Reduplications are words or phrases that contain a duplicated element.  An example is the phrase "riffraff".  The two parts of the word are almost the same (i.e. "riff" and "raff"), but they have a small change (the vowels).  When you have a rhyming reduplication, the duplicated element rhymes with the original element in the phrase. ...

Jeff Gilpin sent this lullaby with the following note, "Here is a song I wrote after visiting my wife’s sister in Ayase which is outside of Tokyo, Japan. I think it is very kid friendly and I hope you like it add it to your list of children songs. It is called Ayase Lullaby. Here...

See the beauty that is Earth.

MP3 of Hope is the thing with feathers "Hope" is the thing with feathers By Emily Dickinson "Hope" is the thing with feathers- That perches in the soul- And sings the tune without the words- And never stops-at all- And sweetest-in the Gale-is heard- ...

Booktrust did a survey of over 2,500 people in the UK to determine the top nursery rhymes.  Here they are with links to their lyrics (most of the links have mp3’s or videos too): 1. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star 2. Incey Wincey Spider 3. Round And Round The Garden 4. Baa Baa Black Sheep 5. The...

Check out the short video below… Astronaut, Chris Hadfield wrings out a washcloth on the International Space Station.  It’s so cool!  Show it to your kids and watch it.  It will make you feel like a kid again.

Monique was here visiting from France for the past two weeks and we worked on creating Spanish and French versions of our books and apps. (They should be available soon.) Here’s a link to our current books and apps.

French Pronunciation is a site that helps you improve your French pronunciation.  You can listen to recordings of the sounds you find difficult to pronounce and then practice along with them.

My family and I took a trip to Washington DC last weekend.  It’s the first time we’d been there in many years and there have been a lot of changes.  Several new major monuments have opened. One of the most impressive is the FDR Monument.  It’s a particularly great destination if anyone in your party...

"La nuit porte conseil" is French for "sleep on it".  It means, think about it overnight and don’t make a decision until tomorrow… often good advice! The photo is this saying on the door of a Broom closet in Herald Square (New York). –Mama Lisa

My nephew Alex made this creative penguin egg for Easter!  He dunked a hardboiled egg into blue egg coloring leaving the "belly" white.  Then he drew on the eyes, beak and wings with a sharpie marker. How cool is that!  It shows how creative you can be when dying Easter eggs. Thanks for sharing Alex! xo (Aunt) Mama...

Debbie wrote from Japan about cherry blossoms, which are called sakura in Japanese.  Spring is a favorite time to view the sakura and have picnics.  Here’s what Debbie wrote: Everything comes in sakura colors right now. Doughnuts. Noodles. Even the exercise ladies in my morning exercise show were wearing sakura-colored t-shirts. Never mind that the cherry...

Our friends at DIA asked us to post this message about their program… The Día! Diversity in Action 2013 Celebration is only a month away, have you registered your library or school’s program yet?  Register your Día Celebration in the 2013 Día National Program Registry to build a national database that showcases all types and sizes...