El dia de los niños

El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros
a Celebration of Childhood and Bilingual Literacy

TRADITIONAL SONGS, RHYMES, FINGERPLAYS, 
AND GAMES IN SPANISH AND ENGLISH
Audio files are linked to some of the songs on this page. To listen to them, click on the link, choosing either .rm files for files to play on Real Player or .wmv files, which play on Windows Media Player.
"Real Player" isavailable for free from www.real.com and "Windows Media Player" is available for free from www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/default.mspx
Musical Credits:
Vocals by Tiffany Eng, Michele Lamb, Christine McNew, and Grete Pasch; Michele Turner on mandolin, Allen Mullen on guitar.
Titles of Rhymes of this Page:
Chocolate
.rm / .wmv | Un Gato
.rm / .wmv | Sana, Sana 
.rm / .wmv |
Titles ofSongs on this Page:
Arroz con Leche | Duérmete, Mi Niño
.rm / .wmv | Los Pollitos 
.rm / .wmv |
Arruru mi Niño
.rm / .wmv | Los Elefantes 
.rm / .wmv | La Rana 
.rm / .wmv |
De Colores | Las Mañanitas 
.rm / .wmv | El Toro Torojil 
.rm / .wmv |
Links to More Songs, Rhymes, Fingerplays, and Games

Arroz con Leche
This song is also a game. Children hold hands and walk in a circlearound a boy who stands in the middle. He chooses a girl to be the señorita and she takes his place in the middle of the circle. She chooses a boy, etc. A version of this song may be found in Arroz con Leche, Popular Songs and Rhymes from Latin America selected and illustrated by Lulu Delacre.
Spanish | English |
Arroz con leche me quiero casar | Rice with milk, I'd like to get married, |
conuna señorita de la capital, | to a young girl from the capital, |
que sepa coser, | who knows how to sew |
que sepa contar, | who knows how to sing, |
que sepa abrir la puerta | who knows how to open the door |
para ir a jugar. | so we can go out and play. |
Yo soy la viudita, del barrio del rey, | I am a widow, from the king's quarters, |
Me quiero casar y no encuentro con quien: | I'dlike to marry, I know not with whom: |
con �ste, s�, con �ste, no; | with this one, it's yes; with this one, it's no. |
contigo, mi vida, me casar� yo. | with you, my dear, I'll marry you soon. |

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Arruru Mi Niño
(.rm / .wmv)
This lullaby is from Central America.
Spanish | English |
Una camisita | With a little shirt |
te voy a poner | I will dress you |
el día de tusanto | on your birthday |
al amanecer. | when the sun comes up. |
  |   |
Señora Santa Ana | Mrs. Saint Anne |
Señor San Joaqu�n | Mr. Saint Joaquin |
escondan al niño | hide the boy |
por el tacuaz�n. | from the weasel |
  |   |
Señora Santa Ana | Mrs. Saint Anne |
porqu� llora el niño | why is the boy crying |
por una manzana | for an apple |
que se le ha perdido | that hehas lost |
  |   |
No llores niñito | Don't cry little boy |
que aqu� tengo dos | because I have two apples |
una para la Virgen | one for the Virgin |
y otra para vos | and one for you |

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Chocolate
(.rm / .wmv)
Children in Mexico often drink chocolate with breakfast. They stir it with a special utensil called a molinillowhich is held between the palms and rotatedback and forth. During the chorus of this rhyme, children rub their palms together and pretend to "stir" the chocolate with a molinillo. Children repeat the verse, faster and faster each time. A version of this song may be found in Niñez, Spanish Songs, Games and Stories of Childhood by Virginia Nylander Ebinger.
Spanish | English |
Bate, bate, chocolate, | Stir, stir, chocolate, |
tu nariz decacahuate. | your nose is a peanut. |
Uno, dos, tres, CHO! | One, two, three, CHO! |
Uno, dos, tres, CO! | One, two, three, CO! |
Uno, dos, tres, LA! | One, two, three, LA! |
Uno, dos, tres, TE! | One, two, three, TE! |
Chocolate, chocolate! | Chocolate, chocolate! |
Bate, bate, chocolate! | Stir, stir, the chocolate! |
Bate, bate, bate, bate, | Stir, stir, stir, stir, |
Bate,...