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

Musical Credits:

Vocals by Tiffany Eng, Michele Lamb, Christine McNew, and Grete Pasch; Michele Turner on mandolin, Allen Mullen on guitar.

Titles of Rhymes on this Page:

Un Gato: .mp3
Sana, Sana: .mp3

Titles of Songs on this Page:

Arroz con Leche
Arruru mi Niño : .mp3
De Colores
Duérmete, Mi Niño: .mp3
Los Elefantes: .mp3
Las Mañanitas: .mp3
Los Pollitos: .mp3
La Rana: .mp3
El Toro Torojil: .mp3

Links to More Songs, Rhymes, Fingerplays, and Games

Arroz con Leche

This song is also a game. Children hold hands and walk in a circle around 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,
con una 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'd like to marry, I know not with whom:
con este, sí, con este, 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.

Arruru Mi Niño

(.mp3)

This lullaby is from Central America.

Spanish	English
Arruru mi niño	Lull to sleep my son (daughter)
que tengo que hacer	for I have things to do
lavar tus pañales	wash your diapers
y sentarme a coser.	and sit down to sew.

Una camisita	With a little shirt
te voy a poner	I will dress you
el día de tu santo	on your birthday
al amanecer.	when the sun comes up.

Señora Santa Ana	Mrs. Saint Anne
Señor San Joaquín	Mr. Saint Joaquin
escondan al niño	hide the boy
por el tacuazín.	from the weasel

Señora Santa Ana	Mrs. Saint Anne
porqué llora el niño	why is the boy crying
por una manzana	for an apple
que se le ha perdido	that he has lost

No llores niñito	Don't cry little boy
que aquí tengo dos	because I have two apples
una para la Virgen	one for the Virgin
y otra para vos	and one for you

De Colores

"De colores" came to the Americas from central Spain in the sixteenth century and is now sung all over the Spanish-speaking world on special occasions and celebrations. It is also the anthem of the United Farmworkers of America, a union founded by Cesar Chavez, most of whose members are Spanish-speaking. People hold hands and sway while singing this beautiful song. It may be found in De Colores and Other Latin-American Folk Songs for Children by Jose-Luis Orozco.

Spanish	English
De colores,	Painted in colors,
de colores se visten los campos	the fields are dressed in colors
en la primavera.	in the spring.
De colores,	Painted in colors,
de colores son los pajaritos	painted in colors are the little birds
que vienen de afuera.	which come from the outside.
De colores,	Painted with colors,
de colores es el arcoiris que	painted with colors is the rainbow that
vemos lucir.	we see shining brilliantly above.

Coro:	Chorus:
Y por eso los grandes amores	And that is why great loves
de muchos colores	of many colors
me gustan a mi.	are what I like.

Canta el gallo	The rooster sings
canta el gallo con el kiri, kiri, kiri, kiri, kiri.	the rooster sings with a kiri, kiri, kiri, kiri, kiri.
La gallina.	The hen
la gallina con el cara, cara, cara, cara,	The hen sings with a cara, cara, cara, cara,
Los pollitos,	The little chicks
los pollitos con el pio, pio, pio, pio, pi.	The little chicks with a pio, pio, pio, pio, pi.

Coro.	Chorus.

Duérmete, Mi Niño

(.mp3)

This lullaby originated in Spain and is sung throughout Latin America. For generations, mothers have used it to transmit love, warmth, and peace to their children as they fall asleep. It is in De Colores and Other Latin-American Folk Songs for Children by Jose-Luis Orozco.

Spanish	English
Duérmete, mi niño,	Go to sleep, my boy,
duérmete solito,	sleep by yourself,
que cuando despiertes	for when you awaken
te daré atolito.	I will give you cream corn soup.

Duérmete, mi niña,	Go to sleep, my girl,
duérmete, mi sol,	go to sleep my sun,
duérmete pedazo	go to sleep,
de mi corazon.	piece of my heart.

Los Elefantes

(.mp3)

In this song, "balanceaba" is sometimes sung in place of "columpiaba." Children add one elephant to the spider web in each verse for long as they wish to continue singing. A version of "Los elefantes" may be found in in De Colores and Other Latin-American Folk Songs for Children by Jose-Luis Orozco.

Spanish	English
Un elefante se columpiaba	One elephant swung
Sobre la tela de una araña.	On the web of a spider.
Y como veiron que resistía	And when he saw that it held him,
Fueron a llamar otro elefante.	He called another elephant.

Dos elefantes se columpiaba	Two elephants swung
Sobre la tela de una araña.	On the web of a spider.
Y como veiron que resistía	And when they the saw that it held them,
Fueron a llamar otro elefante.	They called another elephant.

Tres elefantes...	Three elephants...
Cuatro elefantes...	Four elephants..
Cinco elefantes...	Five elephants...

Un Gato

(.mp3)

This is a repeating rhyme. An adult tells the rhyme to a young child and asks "Should I tell it to you again?" The child says "Yes," and the adult repeats it until the child says no.

Spanish	English
Había una vez un gato	Once upon a time there was a cat
con los pies de trapo	who had feet made out of cloth
y los ojos al revés.	and the eyes upside-down.
Quieres que te lo cuente otra vez?	Should I tell it to you again?

Las Mañanitas

(.mp3)

Mañanitas are traditional Mexican songs that people sing early in the morning on birthdays and other special days. Often people are awakened with this song on their birthdays. Young men also serenade their girlfriends with this beautiful song. Sometimes mariachi bands are hired to serenade the celebrant. This song may be found De Colores and Other Latin-American Folk Songs for Children by Jose-Luis Orozco.

Spanish	English
Estas son las mañanitas	These are the morning songs
que cantaba el Rey David.	that King David used to sing.
Hoy por ser día de tu santo	Because today is your birthday
te las cantamos a ti.	We are singing them to you.

Coro:	Chorus:
Despierta, mi bien, despierta,	Awaken, my dear, awaken,
mira que ya amaneció	and see that the day has dawned,
ya los pajarillos cantan,	now the little birds are singing,
la luna ya se metió.	And the moon has set..

Los Pollitos

(.mp3)

This rhyme may be found in Los Pollitos Dicen, The Baby Chicks Sing by Nancy Abraham Hall and Jill Syverson-Stork.

Spanish	English
Los pollitos dicen "pío, pío, pío",	Baby chicks say "pio, pio, pio,"
cuando tienen hambre,	when they are hungry.
cuando tienen frío.	when they are cold.

La gallina busca	The hen looks
el maíz y el trigo,	for wheat and corn,
les da su comida,	she gives them their food,
y les presta abrigo.	And she keeps them warm.

Bajo sus dos alas	Under her two wings
acurrucaditos	tucked in and snuggled tight
hasta el otro día	until the next day
duermen los pollitos.	they sleep all through the night..

La Rana

(.mp3)

"Cucú" is the sound of a frog. This song describes what a little frog sees from a pond. Additional verses may be added at any time to describe what is happening in the room in which the children are singing.

Spanish	English
Cucú, cucú cantaba la rana	Cucu, cucu sang the frog
Cucú, cucú debajo del agua,	Cucu, cucu under the water
Cucú, cucú pasó un caballero	Cucu, cucu a man walked by
Cucú, cucú con capa y sombrero	Cucu, cucu with coat and hat
Cucú, cucú paso una señora	Cucu, cucu a woman walked by
Cucú, cucú con traje de cola,	Cucu, cucu with a long dress
Cucú, cucú pasó un marinero,	Cucu, cucu a sailor walked by
Cucú, cucú vendiendo romero,	Cucu, cucu selling rosemary
Cucú, cucú le pidió un ramito,	Cucu, cucu the little frog asks for a sprig
Cucú, cucú no le quiso dar,	Cucu, cucu but he doesn't give her any
Cucú, cucú y se echó a llorar.	Cucu, cucu so she starts to cry.

Sana, Sana

(.mp3)

This rhyme is said to have magical healing power. Parents gently rub or tap their fingers over a cut, bruise, or other injury in a circular motion, repeating the rhyme, and the injured child quickly feels better. "Sana" means heal. This song is in De Colores and Other Latin-American Folk Songs for Children by Jose-Luis Orozco.

Spanish	English
Sana, sana,	Heal, heal,
colita de rana,	little tail of the frog,
Si no sanas hoy,	If you don't heal today,
sanarás mañana.	you'll heal tomorrow.

El Toro Torojil

(.mp3)

Children hold hands and walk or skip in a circle around one child, the frog, who stands in the middle. The children sing the song once and then ask the child in the middle how she feels: "¿Cómo amaneció la ranita?" The child in the middle decides if she is ¡bien! (well) or ¡engusanada! (dead and full of maggots.) If she is well, she stays in the middle for another round. If she is dead, all of the children run away screaming and laughing, until she catches one of them who then becomes the frog. Torojil is a medicinal herb, and this song is as popular in some Central American countries as "Ring Around the Rosie" is in the United States.

Vamos a la vuelta	Let's go around and around
del toro torojil	of the bull torojil
a ver a la rana	to see the little frog
comiendo perejil	who's eating parsley

La rana no está aquí	The frog is not here
estará en su vergel	she's probably in her garden
cortando una rosa	cutting a rose
sembrando un clavel.	planting a carnation.
¿Cómo amaneció la ranita?	how is the frog this morning?
[the frog responds either]: ¡bien! or ¡engusanada!	[the frog responds either]: better! or full of maggots!

Lone Star Día

Bilingual Library Programs for Latino and Spanish-speaking Children and Families