In 2017, I had the good fortune to welcome several babies, and of course I choose Spanish baby gifts for children I know will be learning the language. You will love these beautiful presents for special families. Read about our favorite Spanish language gifts for children of all ages.
Spanish Baby Gifts of Music and Art
Cántale a tu bebé by Cathy and Marcy
Cántale a tu bebé is an amazing book and CD of songs and finger-plays. It’s my new favorite baby gift! It was released in the fall of 2017, and it is a perfect way for parents, both native speakers and non-native speakers, to connect in Spanish with children. Cathy and Marcy composed these beautiful songs specifically for parents to sing to their children, and Jorge Anaya and Sonia de los Santos sing them on the CD (a version for Papá and Mamá for each song). Listen below to see why I love these songs so much! The second song Uno, dos, tres is a finger-play and the actions are in the book.
Personalized Spanish Songs from La Totuga
La Totuga is a Colombian company that makes beautiful songs containing a child’s name. The songs are joyful, pretty music and there are thousands of names available. You really have to listen to understand how well they have made this work! You can put in different names and preview the songs on the La Totuga website.
Music is one of the very best ways to expose children to language, and it is wonderful for aural development for a child to hear her name pronounced correctly in Spanish as part of these songs.
I recently chose two of La Totuga’s CDs (digital downloads) as Spanish baby gifts for friends who had twin baby girls. They are thrilled and tell me the two older children are hoping to get music with their names too.
You can hear one of La Totuga’s songs personalized for the name Ana in the video below.
Spanish Alphabet Poster from Gus On the Go
This beautiful Spanish alphabet poster is from the co-creator of the language learning app Gus On the Go. The drawing for each letter is accompanied by the word and definite article. It is the perfect addition to a nursery, but also would be an excellent gift for a preschooler learning letter names and sounds. Emerging readers love using pictures and initial sounds to read their first words. Parents can reinforce the letter sounds with a Spanish guessing game or other activities as they talk to their child.
Spanish Baby Gifts of Books
Personalized Spanish Book from Lost My Name
If you are not familiar with Lost My Name, you are in for a wonderful discovery. This innovative company creates beautiful children’s books in different languages based on the letters in a child’s name. The concept is ambitious, because the text is a rich narrative and the illustrations are gorgeous. You have see the previews to appreciate how well this comes together to create a quality reading and language experience.
In Spanish, the title of the first Lost My Name book is El niño que perdió su nombre or La niña que perdió su nombre. The protagonist awakes to find the letters of his/her name are missing from the door. So begins an adventure to find the letters and a story full of wonderful characters with initial letter sounds that are surprisingly familiar to the young reader.
These books are excellent examples of the innovative ways technology is changing publishing, and they make beautiful Spanish baby gifts.
Board Books from Kalandraka
Kalandraka is a publishing company from Spain. The Kalandraka series of board books called De la cuna a la luna make wonderful Spanish baby gifts (Amazon will show some of these books as out of stock during the holiday season, but they will be available soon). Many of these stories can be sung to simple tunes because they have rhythm and rhyme. You can see several of the books read this way in videos in YouTube. The book Árbol, in the video below, is a good example. Learn more about how to find books from Spanish publishers like Kalandraka.
Lil’ Libros Bilingual Board Books
Lil Libro bilingual books teach first concepts in Spanish and English, including colors, numbers and first words. The books are beautiful, with bold colors, strong contrast and lines that hold the attention of little ones. You can read more about Lil’ Libros bilingual books for kids.
In addition, these little books introduce children to icons of Latino culture such as Frida Kahlo, Emiliano Zapata, lotería and lucha libre. They make original, meaningful Spanish baby gifts friends and family.
