Learning is fun with Canticos! We design every book to help kids learn as much as possible while helping them to become bilingual in Spanish and English.

Here are some tips to help you maximize the bilingual benefits, learning and fun with the first title in the Canticos book series:  Little Chickies/Los Pollitos – the quintessential classic Spanish nursery rhyme that tells the story of three little chicks and their mother hen. The story serves as a metaphor for the demanding nature of babies and the unconditional love and care given to them by their parents.

1. Talk

Use the book to talk about topics like farm animals (the sounds they make, what they eat, where they live, etc.) and babies (how they communicate their needs and how parents respond).

This is a great book to discuss springtime and to cover holidays like Easter and Mother’s Day.

2. Sing

The simple lyrics and catchy tune sprinkled with the “pío pío pío” of the little chicks, will have you and your little ones singing in both English and Spanish. Not a Spanish speaker? Don’t know the tune? No problem! 

Check out the sing-along video, part of Canticos’ larger Emmy-nominated YouTube cartoon series, to see the lyrics and to hear the correct pronunciation.

3. Read

Canticos books are available in two formats. 

Reversible board book: Read the story once in English. Flip the book and read it in Spanish. Open the book across to see all spreads and 1. Lay it flat on the floor to see the whole story at once or 2.Stand it up and connect the ends into a circle to sit inside and be surrounded by the story.

Little board book: Pick one language to read the story through to the end. Start again in the second language.

4. Write

For your little ones that are just starting to learn their letters, they can practice tracing the shape of the letters in the book using their fingers. Older kids learning to write can practice writing simple words like ‘chick’ and ‘hen’ as well as onomatopoeic ones like ‘pío’ and ‘gulp’.

5. Play

Get little ones saying “pío pío pío” as they open and close their hands imitating a chick opening and closing its beak. Or get them flapping their ‘wings’ as they bend their arms at their elbows and raise them up and down.

Find more resources in our Parents Learning Hub here.