The Secret Mountain recently released Songs from a Journey with a Parrot, a storybook and music CD.
A collection of lullabies and nursery rhymes from Brazil and Portugal that invites children on an authentic musical journey exploring the strong cultural ties that bind the two countries. Traditional songs about everyday life, work and play, courtship and love, travel from Porto to Rio, from Lisbon to Bahia. The lyrics are presented in Portuguese and translated into English, followed by notes on the origin and cultural context of each song.
The accompanying CD features thirty traditional songs that blend samba, modinha, fandago and bossa nova, performed by a group of women, men and children. This uplifting, enchanting production, featuring several indigenous acoustic instruments, captures the meeting of rich and diverse styles.
Songs from a Journey with a Parrot is a wonderful collection to help children build a sense of curiosity about different cultures. The book is illustrated boldly with vibrant colours that cover from page to page and seem very true to the Portuguese culture.
I love that the book also contains both the Portuguese and English translation lyrics for children to follow along with and the notes regarding the origins of the songs are quite interesting and reveal unknown parts of the culture.
It is recommended for Children 2-8 years old which seems pretty spot on. The illustrations capture Keiras interest and the nursery rhymes are nice, short and rhythmic so they are able to actually hold her attention. Keira also really loves the music CD and frequently asks for me to put it on for us to dance and sing along to.
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Buy it: You can purchase this title direct through The Secret Mountain or through Amazon. List Price is 16.95 USD or 22.95 CDN. Also available in a digital download including printable PDF for 12.50 CDN.
Disclosure: I received the above mentioned product in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.
Elizabeth Lampman is a coffee-fuelled Mom of 2 girls and lives in Hamilton, Ontario. She enjoys travelling, developing easy recipes, crafting, taking on diy projects, travelling and saving money!
kathy downey
Friday 26th of September 2014
Thanks for the review,very interesting
Victoria Ess
Friday 31st of January 2014
This sounds lovely! Thanks for the review.
Maria Medeiros
Monday 27th of January 2014
Really beautiful!