From Toy of the Year to Juvenile Justice: Why Language Access MATTERS
A class of English language learners crowd around the TA-DA! Talking Picture Dictionary, pointing at vocabulary images and listening together—captivated, collaborative, and deeply immersed, screen-free.
This week, a major U.S. city reached out to purchase 150 of our English Talking Picture Dictionaries—for their juvenile detention facility.
In the same week, we were named a finalist for Educational Toy of the Year.
That contrast stopped me in my tracks. I’ve lost sleep thinking about this.
When I started TA-DA!, I wanted to make language learning joyful and accessible.
Smart, screen-free talking books in multiple languages—tools kids could use through play.
Something easy. Something fun. Something real.
But the impact?
It’s reaching far beyond what I imagined.
Nonverbal learners
Neurodivergent children
Speech therapy students
Stroke survivors
Kids in detention.
Kids who’ve been left behind.
Kids who’ve been silenced.
It reminds me,
Language builds confidence.
And confident kids build stronger communities.
We’re having a lot of complex conversations in our world right now.
But in all the noise, we’re forgetting something basic:
The need to feel understood.
The need to belong.
We talk about test scores. We talk about benchmarks.
But we forget the power of a single word said out loud for the first time.
Or what it means to finally understand something that once felt foreign… overwhelming.
As a globetrotting language teacher, and now an expat raising a multilingual child, I promise you:
Language is where it starts.
The ability to ask for help.
To say who you are.
To understand where you are.
To be understood.
A young Spanish-speaking boy discovered the TA-DA! Talking Picture Dictionary on his own at an event and couldn’t stop playing—listening, smiling, and soaking up the joy of language. This is the power of access!
And when kids don’t have that? Everything else gets harder.
I built TA-DA! for kids like mine—
Kids who move and don’t always speak the language of the place they’re in.
Kids who feel too shy, too behind, too invisible.
Kids who need just one small win—one “I got that right!”—to feel brave enough to try again.
But now I see a deeper purpose:
Getting these tools into the hands of those still waiting to be heard.
That’s me, Michelle Glorieux, solo founder of TA-DA!, holding some of our talking language books, including the Educational product of the year award-nominated Talking Picture Dictionary.
TA-DA! is just me.
A mom. A teacher. A solo founder.
Running this from across time zones with a young (multilingual) child (in yet another new country…where ironically I don’t speak the language yet.
I don’t have an MBA. I don’t have a team of 50. (or 2)
But I do have passion.
I have resolve.
And I have a firm belief that this simple, screen-free tool can create real, lasting change.
It’s a $69 tool.
It delivers the foundation of a language—what so many never get.
No screens. No subscription. No prep.
Just touch a page. Hear a word. And they’re off! To answers, to skills that matter, all done via play, multisensroy immersion and screen-free means. To confidence. To connection.
But $69 is a lot for many.
And education budgets are being slashed.
So we’re doing our part.
Through May 1:
We’re donating to another juvenile facility in need
We’re giving away free printable play kits to anyone who asks
If this resonates, please share it.
The TA-DA! Talking Picture Dictionary—our screen-free, multisensory language tool—featured with the ASTRA 2025 Educational Toy of the Year Finalist badge.
Buy one. Gift one. Bring it to a space where kids must be seen. Where they deserve to feel seen
Your school.
Your daycare.
Your library.
Your community center.
Your juvenile facility.
This is a small action with big power to change lives.
And P.S. Spanish is almost ready.
We’ve begun working on the Mandarin, French and German Talking Dictionaries.
We’re just getting started.
Thank you for helping me do this work.
— Michelle Glorieux
Mama. Teacher. Founder & CEO TA-DA! Language Productions
#LanguageIsPower #ConfidenceThroughConnection #JuvenileJustice #EducationalEquity #SocialImpact #ForAllKids #ToolsThatMatter #SmallBusinessWithHeart
