I seriously ♥ Putumayo’s world music CDs. I have such warm memories of brilliant night’s in our London flat drinking wine and listening to World Lounge, Music from the Coffee Lands and Samba Bossa Nova while we solved all the world’s problems.
When I discovered that Putumayo also do children’s CDs I was intrigued – would the world music concept work and would kids get it? Well the answer is Yes! and Yes! (Or Oui! and Si!) The CDs breakdown into two slightly different categories – Playground and Dreamland. With the latter focusing on “tranquil melodies of beautiful lullabies and soothing songs” and the former on more fun and upbeat songs.
I was very excited when I was sent European Playground to review. Having lived in Europe I wondered how the different cultures would be represented so we slipped it into the car’s CD player as soon as we could. First off I noted that the CD has 15 songs on it (from 15 countries) so there is a lot of variety, which is great. Secondly, none of the songs are too long so you don’t get stuck in a strange loop. Thirdly, we loved that some of the songs had familiar tunes and in almost all cases you could hear cultural folk references in the music – a wonderful way to expose kids to different music styles. And finally, as my husband pointed out one of the nicest things about the CD is that because the songs aren’t overly familiar (like say, The Wheels On The Bus for example) so you don’t feel like you’ve heard something a thousand times the first time you play it.
The CD comes with a multilingual booklet that teaches kids something about the song’s country of origin, as well as a bit of information on the song or the musicians themselves. I was going to say that the only thing that disappointed me was that the translation of the lyrics weren’t included, but when I went onto the Putumayo site to look for more info on the CD I saw that they are indeed available (under the “About European Playground” headline!). I think this is a fabulous addition and a great way to introduce kids to other languages, cultures, and musical styles.
With over 17 different kids titles available (we’re also enjoying Celtic Dreamland and African Playground) there is definitely something for everyone and we can’t recommend them enough!
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Emily is very proud to be one of the Spilt Milk Moms ‘founding mothers’ as well as being Mama to “Little Miss” (who was born in August 2009) and Wifelet to her Husbando. She spent seven years living in London which helped her to develop a keen eye for amazing products from around the world. As an actress and producer, Emily ensured her place in hell with over 3 years in children’s advertising (her job was “to create want where there is no need!”) but looks to undo the damage by finding the best things around for mamas and little ones. Emily is always ready with fresh baking, a silly song, or a glass of chardonnay and is renowned for always being overdressed and having a killer collection of heels that she’s not afraid to wear (even whilst babywearing!). You can also find her on her personal blog Aprons & Heels ~ emily (at) SpiltMilkMoms (dot) com |
I work with kids aged 18mths to 12 years, one of my classes being a preschool class for 2 year olds. I had purchased the Children’s Christmas cd about 8 years ago and loved it, so purchased a few more…loved them all!
A few months ago I wanted to spice up our regular kids music for the class, as much as I love Sharon Lois & Bram (their best of is one of my fave), I could only listen to “Peanut, peanut butter & Jelly” so many times without going insane!!!! So walking through a fantastic downtown store, I saw a display of a few Putumayo cd’s, I instantly grabbed the Reggae one and bought it. AS soon as I got back to work, I threw it on and absolutley fell in love!!!! It is the kids favorite cd that I play now, and often at clean up time, we have to take a few extra minutes to let the circle of toddlers by the cd player finish their little dance time. I quite often catch a few parents dancing in their seats during snack, in particular one of the little guys grandpa’s! I cannot say enough about these cd’s…..even the school age kids enjoy it, when I can convince them to turn off Hannah Montanna…
[...] Family Christmas is a charming CD from wonderful company Putumayo (we’ve reviewed their CD European Playground previously) with something for everyone. From the soft country stylings of Deana Carter singing [...]