which in turn helps him to remember word sounds and decode what is written on the page. His eyes are seeing the word, and his brain is remember the sounds and the meaning. Next time he runs across that word, it will be easier to read. Makes sense, no?

I think audio books also help children learn the rhythm of a well-written story. By listening, they learn about inflection and intonation. It trains their ear, so that they will begin to look ahead as they read so that they can read aloud in a similar manner.

They are also a wonderful way to introduce young children to literature that is too difficult for them to read, for example, the Classics. I think if we wait until children are old enough to read some of the classics, then our kids will be bored. They have to learn to appreciate well-written literature while they are young, before their minds get used to the easy "candy" on the bookshelf. The garbage that doesn't really inspire the imagination, or incite thoughtful consideration, but rather just evokes a good laugh and is written purely for entertainment's sake. I'm not saying there's not a time and a place for a mindless story, but I think we ought to train our children's minds to savor the challenge and sophistication of well-written literature from the start. And a well-told audio book of good children's literature can capture and entertain a child's mind as easily as the next book.

If you'd like to read more about the benefits of using audiobooks with children, take a look at the following articles:


• Benefits of Audiobooks for All Readers on Reading Rockets


• The Literacy Benefits of Listening: Use audio books to bring life and depth to your child’s reading experience on Scholastic


• 8 Teaching Benefits of Audio Books on Ezine @rticles  (A great article!)


Con mucho cariño...

Bilingual Books on Tape {GIVEAWAY}

This week is dedicated to audio books and the valuable place they have in our children's education. I mentioned last week that I'm committed to incorporating more audio books in our studies, and I'll be sharing resources for them over the next few days.

But I want to kick off this week with a giveaway. I have two sets of four CDs featuring the stories of author Alma Flor Ada. This set includes four books in Spanish, and one in both English and Spanish.

The first CD is collection of 29 songs for each letter in the alphabet and one original alphabet song. All of them are in Spanish and are from the book, Abecedario de los animales, written by Alma Flor Ada and Suni Paz.

The second CD is a series of stories read by the authors, F. Isabel Campoy and Alma Flor Ada. It is their own versions of the 12 traditional tales that they wrote for their book, Cuentos que contaban nuestras abuelas. Some of the stories included are Blancaflor, Juan Bobo, Martina Martínez y el Ratoncito Pérez, El caballito de siete colores, and many others.

The third CD is actually in both English and Spanish. Once again read by the author. The Gold Coin or La moneda de oro is a beautiful book about generosity and transformation. You can read the moving and inspirational story behind this tale on Del Sol Books' website.

And our last CD is actually another collection of 27 songs based on the book, Gathering the Sun: An ABc in Spanish and English, written by Ada and Paz. These songs originate from simple poems written about the lives of Latin Americans; one for each letter of the Spanish alphabet. You can read a review here on the Latin Baby Book Club site.

I am so happy to be able to giveaway one of these CD sets to two readers. And I am especially grateful to Alma Flor Ada, for generously offering these as giveaways.


THE GIVEAWAY

I have two sets of each CD to giveaway and will choose two winners.

To enter to win, simply leave a comment below.

The deadline to enter is 11:59 EST, Sunday, January 22nd. The winners will be chosen using Random.org. and contacted via email - so be sure to leave a valid email address in your comment! 

And to increase your chances of winning, you can:

1.) Leave a comment telling me which CD you are looking forward to the most!

2.) Follow me on Twitter and tweet the following: Win a set of bilingual audio books for children from @LatinMami http://bit.ly/AeG1er #Spanish #reading #giveaway

3.) Blog about this giveaway and include the link to your post in the comments below.

Don't forget to let me know by posting a separate comment for each entry!

By entering this giveaway, you agree to the Official Sweepstakes Rules. No purchase required. Void where prohibited.

¡Buena suerte!


UPDATE: A NOTE FROM ALMA FLOR ADA -

Dear Mommy Maestra readers:

I'm delighted to know that you will be able to share with your children some of the CDs that Isabel Campoy, Suni Paz and myself have created with great love. It would be nice to hear their reaction to the stories and songs. You can contact us at: http://www.almaflorada.com/, http://www.isabelcampoy.com/, http://www.sunipaz.com/. Do not miss visiting Isabel's new website! And let us know if you want a free subscription to the monthly enewsletter Smiles and Butterflies, with ideas on sharing books with children. All best wishes. ~Alma Flor Ada

Disclosure: This giveaway is offered in collaboration with the authors. I have not been compensated in any way for offering this giveaway, and it results from my contacting them and asking for a contribution to our Music in Education series.