Provide your little one with the wonderful and educational experience through the Songs from the Garden of Eden. All of the songs are in a language other than English, which exposes listeners to new sounds and voice inflections. Some sounds, like the "tik tak" in Yome, yome sound close enough to the English version of "tick tock" that little listeners will understand immediately that the song is about a clock. They can also sense the mood of the song through the voices, instruments, and tempo in order to enjoy the CD. For example, Yankele is all in Yiddish, but the loving mood of the song is clearly displayed through the woman's gentle voice, and the use of the violin and accordion. There are two other Yiddish, and one Spanish lullaby. Erev Shel Shoshanim is a lullaby in Hebrew, sung by a little girl with a beautiful voice. The songs also have distinctive cultural cues that you learn after hearing a few, such as Tchiko Ianiko displaying the guitar and accordion promptly, creating definitive Spanish sounds.
If your child just wants to experience the music, there are plenty of songs to dance and clap to; A lw una and Otcho kandalikas have children singing and clapping throughout. Perhaps hearing children's voices singing some of the songs will help encourage your child believe they can make those sounds too! A fiddler will probably sound the most familiar to your child, as the melody sounds more Western than the other songs; additionally, there are sound effect words that translate clearly, such as "Do re me fa sol la si" and "tidl di di di" imitating the fiddle.
My four-year-old niece, Emily, likes to listen to this CD a few songs at a time. She prefers to listen to it with an adult who can tell her which language each song is in. One of her favorites is Ya ommi, ya mali because she likes the soothing sounds of the singer's baritone voice, and she tries to imitate it. She also likes the upbeat Yiddish song, Ay le lule because the title is repeated many times throughout, so she feels she can sing along since she know that one line. Emily was disappointed to learn that I didn't know anyone who speaks Yiddish fluently, but made me promise that if I meet someone who does, I'll introduce her because she loves the way it sounds.
--Audra