09/29/2011

Michael Berick

Hispanic Heritage Month continues into October, which makes it an appropriate time to introduce Spanish to your youngsters. One entertaining way to do this is through DVDs, and a trio of bilingual titles can help kids learn a second language.

Hispanic Heritage Month continues into October, which makes it an appropriate time to introduce Spanish to your youngsters. One entertaining way to do this is through DVDs, and a trio of bilingual titles can help kids learn a second language.

The bilingual animated show El Perro Y El Gato, featuring the orange dog (El Perro) and purple cat (El Gato), is well known to HBO Family and HBO Latino fans, and is now available on DVD. HBO Home Entertainment has put together four separate discs – The Adventure Begins, Unleashed, Together Again and From Here To There – that offer preschoolers a fine, fun way of learning Spanish. Each disc’s list price is $9.95.

Storybook Treasures has put together a box set of DVDs of beloved children’s stories done as bilingual animated tales. One disc focuses on Curious George (aka Jorge), one on Harry the Dirty Dog (also known as Harry, el perrito sucio) and the other holds stories from Chato’s Kitchen (Chato y su cena). The three-disc set (which retails for $24.95) provides kids (particularly those 5-9 years old) a way to learn Spanish through some of their favorite childhood books.

The Bilingual Fun’s Spanish for Children DVDs are the brainchild of educators and parents Mark and Jennifer Manriquez. The award-winning interactive DVDs serve up lively lessons in Spanish through music, movement and other interactive activities. Volume One concerns colors, numbers and animals while Volume Two deals with food, body parts and greetings. Learn more about these discs, which sell for $13.99, at www.bilingualfun.com.