This page is a way for all of us to share resources for books, websites, music, apps, games and more for raising our bilingual children. These are reader recommendations on resources by language. Many of these products we have not looked into ourselves and therefore they are not endorsements. Have a resource you would like to add? Please let us know in the comments! We are always updating this list.
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Don’t see your language here yet? It may be in the pipeline but if you want to be sure, please send us an email that you would love to see your language featured to stephanie@incultureparent.com. We solicit recommendations from readers periodically on Facebook as well, so please follow us there too!
ALL/MULTI-LANGUAGES | |
Apps | Lingos Market |
Princesses Learn Chinese, German, Spanish, French | |
Websites | Oznoz videos for bilingual kids across languages |
Music | Excellent place for children’s songs from around the world in MANY different languages: www.mamalisa.com |
Daria’s World Music |
Arabic | |
Books | Milet Publishing has a complete set of Arabic-English books geared at toddlers and younger babies. These can also be found individually on Amazon.com |
Elmer’s Weather (English-Arabic) (Elmer series) | |
For toddlers, Kalimat is an excellent publisher. For all kids, the website sanabilbooks has very good books by age. There is also bilingual English/Arabic books on languagelizard. Qutta Qutna: Cotton Kitty |
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Websites & Videos | There is a whole series of the Baby Einstein Arabic, including Learn Arabic for Children: Animals Around Us: Baby Einstein Arabic and Learn Arabic Shapes All Around: Baby Einstein Arabic for Children (Baby – 5 Years) |
Arabic DVDs by Little Pim | |
Learn Arabic Arabian Sinbad Treasure Chest – Learn Arabic Complete Set for Children Includes; DVDs, Audio CDs, Books and software Original website: Arabian Sinbad |
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There is a set of 6 DVDs called “the little thinking minds”– colors, shapes, animals, letters and numbers. You can buy them on www.syraj.com. You can also watch extracts on youtube before buying them. | |
Music (all available on itunes) | “the little thinking minds” and sana mouasher’s albums have children songs such as the translation of twinkle twinkle, baa baa black sheep, mary had a little lamb …. and similar songs. |
A very interesting album “sing and learn arabic” from stephane husar & qais saadi : each songs is focused on a topic, the days of the week, the colors, the food etc….. The same for the album “Arabic children’s songs” from Dino Lingo. | |
The album “April Blossoms” from Rim Banna (palestinian singer, she has such a beautiful voice) and 2 songs from Fairuz: Tik tik tik and Yalla tenam Rima. | |
Arabic Nursery Rhymes Children’s DVD: 32 Rhymes from the Arab World (Ages 1-99) | |
Apps | |
Games & Products | Arabic Alphabet Floor Puzzle – Perfect Way to Introduce Children to Arabic Alphabets. |
Uncle Goose Arabic Alphabet Wooden Blocks – Made in the USA | |
Dr. Bashi Arabic alphabet blocks www.drbashi.com |
Cantonese | |
Books | Coming soon |
Websites | Playgroup in the UK with song and game ideas on their website www.playcantonese.com. |
Thousands of Chinese help sheets and learning aids, and a unique Cantonese / Mandarin Chinese online dictionary: www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk | |
www.yesasia.com and www.buyoyo.com has children’s DVDs (including Peppa Pig, Mr Men and Thomas the Tank Engine) and will deliver internationally | |
Reach out to other Cantonese speaking parents on the Cantonese Parents, Babies & Toddlers Facebook group. | |
YouTube has some Cantonese children’s videos. Search ‘Patrick n Friends Cantonese’, ‘Thomas and Friends Cantonese’, ‘McDull’ and ‘IQ Cantonese’ | |
Music | |
Apps | App store – for games search ‘Landee Kids’, ‘loveCantonese’, ‘Magi’s Music Time’, ‘Cantonese Chinese Fridge’. |
App store and Android Play store – for dictionaries search Pleco (pronunciation currently available for iPhones, coming soon for Android), Phil Pluckthun’s Cantonese dictionary currently has pronunciation for Android. | |
Games & Products |
French | |
Books | Subscriptions to French magazines from abroad |
BAYAMÂ for French cartoons, music, puzzles and games. A reader says, “It is a subscription service, but it is worth it!” | |
French stories online | |
Amazon.com to find the French version of some popular books | |
Usborne books 100 and 1000 word in French are great books for early learners | |
Extremely comprehensive list of all sorts of French resources for children: here. | |
A French mom’s favorite French books | |
Online French books for kids | |
Rent French books for ages 0 to 12: www.lespetitslivres.com | |
Websites & Videos | youtube.com has a lot of popular children’s French songs like Vent Frais, Sur le Pont d’Avignon, counting in French and so forth |
T’choupi on youtube.com | |
French for free from anywhere in the world: www.captvty.fr | |
Laura K. Lawlesson on About.com has a lot of great French resources. | |
French movie for kids: Zarafa. | |
Music | A reader notes: “Our kids love music with funny lyrics, here are their favorite ones:” www.greatsong.net |
www.pittocha.com/ | |
Online radio for children: www.radioouistiti.ch | |
Apps | http://pinterest.com/babybilingual/apps-for-kids-french/ |
Games & Products | Open Wide the World |
German | |
Books | Janosch’s books for children: “Wimmelbuch”- a book, with or without text that help children discover the world. |
‘Sendung mit der Maus”- a classic and they also have a website with games and apps. | |
The Wieso Weshalb Warum books from Ravensburger. | |
For books: www.kinderbuch-couch.de | |
The fun adventures of POLLY POSSUM and her Australian animal friends: www.pollypossum.com | |
German book boxes: www.librileo.de | |
Websites | For all sorts of questions about raising children (baby-teen) take a look at the forum on www.eltern.de. |
“Nido” (comes out with Stern Newspaper). | |
Jako-o (clothes, toys etc. for kids) : Walzkidz.de or .nl (clothes and stuff) | |
Preschool and kindergarten crafts, activities and lessons: www.kindersuppe.de | |
Site with games, songs and activities: www.labbe.de | |
Resources and encouragement www.fluentfamily.com | |
Music | |
Apps | Princesses Learn German, for 3 to 7-year-old children to learn their first words and expressions in German through a story, little games and a song. |
Games & Products | The classic game: “Ich sede was das du nicht siehst”-similar to I spy, but you specify the color!’ |
Open Wide the World |
Italian | |
Books | Online Italian bookstore called Liberia pino in San Francisco |
Picture books: casa mia and come un grande | |
Websites & Videos | The show “Peppa Pig” dubbed in Italian |
Disney movies in Italian (One reader notes, “The songs are even better than the originals (Belle e la Bestia, Aristogatti”). | |
Music | Centro Raccontami’s (http://centroraccontami.org/italiansongsforchildren.php) CDs |
Michel Thomas | |
Youtube.com for traditional songs and nursery rhymes (e.g., la pecora Nel bosco, la bella tartaruga) and Italian music Zucchero, Victorio Grigglio | |
Apps | iPad app game called mind snacks |
Games & Products | One reader’s kids’ favorite game in Italian: “Cavallo–where they sit on papa’s legs and pretend to ride him like a horsey.” |
Korean | |
Books | Little Seoul is an online bookstore offering a wide variety of books for Korean children who are bilingual. |
Powell’s Books has a variety of books for kids, including some for upper-level Korean learners, such as the Korean version of the Harry Potter series. | |
Websites & Videos | Pororo is an animated character in Korea that is so popular that it is sometimes called the “president of the kids”. YouTube has its own channel for Pororo that has cartoons and songs that can be helpful to those learning Korean. |
Naver is one of the most famous websites in Korea, and it has many Korean folktales for kids. (Loading might take a minute since it takes time to load Korean characters.) | |
Included on Naver, this site provides animations and photos to teach kids about dinosaurs. | |
The Korean Multimedia Dictionary offers pictures with sound clips, and helps students learn how a Korean word is spelled and pronounced. | |
EBS is a channel broadcast by the Korean government. EBS Kids is a YouTube channel that offers some educational videos for students that are broadcast in Korea. | |
DAUM offers Korean educational content for children, from reading Hangul to listening to music. | |
Music | Dinolongo offers Korean songs for children. It can be purchased on a CD or an MP3 file on the website. |
This YouTube channel offers famous Korean songs with videos for kids. | |
Apps | Korean Letters is an iTunes application for children writing and reading basic Hangul. |
This android app is a coloring book that teaches basic Korean vocabulary. | |
Games & Products | On Digital Dialects children can play simple games, matching Korean vocabulary and numbers. |
Mandarin | |
Books | HUGE collection of read-aloud books on YouTube |
www.nihaobooks.com | |
A workbook for Mandarin numbers from the Language Playground | |
Websites & Videos | Comprehensive list of Mandarin Chinese learning materials for children and parents: pinterest.com/mspandachinese/chinese-learning-materials |
www.5qchannel.com | |
Curriculum for Learning Chinese Online and in School: www.betterchinese.com | |
Yosbook (in Mandarin) www.yosbook.com | |
Zhongwen for Chinese learning (In Mandarin): www.hwjyw.com, it is subsidized by the Chinese Government. | |
Music | |
Apps | Appletree books and Rye Studio on iPad/iPhone. |
Feed Me! which teaches vocabulary and concepts (shapes, colors, etc). That one comes in lots of languages and they love it. | |
iPad/iPhone app, Princesses Learn Chinese. | |
Games & Products | Â Products (books, music and learning aids) for learning Mandarin: Go Boo Boo |
Polish | |
Books | Hippocrene Children’s Illustrated Polish Dictionary: English-Polish/Polish-English |
Polish Fables: Bilingual, by Ignacy Krasicki, Gerard T. Kapolka (Translator), Barbara Swiozinska (Illustrator) | |
UK online bookstore with many Polish-English books. | |
Free Polish audiobooks. | |
Big list of Polish books on amazon. | |
www.egmont.pl | |
Websites & Videos | Great website with some lesson plans, ideas for kids and promote Polish fairy tales (in English) : www.polish4kids.com |
Polish site www.mojapolska.az.pl | |
Comprehensive resource in Polish with games, puzzles, fairy tales, links to Polish TV on youtube and more (in Polish): www.domowyprzedszkolak.pl | |
Polish TV (satellite or online) in the US and beyond. | |
Polish kids TV, games, resources and more from the BBC (in Polish): origin.cbeebies.com/poland/ | |
Polish resources for kids (in Polish): www.superkid.pl/jezyk-polski | |
Grammar and exercises for kids (in Polish): www.dyktanda.net | |
Dinosaur fun for kids in Polish: www.dinozaury.com | |
Listen to Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales in Polish: wolnelektury.pl | |
Music | Fantastic selection of kids music in Polish for purchase: www.polartcenter.com |
Apps | 200 words in Polish for toddlers. |
Games & Products | Flash cards in Polish |
Free Polish flashcards for downloading. |
Portuguese | |
Books | |
Websites & Videos | www.sonia-portugueseforkids.com |
Very comprehensive list of tons of Portuguese websites for kids: contadorescalifornia.wordpress.com | |
Brazilian Kids TV Channel: TV Rá Tim Bum (you can find shows if you put it into youtube!) | |
Galinha Pintadinha dvds | |
Music | Songs in Portuguese: www.jangadabrasil.com.br |
Apps | |
Games & Products | Games for kids in Portuguese: contadorescalifornia.wordpress.com |
Spanish | |
Books | Publisher Barefoot Books has a collection of books in Spanish |
Recommendations for bilingual Spanish children’s books: www.latinbabybookclub.com | |
A magazine for kids ages 3-6 to help children nurture and practice Spanish: www.cricketmag.com | |
Websites & Videos | Comprehensive list of Spanish curricula for kids: www.mommymaestra.com |
Crafts: www.lasmanualidades.com | |
Radio: www.colorincolorradio.com | |
Stories: www.cuentosparadormir.com | |
List of websites for kids in Spanish: www.educa.madrid.org | |
Very comprehensive mix of Spanish resources for kids: www.spanishplayground.net | |
For the alphabet: www.youtube.com | |
From a reader in Mexico: “The Mexican teacher’s union has a really nice site for students that has all sorts of materials that are specifically supplemental to the Mexican curriculum. Great if you want to teach your kids about Mexican history and culture:” www.chavitos.snte.org.mx | |
This page has printable vocab cards: www.9letras.wordpress.com | |
Fantastic website full of Spanish materials for teachers and parents. | |
Videos, games, songs and worksheets: rockalingua.com | |
Le Tutor for a great list of resources for learning Spanish www.letutor.com | |
Music | For beautiful songs of cri-cri: www.cri-cri.net/index2.html |
Apps | |
Games & Products | Eeboo products. They make a fun Spanish bingo game and cute flashcards! |
Open Wide the World |
Turkish | |
Books | The Daisy Series by Jane Simmons translated by Faith Erdogan |
Bonbon, Monthly Magazine for Turkish-American Children www.bonbonkids.com | |
Find children’s bilingual books in turkish here and here. | |
www.dr.com.tr | |
www.netkitap.com | |
www.altinkitaplar.com.tr | |
www.dbe.com.tr | |
www.idefix.com | |
Websites & Videos | www.afacancocuk.com |
www.cocukca.com | |
Turkish cartoon, “Pepee”: www.pepeeizle.net | |
Magazine for kids ages 3-6: www.tubitak.gov.tr | |
For older kids: www.morpakampus.com | |
For adult language learners: www.laits.utexas.edu (interviews of Turkish executives talking about business in Turkey, culture, etc. ) | |
Collection of 18 folk tales (both western and Turkish) which you can listen to in either English or Turkish. | |
www.idefix.com | |
Music | Turkish lullaby: blog.dinolingo.com |
Turkish song: blog.dinolingo.com | |
Apps | |
Games & Products |
Vietnamese | |
Books | Elmer the Elephant: Milet Publishing has board books in several languages, including Vietnamese/English. |
Bilingual Book: Vietnam A to Z | |
Bilingual Book: 1, 2, 3 Vietnam! | |
Language Lizard www.languagelizard.com | |
A list of Vietnamese-English picture books in translation | |
Websites & Videos | Great place to learn Vietnamese for Children! www.TheHeTreTV.com |
TV shows (youtube playlist): ChĂşc BĂ© Ng? Ngon (Sleep Well Little One) | |
Flashcards and videos: Dino Lingo | |
Music | |
Apps | |
Games & Products |
This is incredible! Thanks for compiling all of these resources in one place!
This is great, thanks! I’ve been working on the exact same thing, but haven’t got this far. I’ll share it all with you one day when I get organized 🙂
What an incredible resource! You have done a real service !
This is a great idea! Thank you for including Spanish Playground. I’ll share the link. I know my readers will appreciate it.
Great list! Here are couple more apps:
Spanish for toddler and preschoolers: http://igamemom.com/2012/08/20/toddler-spanish-app-gus-on-the-go/
Spanish for school age kids to adults: http://igamemom.com/2012/05/18/fun-spanish-learning-app-mindsnacks-spanish/ The same developer also has apps for other languages such as French, Chinese
Multilingual book apps: http://igamemom.com/2012/11/12/learn-spanish-with-little-blue-jackal/
http://igamemom.com/2012/03/07/app-went-free-multi-lingual-mr-wolf-and-the-ginger-cupcakes/
We are working on a multimedia platform (ThePearlDream.com) for African Folk Stories that we hope to be accessible on any device in any language when our project is done. This is an amazing page and website with great advice.
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Alphabet Garten is an online store specializing in German language books, music, DVDs (both films and television series) primarily for children. Our book selection includes board books, picture books, easy readers and books for youth. We also carry the Ravensburger tiptoi® Interactive Learning System, various workbooks for learning German and learning to read, and some Trump card games, magazines and more. All our items are chosen to encourage our children to have fun and enjoy German. Schools, libraries and teachers are eligible for an educational discount.
We will gladly work with you on Special Orders as well – these are at no extra cost but do require a longer delivery time.
Please visit our website at http://www.alphabet-garten.com to learn more about what we offer or contact us with any questions.
Anything in Russian that you know of?
Would you be able to add http://www.speekee.com alongside the other Spanish resources listed? Thanks (-;
VNC Vietnamese Language Centre
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Tel: (08) 66780914/ 38364344/ 84 (0) 917 277169
Fax: (848) 38364344
Email: mail@vnccentre.com or vnccentre@gmail.com
http://vnccentre.com/
Thanks, that’s definitely helpful. Waiting anxiously for Arabic resources.
Many thanks,
Areej
Great and in depth list! I have another suggestion for German. It’s Learn German with Play! Phrase Guide and Puppet Kit. It’s made by http://www.fluentfamily.com and they also have several phrase guides tailored to parent/child interactions instead of adult/adult interactions. Hope this helps someone 🙂