The Hummingbird Sings and Dances: Latin American Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes

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Photo courtesy of The Secret Mountain.

Welcome to Kids Spanish Book Club, an online blog dedicated to children's book reviews and promotion of Spanish language learning starting at a young age! This is the first in a two-part series in my review of The Hummingbird Sings and Dances for Hispanic Heritage Month. As a non-native speaker, my earliest exposure to learning Spanish outside of school came from a love of music. I started with the songs in the motion picture Selena and over time learned more and more of her songs in addition to other popular 90’s and millennial singers such as Shakira and Mana. Now having two little ones of my own, I’ve branched out further to the world of classic Spanish nursery rhymes.

Musical books appeal to all ages- while the older kids can read and learn the lyrics, the younger children are also able to participate by hearing the songs over and over again. Repeatedly hearing songs allows for learning proper pronunciation and the ability for the listener to participate actively theirselves by singing along.




Grupo Cántaro, performers of the accompanying CD, is a Mexican musical group that specializes in songs for children, having already produced seven other albums. For an example of their other music, check out https://www.amazon.com/F%C3%A1bulas-Granja-Mario-Mart%C3%ADnez-C%C3%A1ntaro/dp/B0164P3IWQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1537893045&sr=8-1&keywords=Fabulas+de+Mi+Granja

One of the aspects I like about the CD is that the music feels truly authentic, with the ability to transport you to the setting of the song. While other children’s music is sometimes altered to accompany the child’s environment, these songs truly feel like you can almost smell the food cooking at home, or feel a soft rainfall in the jungle while you stroll amongst the frogs.  The music therefore appeals to both adults and kids alike. The emotions of the musicians are real and palpable.


The Hummingbird Sings and Dances isn't a board book, so I would be weary of lending the actual text to kids under 5 who might damage the beautiful accompanying artwork. Rather, I would reserve the book as a collectible for storage for the child to refer to when older and returning back to a study of the foundations of Spanish language and culture. Games can be made however out of many of the songs, as many of these are hits that parents would likely find themselves singing to their children themselves regardless of their own vocal abilities (i.e. Los pollitos, Rana Cucu).

Learning a language through music is by far one of the easiest, as well as fun, ways to learn a second language. I plan to play the accompanying music around our home and on our outdoor travels on a regular basis- as kids get older, they can also read and memorize the lyrics, acquiring naturally strong reading skills.



Next week I’ll detail more regarding the illustrator of the book, as well as talk about the specific songs and include some other links that may help you study the songs in your learning process! In the meantime, check out the following links for more information on The Hummingbird Sings and Dances: 

 https://www.thesecretmountain.com/portfolio/the-hummingbird-sings-and-dances/

 Grupo Cántaro  https://www.facebook.com/cantaro.ninos

 https://www.facebook.com/MarianaRuizJohnsonIlustraciones/
#theSecretMountain #HummingbirdSings #allages #music #HispanicHeritage


 Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the following product for review purposes. The expressed opinions are solely my own.


Hispanic Heritage Month Series 2018 | Multicultural Kid Blogs

We are so excited for our seventh annual Hispanic Heritage Month series! Now through October 15, you'll find great resources to share Hispanic Heritage with kids, plus you can link up your own posts on Hispanic Heritage! Find even more ideas on our Latin America Pinterest board:

October 3 LadydeeLG
October 5 Mama Tortuga

Don't miss all of the great posts from previous years as well: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017

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