Learn A Little Mandarin Through Playful Songs

A Little Mandarin has launched an international album that features a collection of Chinese children's classics - songs loved by families in China for generations - given new life with a contemporary sound and voice. The album's 15 tracks fuse rock, pop, dance, and hip hop influences with playful lyrics to make it a unique and fun learning companion for all ages.

"China is forefront in the media and schools worldwide now teach Mandarin, yet Chinese culture is limited to the local take-out menu. What do we know of authentic Chinese culture?" says Toni Wang, creator of A Little Mandarin. "I want to give every global citizen, young and old, a fresh unprecedented perspective on Chinese language and culture through the universal language of music."

Featured tracks include, "Make A Phone Call," a conversation between two dolls, teaching kids about communication, complete with an old-school telephone ring to make everyone giggle; "Little Duckling" about friendship, service and community with a big-band vibe that sends them dancing around the room; "I Have A Pair Of Little Hands" encouraging kids towards self-sufficiency with a cool percussive beat that gets the whole body moving; "Pulling A Radish" about helping one another, with a lively horn section to punctuate each tug; and the all-time-favorite, "Two Tigers," an unexpected ska-inspired adaptation of "Frères Jacques."

The album also includes Mandarin versions of "[Twinkle Twinkle] Little Star" and "Happy Birthday To You." All tracks are designed to make learning both fun and engaging, as music is a quintessential companion to early language adoption. This is the album to introduce kids to Mandarin. They get to sing, dance and play, and the parents might, too!

"This CD is great for exposing kids to the Chinese language…" -- BiculturalMama.com

"The songs on your site were inspiring…" -- Jens Peter de Pedro, Toca Boca apps

About the creator: Toni Wang is a Chinese-American born in Shanghai and living in NYC. Influenced by her father's classical music background, Toni's career in technology always found its way back to her passion for music. Deciding to raise her children in a trilingual household (English, Mandarin, and her husband's native French), she searched for high-quality Chinese children's music, to no avail, leading to her Aha moment to create it herself. A Little Mandarin music is the first step in her larger vision of introducing authentic Chinese language and culture to a mainstream global audience.

Source: A Little Mandarin