Beth Manners' Magic French for Kids: ages 2-6
by Beth Manners
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Book Summary Information
Author: Beth MannersEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Format: Unabridged
Published: 2000-02-15
ISBN: 0966287657
Publisher: Future Boomers Corp
Book Reviews of Beth Manners' Magic French for Kids: ages 2-6
Book Review: Modest production, brief but fun and educational
Summary: 3 Stars
This program is starting to show its age (already) and for its length, does not really pack a lot of value for the money. But it is fun, it teaches a bit of French vocabulary, and kids who have some motivation will probably get something out of it. I'd give it 3.5 stars if the system allowed more detailed scoring.
I actually started writing this as a "comment" response to another reviewer who blasted the product due to "heavy accents" and whatnot. I decided to write it here as a review instead, because comments get lost in the shuffle.
I just sat and listened to this with a 2nd-grader who found it quite accessible. I do not know what the other reviewer meant by the "thick accents." There is an otherwise-average American sounding kid who actually knows how to pronounce "Marie" with a true French R sound. It's a proper French accent in the middle of otherwise mainstream American speech.
It's important to note that this is an audio-only product. The words for some of the songs are included in the case liner notes, but that page would easily be lost, so the program needs to stand on its own. THAT is why there is constant translation from the French into English, or vice-versa -- the audience would be lost otherwise.
I speak French, but unlike that other reviewer I did not find any confusion between the ordering of French-first or English-first. After all, the idea is to make words interchangeable, with the underlying thing (or concept) being the same.
Like, the word "camion" is repeated frequently near the word "truck." I do not know which comes first in every instance, but it does not matter because they mean the same thing! And the child who was listening with me knew what all the words meant by the time we had gone through several of the songs -- like voiture, camion, ballon, and so on.
The sound effects for "Madame Magique" are pretty lame by modern standards but I guess children are not as picky as adults, so if the child is willing to learn, he/she will not mind any of that.
There is a song in which the kids are encouraged -- in English then in French -- to pull their ears and make a raspberry sound with their tongues (langues). Well, it may be a rude thing to do, but it sure makes kids laugh and gives them motivation. So I think perhaps the authors knew what they were doing. I have a feeling I'll be getting requests to play this CD again before long!
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