Music in French and Spanish
My love of languages began when I was a child; probably around the time I was in grade school, and we learned “Are You Sleeping?” in English, French, and German. My interest in French only deepened when I found this book, Fun with French, at the public library. I checked it out so many times I’m surprised they didn’t gift it to me when I graduated. My dad spoke Spanish fluently, but I studied Latin and French in high school and when I went to college, ended up getting a degree in French. Even though many years have gone by, my interest in languages has never waned. I’ve taken conversational Spanish classes specific to work in the library, and quite a while ago, even took a Russian class at the community college, just for the fun of it. While my French and Spanish skills have greatly diminished due to lack of use, it is when I hear music in those languages that I seem to recall the most. Words and phrases come back to me, dancing through my mind along with whatever melody accompanies them.
And that’s why I wanted to highlight a few albums in French and Spanish today. While the sound of music is universal, it’s the words that can teach us so much – even another language. Take some time to listen to these albums. Share them with your students, your family, and your friends.
The first album up is Au Zoo (At the Zoo) – French Learning Songs from Whistlefritz. Whistlefritz provides immersive learning environments in French and Spanish. Au Zoo is their newest French-language album. Packed with 17 songs, each running 2-3 minutes, this isn’t your old-fashioned, didactic, computer-generated learning tool. Instead, it features melodies set to a variety of musical genres (folk, reggae, merengue, blues, and more) with engaging lyrics that are performed at a pace that makes the words easy to follow. The songs cover a wide variety of topics including holidays, animals, grammar, food, and more. Lyrics and translations for all of the songs are available for free on the Whistlefritz website.
Next up are debut albums from the California-based duo Anna-Maria Violich-Olivier and Natalia Barnal, better known as Aguacate Music Kids. After meeting in 2015 when Natalia brought her child to Anna-Maria’s Music Together class, the two created a musical partnership. Combining their skills as bilingual teachers and musicians, they set out to create songs that encouraged healthy habits. Out of that effort, the companion albums, Healthy Me and Saludable Soy were born. Each album is comprised of the same 13 original songs, tackling topics such as washing hands, brushing teeth, good nutrition, movement, social-emotional skills and the importance of drinking water. Whether performing in English or Spanish, Aguacate Music Kids combine lovely music and entertaining, yet educational lyrics, that children and their caregivers will enjoy.
Last, but certainly not least, on today’s playlist is the first full-length Spanish language album from Lucy Kalantari and the Jazz Cats. Creciendo is pure love and joy from beginning to end as it takes listeners inside the theme of a child growing and learning. Kalantari brings her unique blend of jazz, swing, and Latin rhythms to each of the 10 songs. The album kicks off with the energy-filled “Bienvenidos” and keeps that energy up throughout. Kalantari’s rich voice is at the center of the music on each track, but no more so than on “Tu Luz” where her lyrics delightfully converse with a clarinet, and “La Luciérnaga” where she is backed by lush instrumentation. For a sneak preview, take a listen to “Bienvenidos,” which also features Nathalia and Flor Bromley.
To continue our Pride Month celebration, today I’m shining a spotlight on the brand new video from 
Happy Pride Month! I am very excited to kick-off this June with the newest album from the Philadelphia-based trio 
As New Zealand Music Month wraps up, I’d like to turn our attention to the southern hemisphere and the latest outing from Levity Beet. Levity Beet and the Aotearoa All Stars, the first album from Levity’s new label “Wildbeet Records,” is chock full of New Zealand notables and features collaborations with 12 different writers/performers/producers from New Zealand’s rich family music industry. Special guests include familiar names like Itty Bitty Beats, Music with Michal, and Claudia Robin Gunn as well as names that might be new to American audiences such as Suzy Cato, Craig Smith, fleaBITE, Kath Bee, Judy Cranston, Chris Sanders, Mr. Roberelli, MLO, and Loopy Tunes. 
It’s that time of year again. The countdown to the last day of school is on – for the students and the teachers. Parents are looking for goodbye gifts for their children to give to their favorite teachers (everyone needs another mug, right?) and kids are making special cards filled with precious sentiments. To celebrate the gift that is teachers, consider sharing this wonderful new song of gratitude from the dynamic duo 
The picture book Why Do We Sing? is written by Tsui and Breves with illustrations by Tsui. All of the ways that the album answers the question why do we sing (and more!) are depicted in the words and the pictures of the story. As with the soundtrack, the digital illustrations reflect a diverse array of characters and cultures. The pacing of the story and the color palette – steeped in blues and purples with pops of pastels, make Why Do We Sing? a versatile book that can be read with great gusto and excitement during storytime, or a little slower and quieter just before bed.
My co-worker told me today that at her son’s grade school they are “doing the alphabet” for the end of the school year. New to that lingo, she explained to me that they are counting down to the last day of school by featuring a different letter of the alphabet each day. As luck would have it, their letter for today, just like ours, is the letter “D.” Wyatt and his classmates are celebrating with three dance breaks throughout the school day.
Most people would agree that there are three types of meals – breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There also is a unique group of people who believe that there is a fourth, very special kind of meal – breakfast-for-dinner. I was raised in a house that was definitely part of that last group of people. Growing up, we had a homecooked dinner Sunday-Wednesday nights, Thursday night was leftovers and Friday was often breakfast-for dinner. When Friday evening rolled around, my mom would get out her griddle and make dunky eggs, bacon, and that delicious breakfasty staple, pancakes.