Track Listing

1. Frère Jacques
2. Dialogue
3. Wheels on the Bus
4. Dialogue
5. Old MacDonald Had a Farm
6. Dialogue
7. Alouette
8. Dialogue
9. Happy Birthday
10. Dialogue
11. Mary Had a Little Lamb
12. Dialogue
13. It's Raining, It's Pouring
14. Dialogue
15. Row, Row, Row Your Boat
16. Dialogue
17. She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain
18. Dialogue
19. London Bridge
20. Dialogue
21. Sur le Pont d'Avignon
22. Dialogue
23. Claire de la Lune
24. Dialogue
25. This Old Man
26. Dialogue
27. More We Get Together
28. Dialogue
29. Dialogue
30. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #94726 in Music
• Released on: 2000-02-01
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
French is probably the only language in the world that can make the most trivial idea sound grandiloquent. Imagine what it can do when the poetic Romance language is set to children's songs. It entertains and educates, bien sûr (of course)! UniVerse of Song: French is the fun and informative follow-up to UniVerse of Song: Spanish, and seems an ideal tool for starting second-language learning with elementary phrases and basic songs. Jean Rene and his versatile backing combo help make a handful of bilingual kids into lively teachers. It doesn't matter if your native tongue is English or French--the record playfully teaches kids both languages by using common French and English nursery songs such as "Frère Jacques," "Alouette," the ever-delightful "Sur le Pont d'Avignon," "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," "Wheels on the Bus," "London Bridge," and others. Along the way, listeners can also pick up useful expressions in French that sound, well, almost diplomatic. Now, bring on the Chinese and Russian versions of UniVerse of Song, and soon we can send kids to the UN Security Council. --Martin Keller

From Parents' Choice®
An enjoyable new release in the well-produced bilingual Uni Verse of Song singalong series, this time featuring children's songs in French and English. Singer Jean René and an appealing kids' chorus invite listeners to join them, saying French words and singing favorite songs with a French twist: On Old MacDonald's farm, for instance, there is a pig (un cochon) "qui fait gronk-gronk, toujours gronk-gronk"-and Mary's little lamb is "un petit mouton." Classic French children's songs are given a bilingual treatment, too: "Sur Le Pont D'Avignon," "Alouette," and "Au Claire De La Lune." A 2000 Parents' Choice® Recommended winner.

Reviewed by Lynne Heffley, Parents' Choice® 2000

Customer Reviews

Good Cd, but...........
This is a really good cd in that it actually introduceschildren to French......but I was very upset by the LACK OF French inthe songs. It's a great idea but there needs to be a lot more Frenchinvolved in the songs.....and I also noticed that the adult male singsmost of the French......while more of the children sing the Englishparts of the songs. This isn't fair considering it's a cd forchildren AND some of the child singers were from a Frenchinternational school. ... if MUSIC FOR LITTLE PEOPLE made a cd withthe same basic idea, only all in French with just the childrensinging. ... I'm sure a cd made this way would be a hit. The cd isgood to buy if you want to expose your children to French, though.Just don't expect there to be much French.....which means yourchildren won't be learning much of French. However, it's a great toolas a supplement.

Tried Many - this is one of the best
I took French immersion in school for a few years and have fortunately retained some of it. I wanted my kids to have some base in other languages in case they ever wanted to pursue such learning. Besides - most of the world speaks several languages! Kid's songs seemed like a natural way to start to do it. I tried several CD's, and this one is by far the best. The kids immediately recognized songs they knew in English, and began to learn the French words as well. The voices are very good, the kids especially. It is very engaging to my kids when they hear the other kids sing.

I have found the mix of some English and French to be very good for learning, and the quick lesson in the children's voices between songs is good, and fast (and you can always skip it right away too).

If you were more advanced - the English and French might be a bit intrusive. For those with bilingual children - I have also enjoyed the 100% French set called, "Mes Chansons Preferees" - by Kidzup. It has almost no recognizable English kid songs - but the French folk songs are surprisingly excellent and fun. My kids have a few favourites there too.

Overall - this is the one my kids enjoyed the most and gets played frequently.

Great French Introduction
My 3 year old and 1 1/2 year old boys love this CD! They are both learning the popular songs simultaneously in English and French, as am I. A great collection of songs, well sung and fun! Recommended for speakers of English who want their very young kids to start learning French without being intimidated.