5 comments about Papa's Dream.

1. this is a great story. I grew up hearing about Lolo since he was a friend of my mom'm many years ago.



2. A wonderful imaginary and silly story of a Mexican-American family traveling to Mexico in a flying balloon to celebrate Papa Lalo's birthday. The versions of "La Bamba", 'Wooly Bully", and "Cielito Lindo" are great on this CD and the narration between songs adds a lot to this CD. A little bit of Spanish is a plus to follow the narration. You should listen to this CD from the beginning to the end, do not try to shuffle this CD, otherwise, you would miss the main theme of the album.
   
   We have been playing this CD for the last six years and we still enjoy it.



3. Asa long time fan of Los Lobos I had to buy this CD and what a wonderful surprise this little gem was. I highly recommend it to Los Lobos fans and lovers of Latin music. It's a fun, light collection of songs.



4. It was nice to find this collection of music that isn't just "baby songs". We can put this in on a drive and not regret getting the songs stuck in our heads all day. They are shortened versions of classic Los Lobos songs and the story is cute and helps little ones learn some Spanish words and phrases. Highly recommended!



5. Los Lobos teams up with Lalo Guerrero to take children on an extraordinary adventure and musical tour. I don't know who has enjoyed this CD more -- my children or their parents! We've been trying to learn Spanish as a family, and this has been a wonderful, fun supplement to our language lessons. Some of the songs are in English, but many are in Spanish, and all the lyrics are helpfully printed in the liner notes.

5 comments about Gift of the Tortoise.

1. My 4 year old son listens to this CD everynight before going to bed. He has memorized all the songs, including the ones in Zulu. It got him interested in the world map, in Africa, and in various animals like cheetahs and lions. He took note of the boy who turned into a 5-legged cat for picking on and laughing at other people.
   
   He listens intently and sympathetically to the story/song about children who only see their fathers once a year. My son dances with joy, just as one would imagine the children in the stories, would do so upon a happy reunion, or upon receiving a precious dress or some treats that are hard to come by. It has helped introduce my son, at an early age, to be grateful for his situation, and also to admire children around the world who can do with so little.



2. My 5, 3, and 1 year old really enjoyed this CD. We homeschool and did a unit study on Africa and this was a perfect addition!
   I have bought and listened to 100's of CD's and this is one of our favorites. It gives African culture, described by the Tortoise (the narrator), in a fun and interesting way. There is an African game on the CD that we just added to our routine of games. It is so cute and is a nice change to ring around the rosie.
   I highly recommend this to anyone.



3. My 15 month old daughter listens to this cd each night while in her crib waiting to fall asleep. In the mornings when we are getting her ready for her day she hums/sings the songs and laughs when we sing along. This is a beautiful cd about South Africa and I am thrilled that she enjoys learning about such a meaningful place.



4. For anyone wishing quality for their children I've yet to find anything better. This is a magical CD. When it was stolen from the car, my son(now 18)requested I reorder it. The voice of the storyteller transports us to places and feelings we've rarely experienced and yet share a common human experience of joy and hope.If I could only purchase one CD for my child - this would be it...and I would be listening.



5. I put this on my 19month old daughter's Wish List for Christmas and we just listened to it today. She loved the animal sounds in the beginning and danced to some of the music. It's not something she'll sit down and just listen to as a storytime yet, but I think it will be a timeless addition to our CD collection. As an adult, I enjoyed listening to the stories and the music. A good buy for younger and older children as the music is very rythymic, but not too loud (I think my daughter would have liked it as an infant).

5 comments about Catch a Wave: Beach Songs for Kids.

1. An extra star just for the effort. Do yourself a favor and listen to the song samples first and then ask yourself if you want to hear this for several hours a day if your child actually likes it.



2. This cd is horrible (i mean horrible). the beach boys voices are so much better than this and don't deserve to be butched up. the falsetto voice isn't falsetto, and have they ever heard of a bass voice? their voices are whiny and i'd recommend about 10 years of voice lessons before they ever try and sing again.
   
   sincerly hope they sing better next time,
   a very aggrivated kid



3. I am a huge beach boy fan myself, and I find the orignals to be better. Their voices had a melodic ring, and the real ones should not try to be impersonated. Some of these songs are OK though for kids singing them.



4. I was disappointed by the versions of Beach Boy songs on this CD. I did not feel that these versions for children added anything to the original songs. I am sure your children will enjoy the (mainly) short and joyful tunes of the original artist.



5. This is a fine CD, but the Beach Boys' voices were so angelic to begin with, that the original recordings are quite listenable for kids. My 3-year old loves the Beach Boys. Given that most of the original Beach Boys' recordings consisted of sophisticated vocal and musical arrangements (how many pop songs do you know that regularly include French horns, kettle drums, sleigh bells, banjo, and FIVE-part vocal harmonies?), you probably can't go wrong playing the original songs.

5 comments about Papa's Dream.

1. this is a great story. I grew up hearing about Lolo since he was a friend of my mom'm many years ago.



2. A wonderful imaginary and silly story of a Mexican-American family traveling to Mexico in a flying balloon to celebrate Papa Lalo's birthday. The versions of "La Bamba", 'Wooly Bully", and "Cielito Lindo" are great on this CD and the narration between songs adds a lot to this CD. A little bit of Spanish is a plus to follow the narration. You should listen to this CD from the beginning to the end, do not try to shuffle this CD, otherwise, you would miss the main theme of the album.
   
   We have been playing this CD for the last six years and we still enjoy it.



3. Asa long time fan of Los Lobos I had to buy this CD and what a wonderful surprise this little gem was. I highly recommend it to Los Lobos fans and lovers of Latin music. It's a fun, light collection of songs.



4. It was nice to find this collection of music that isn't just "baby songs". We can put this in on a drive and not regret getting the songs stuck in our heads all day. They are shortened versions of classic Los Lobos songs and the story is cute and helps little ones learn some Spanish words and phrases. Highly recommended!



5. Los Lobos teams up with Lalo Guerrero to take children on an extraordinary adventure and musical tour. I don't know who has enjoyed this CD more -- my children or their parents! We've been trying to learn Spanish as a family, and this has been a wonderful, fun supplement to our language lessons. Some of the songs are in English, but many are in Spanish, and all the lyrics are helpfully printed in the liner notes.

5 comments about Fiesta Musical/Latin America Musical.

1. This collection of songs is truly fantastic! It is very moving, especially for those with a Latin American background. I thought it was a very good representation of the diverse instruments and music that exist throughout Latin America. This CD might not be the best choice if you are looking to practice Spanish or are wanting a sing-along for young children. I agree that the song introductions could have been separate tracks.



2. I played this for the students in my early education class and they enjoyed it.



3. I have been very disappointed with this album. The biggest problem is the introductory material. Each track starts with an introduction, first in English and then in Spanish. While it is nice to know something about the songs, it is a long span of talking before each track and it quickly (like, the second time through) becomes very irritating having to wait for the end of the intro to hear each song. If they had only made the introductions into separate tracks it would have been much better-- you could skip over the intros when you didn't want to hear them. The other problem is a matter of personal taste-- after wading through the intro material, most of the songs are just not appealing to me. Yes, there are some fun instruments and unusual sounds, but for the most part the songs themselves just don't move me. For kids Spanish songs, I much prefer the Sesame Street "Fiesta Songs!" album and the Jose-Luis Orozco albums (especially "Diez Deditos").



4. Besides the first song (which I have to skip every time... it's a silly rap), every other song on this CD is absolutely GREAT! Every time I listen to it, it get's my body moving, and I find myself singing along (and I don't know much Spanish)!

   I got this CD to play in my Infant Room, which is primarily Latino, and the babies LOVE it, too! They move and giggle along with the songs.

   I like the fact that it moves around to seven different countries in Latin America, which the narrator tells us in English where we are going and why we are listening to this particular song. By being around people from Mexico everyday, they have told me this CD is EXCELLENT. The two songs especially from Mexico are very popular there and very commonly sung.




5. I got it for my 5 year old child who is learning Spanish. quite enjoyable to listen to but hard to learn from as far as I can tell. Get something else (like "Siesta, Fiesta") if you want to learn songs with your young child.