Reviews
La Fiesta de Fritzi is part of the Parents’ Choice Award winning Whistlefritz foreign-language DVD and CD series. The program, which requires no prior foreign language training, is designed for beginners and targets children ages 2 to 7.
The Whistlefritz series, including La Fiesta de Fritzi, utilizes language immersion, a method which relies entirely on communicating in the foreign language, without any translations. The program blends live action, animation, interactive songs, and puppetry to convey word and concept meanings so little viewers will have no trouble following the gist of the simple storyline. In La Fiesta de Fritzi, friends plan a party for adorable animated mouse Fritzi, and the Spanish-language lessons focus on party-related words with which kids are already familiar. These include balloons, toys, colors, and more. This DVD also includes a booklet with song lyrics and a chart with English translations for many of the key words used in the story.
The 30-minute program is shot in HD, mixing live-action elements with bold but simple animation (reminiscent of the children’s program Blue’s Clues), providing a backdrop for personable host Maria and friends. Maria’s got a bright smile and a personality infused with enthusiasm that shows as she encourages very young viewers to read or repeat the vocabulary words.
The Whistlefritz website also includes free downloadable materials making La Fiesta de Fritzi an entertaining and educational resource for teachers, homeschoolers, and parents interested in introducing very young children to Spanish.
Parents’ Choice Foundation, September 2012
PreS-Gr2 – It’s Fritzi’s birthday, and Maria, along with the Whistlefritz kids, needs to prepare before the rodent wakes up. All the preparations for a traditional birthday party figure in. Making cake, choosing presents, blowing up balloons, even cleaning up the living room are all introduced in simple Spanish sentences and repeated single words. The verbal repetition is augmented by children and adults performing the actions and by songs about the activity. The five songs, all written by singer/songwriter Jorge Anaya, are catchy and entertaining, serving to make vocabulary acquisition both fun and easy. Clean graphics and clear audio make this production attractive as well as instructive. Included with the DVD are a vocabulary list and a printout of the lyrics to the songs. Easily divided into four sections, this set of lessons could be incorporated into classroom routines either as a sponge activity or to introduce a more in-depth lesson.
School Library Journal, July 2012
It’s Fritzi’s fifth birthday! Whistlefritz’s award winning Spanish for Kids program is at it again with their latest release, La Fiesta de Fritzi (Fritzi’s Party), and my two-year old was thrilled to be invited! With their engaging blend of animation and live-action, Alina was captivated by Maria and the Whistlefritz kids as they plan the perfect party for the fun-loving mouse, Fritzi. From learning colors with balloons to the lively family-centered music, La Fiesta de Fritzi (Fritiz’s Party) was a hit in our home!
Being that I am the primary source of Spanish exposure for Alina, I am always on the look out for tools to support our bilingualism efforts at home. This all-new Spanish DVD delivered on content (full immersion is key), education (lessons in colors, object identification were present) and entertainment. In fact, what set Whistlefritz apart for our family was the distinct cultural music that we thoroughly enjoyed while watching the half hour DVD. Every song had catchy lyrics of simple Spanish phrases and engaging beats that felt so familiar. Immersion of Spanish is more than learning a language; it’s also an appreciation of a culture. La Fiesta de Fritzi delivers on both!
Alina and I have danced salsa in our living room while listening to “No Hay Fiesta Sin Pastel” probably about 500 times… don’t be surprised if you end up doing the same!
SpanglishBaby