That's My Piano, Sir!

 

That’s My Piano, Sir! Written by Ana Gerhard. Illustrated by Marie Lafrance. Book with CD (approx. 11 minutes). The Secret Mountain. 2020. 32 p. $16.95. Ages 7 – 9.

            Based on a real event in the life of 6-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, this story is told by Minim, a little orange-brown mouse wearing a charcoal overcoat, who loves cheese and music. The Mozart family arrives by ship to Vienna, and as they are disembarking, a couple of dock workers drop the crate/piano belonging to the Mozarts. Fortunately, it is not damaged, and when set up, Wolfgang takes out his violin, his sister Nannerl sits at the piano, and together they play Sonata for Piano and Violin KV.8, 1^st Movement. Everyone is cheered up, including Minim, whose image appears on most of the pages of the book. After actor/narrator Colm Feore (The Sum of All Fears, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, House of Cards) finishes his expressive reading, the chamber orchestra I Musici de Montréal performs Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (The Little Night Music) K.525, 4^th Movement. (I Musici de Montréal gives outstanding performances on both pieces of music). The back matter includes a few more details about Mozart. Inserted into the CD pocket is a flyer with a unique code for the digital download of the recordings. The first in a planned series, “Little Stories of Great Composers,” this book and CD are an excellent introduction to Mozart for young elementary students. 

Website: https://www.thesecretmountain.com/

Sing Out!

 

Sing Out! Six Classic Folk Songs for Tomorrow. Performed by Sin and Swoon. Illustrated by Sophie Casson. Book with CD (approx.. 17 minutes). The Secret Mountain, 2020. 156 p. $16.95. 978-2-924774-85-4. Preschool-Kindergarten

    This picture book presents six traditional songs, three of which were published as individual picture books in 2018. I reviewed those three books in this blog on November 18, 2018: “Pop Goes the Weasel,” “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain,” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” The other three songs in this volume are “Little Bingo,” “This Old Man,” and “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.”

The book is illustrated with brightly colored, stylized, and folksy illustrations. Each page contains a verse or a phrase from the song. The print is large, so that beginning readers would be able to read the words while listening to the music. On the CD, excellent background musicians perform on acoustic and electric guitars, bass, banjo, mandolin, lapsteel, kora, trombone, trumpet, accordion, and drums and percussion. The vocalists sing beautifully, clearly enunciating the words. Each of the songs is in a musical style suited to the song; i.e., “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain” is a toe-tapping bluegrass song featuring tight harmonies. “Little Bingo,” with dog howls, is a bouncy rock song with rhyming words: bing-o, ring-o, king-o, etc. “This Old Man,” in folk rock style, counts up to ten. “Pop Goes the Weasel,” is an upbeat, fast accordion folk piece. “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” is a fun country tune. “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” is a soft folk song accompanied by a quiet acoustic guitar, and light, clear female vocals.

Inserted into the CD pocket is a flyer with a unique code for the digital download of all recordings and a printable file of the illustrated lyrics. This book and the songs are great resources for passing along traditional songs to the next generation.  

Website: https://www.thesecretmountain.com/

A Mind of Your Own

 

A Mind of Your Own. Performed by The Bright Siders. CD. Approx. 39 min. Smithsonian Folk Ways Recordings. 2021. CD: $20.00. Ages 5—10.

The brain child of Kristin Andreassen, songwriter, and Kari Groff, MD, child psychiatrist, and ten years in the making, this album’s goal is to help children connect to their emotions. An excellent line up of vocalists  perform the 11 original songs, some featuring lovely harmonies: The War & Treaty, Kristin Andreassen, Ed Helms, Kaia Kater, Oh Pep!, Gaby Moreno, Joey Ryan, Gabe Witcher, Zara Bode, Aaron Jonah Lewis, and Punch Brothers. In addition several children add their enthusiastic voices to the songs. The instrumentalists perform with excellence on various guitars, bass, mellotron, fiddle, banjo, violin, mandolin, organ, piano, drums and percussion. Bluegrass, pop, classic rock, and hard rock are only a few of the musical styles performed. Eight brief spoken skits introduce some of the songs. “The Song About Songs” explains that what makes a song a song is that you sing it and feel good. When children are having “The Mad Day,” they learn to calm down by taking deep breaths, letting them out slow, and letting the anger go. “Sad Is Not Forever” advises children to do something they think is fun to chase away the lonely blues. Make new friends while keeping the old “Forever Friends.” When you feel left out and excluded, “You Do You,” because you are cool anyway. “Vamos a Jugar” features a Spanish speaker and an English speaker sharing with each other the names of playground equipment in each language. Although life may seem like “Jumping Through Hoops,” you can always come out the other side. “Oops! I Made a Mistake” and can’t get it out of my brain. “The Moon & the Stars & Me” are watching over the world until the sun comes back. “Bully This” explains that bullies are not brave or cool, and that you are not their walking mat. The album ends with a reprise of “The Song About Songs.” The accompanying booklet includes activities that parents can do with their children that relate to each song, making this album an excellent resource for parents; while the appealing, catchy songs and skits will be enjoyed by both generations.

Website: https://www.thebrightsiders.com/