Disclosure: A complimentary copy of this kit was kindly provided to me for review purposes. All opinions stated here are my own.
I was fortunate enough to review another multicultural product. This time around, my kids and I are able to learn a little more about Mandarin. We received music through ITUNES from Little Mandarin called “Chinese Children’s Classics. Col. 1.0”. This CD is so lively and inspiring to my kids, we couldn’t help but dance to it. Even the ballads were lovely. They make me wish I could sing them to them at night.
I love the fact that I received the lyrics to the songs in both English and Mandarin so that I could tell my kids what the songs were about. This made them more relatable to them. Since the songs are for children, the lyrics were short and sweet making it easier for my kids to understand.
The singer has a beautiful voice. It is the type of voice that both kids and adults can like. If you are a parent, you know a lot of kid singers and characters can be a little grating to us. The music and singing is very pleasing to all. I would say it’s even whimsical. It does really make you want to dance.
Another great thing about the CD is that it incorporates some songs already familiar to children like “Happy Birthday” and “[Twinkle Twinkle] Little Star”. They recognized the music right away and were very excited about that. I feel it made them make the connection with music and language. I’ve been trying to teach them that there is so much in the world to learn and so many cultures to respect and this CD definitely helps broaden their sense of the world.
I also loved the creator’s, Toni Wang, description of each song. It makes them more relatable to me as a parent. I especially liked the description of “Find a Friend”. The dance beat is a “‘tribute’ of that era of our lives” when we would go clubbing in our younger days. Thanks for including our past in your music. 🙂
This CD has won a number of awards including Creative Child CD of the Year in 2013. It is educational, entertaining, engaging and uplifting. This is one we will include in our dance parties at home in the future. As I have previously mentioned in my blog, our dance parties are held pretty much daily when we play fun music to jump around in case we have a little too much energy or need a release at home just because.
I would recommend buying this CD for your children or students to introduce them to Mandarin. This would make a great cultural lesson as you go through a world map showcasing different parts of the world.
You can listen to samples of the songs here: A Little Mandarin Music Samples
If you would like to purchase this CD you can do so several ways:
- You can purchase them on ITUNES by searching for “A Little Mandarin” in the ITUNES store.
- You can purchase the MP3 on Amazon or Google Play
- You can purchase hard copies of the CD through their website here
If you want more information about the CD, the creators and their project you can find their website here. You can also find them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.
I hope you enjoyed my little review. Keep on dancing no matter what music you choose. Remember kids love movement and doing a little silly dance with them doesn’t hurt either!
(If you would like to share my blog, I would be so grateful. You can find it under www.bilingualeyes.wordpress.com. You can also find it in Spanish at www.bilinguazo.worpress.com and on Facebook under www.facebook.com/bilinguazo. And don’t forget to hit me up on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bilinguazo. Thanks a bunch!)
Bilinguazo 