Best Bilingual Toy for Language Learners

In this post: The best bilingual toy for families raising bilingual kids~ why we love the Habbi Habbi Reading Wand & Interactive Books.

The holidays are coming and Grandparents are insisting on ‘wishlists’ for their beloved grandchildren. Have you ever found yourself frantically googling ‘best gift ideas for kids’, with the hope of finding the toys your child apparently ‘must have‘… but didn’t even know they needed?

This year I am choosing to be intentional in my gift giving by opting for quality over quantity, and investing in the best bilingual toys that will actually serve my kids by entertaining them for months on end, while supporting their Spanish language acquisition at home.

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About Habbi Habbi

There are several products I find meaningful, but the best bilingual gift I have experienced by far is Habbi Habbi and their innovative Reading Wand and tappable bilingual book series for little language learners. We are utterly obsessed.

The reason I say ‘best’ is because with the whole package- quality, learning, content, design and practicality, I can honestly say, I think any family remotely interested in language acquisition would be so thrilled to receive this as a gift.

Habbi Habbi offers stunning, interactive board books in two languages: English-Spanish and English-Mandarin Chinese, which happen to be two of the most widely spoken languages in the world. They are also adding Korean, French and Hindi to their library too, which is so exciting!

This incredible company was founded by two moms who share the same vision as I do: to raise bilingual children with intentional parenting.

We are five years into our bilingual parenting journey now, and I have made many mistakes and learnt a lot of lessons along the way. I have realized that at the heart of successful bilingual parenting is intentionally prioritizing daily target language exposure.

As non-native speakers living in the States (we speak English at home), this has been the biggest challenge for us.

To achieve this outside our home, we have outsourced with both virtual classes and DLI (Dual Language Immersion) programs, in an effort to increase both target language input and real life context and community for our kids.

Of equal importance, however, is providing our children with Spanish input at home. This relies heavily on materials, in particular, creating a print-rich environment. Habbi Habbi has been a core resource in helping us achieve that.

Why Habbi Habbi is the Best Bilingual Toy

I am convinced that this is one of the most authentic and highest quality bilingual toys you could gift a little language lover.

The most unique and innovative feature of this product is the Reading Wand that makes every inch of the book tappable! This means kids are learning, while they are just tapping and exploring.

This is ideal for younger learners who are developing their fine motor skills. I think about how my daughter (above) uses the books compared to my older son. She is all over the book with the Reading Wand, exploring every corner and illustration, and tapping enthusiastically even on the white space!

Whereas my older son, on the other hand, carefully selects the illustrations to tap gently. Either way, they are both able to hear vocabulary every single time. Wherever you tap, words, phrases, music or sounds are made. This design is absolutely remarkable and so unique to the company. I haven’t found anything else like it.

The Reading Wand adds a whole other dimension of fun and interaction to the language learning experience: turning reading into playing. Play-based learning is key in the early years and is highly effective for language acquisition.

As a mom that is constantly battling screens at home, I am so grateful that my children actually want to play with these books over and over again, without my prompting. I keep them out on our Montessori shelf, readily available for them to pick up and explore, which they do almost daily.

I also love that their Reading Wand is rechargeable (no batteries!) and has a headphone jack, so we can bring them on the road for car rides and airplane flights!

I also really appreciate the thought that has gone into the content of each title. The messages conveyed are practical and realistic of a child’s daily life, which also supports our Montessori home, while the illustrations are realistic and diverse, accurately conveying our global community. This is extremely important to me, as learning a language and appreciating the diversity of cultures go hand in hand.

One theme that I absolutely loved was the positive affirmations of self-love. In the title ‘I Love my Body: Amo mi Cuerpo’, you will find sentences like ‘Me encanta ser quien soy… y como soy’ (I love being me… just the way I am). It is clear that the founders Hanna and Anne-Louise have deeply tied their values to the content of the books, and I really love that my daughter is learning positive self-talk at an early age.

Who is Habbi Habbi for?

The beauty of the Reading Wand is its accessibility- it can serve both bilingual families and complete beginners/ non-native families, as it can be put in 3 modes, bilingual mode, target language only or even English only. This is really great for those families that want more immersion and are trying to focus on the minority language at home. They can simply switch off English translations.

In terms of age and language level, there are several different collections that can cater for a wide range of children, from babies through elementary. It also depends on your family and where you are in your language journey, but I love that Habbi Habbi offer a wide spectrum, from simple word books for beginners and younger readers, all the way to full sentence and story books with the sweet characters Haddie and Lulú. The complexity increases gradually, allowing you to add to your collections as your child grows.

We personally started with one book from each collection several months ago, but gravitated towards the word and phrase books initially. The phrase books like ‘El libro de las emociones (Book of Emotions)’ was the best fit for my kids level wise.

My son is just now starting to explore the more advanced story books like ‘La búsqueda mundial de Haddie y Lulú. (Haddie & Lulu’s Worldwide Search)’.

Is it Worth the Investment?

At initial glance, prices may seem high, but I think they’re actually very fairly priced. The books are individually $20, which I find reasonable for such a high quality board book with its plethora of content (Remember: There is so much for kids to discover beyond the printed text!). The pricey part is the Reading Wand, which is $55 – but that is a one-time purchase, because the Wand can be updated and works with all books in all languages from Habbi Habbi.

The best way to save is to buy the Sets, because the bundle prices are discounted. For example, the Starter Set (5 books with Wand) is $115, which means their Reading Wand has been discounted from $55 to $15. In the Words & Phrases Set (10 books with Wand) at $200, the Wand is free! The larger sets, subsequently, have even more of a discount embedded.

[Note: I try so hard to snag exclusive coupons for my readers, but you will unlikely see any traditional % off sales with this premium product: I checked with the founders and they confirmed that your best value comes from purchasing one of their Sets with Wand.]

Overall, I love to think of this as a ‘system’ for our family and not just a seasonal object. The Set prices, when compared to a class or lesson, feels like a great value. I have also paid more for toys at Walmart that have ended up tossed in a few weeks because my kids lost interest (or they broke!).

From my experience, Habbi Habbi has provided my family hours of educational entertainment, and I love watching how the kids play and interact with them in different ways. Let’s put it this way~ adding a new title to our collection will cost me less than a trip to Chick-Fil-A!

My Favorite Bilingual Sets

With over 48 books to choose from, it can be a little daunting knowing where to start! That’s why I love that Habbi Habbi provides a ‘Starter set’ that includes five board books and one Reading Wand.

The books in this set include word books, phrase books, and one of their sentences books – so you can see a range of their book types.

Book of First Words
Book of First Phrases
Book of Emotions
Foodie Friends
I am Kind

I also really love this set of Words & Phrases Set (10 Books, with Wand). Not only would it provide a really solid foundation to kickstart their language journey, but it includes some of my favorite titles, including a book about Animals, Body, Things That Go, and even Arithmetic! It also includes a book with Maps of the World, which I don’t have but that I’m so excited about. If you’re into geography, this is huge because the whole world is tappable!

If you are picking books out a la carte, here are some of my favorites (that I have) or ones that I am eyeing to add to my collection:

‘Animales, plantas y lugares (Animals, Plants & Places)’: My daughter is currently fascinated with animals, so this word book was a win for her! She loves tapping away at the beautiful illustrations of the many animals in different habitats, repeating all the names in Spanish.
‘Amo mi Cuerpo (I Love My Body)’: I already mentioned this. I love the precision in this book – you can literally tap something as small as the person’s nose, cheek, eyebrow, or forehead. Kids learn body parts, while hearing positive self talk about body image.
‘El libro de deberes’ (Book of Chores) & ‘Hábitos saludables’ (Healthy Habits): I have added to our wishlist, as she is becoming more independent and showing an interest in helping mommy with the daily chores like laundry and dusting. We are really excited to see what Santa brings!

This post is sponsored, but all opinions are my own. I only share about products that I use with my own children and love.

Keep Reading Related Posts:

The Ultimate Spanish Gift Guide 2021

Best Spanish Children’s Books for Beginners

Screen Free Spanish Resources for Kids

Corrie Wiik

Founder of the Llamitas Spanish® Curriculum and former Spanish teacher. Corrie holds a Masters in Spanish and Education and is raising bilingual children in San Diego, CA.

Llamitas Spanish.com