Summoning the Phoenix

Summoning the Phoenix: Poems and Prose About Chinese Musical Instruments 
By Emily Jiang
Illustrated by April Chu


Twelve children assemble, one by one, with their musical instruments, to perform on stage. Thirteen poems capture the mood via upbeat free verses that let us peek into each of the performer's preparations and rehearsals, set in imagined and real landscape.

The illustrations are breathtaking, with nuances tucked in that speak to the talent of Ms.Chu. The title page shows a concert hall lobby full of expectant audience looking through the program sheets and clustering in small groups, waiting for the doors to open. That sets the stage.

From Ehru to Paigu, the poems show the children talking about their instrument in a loving way, with notes on the side to help us learn about these ancient musical instruments, including the percussion instruments at the end.

Ruan (roo-an) is the younger child's favorite, dubbed Chinese banjo by the kid; whereas Xiao (shao) is easily the older child's favorite thanks to the legend about its magical powers of summoning the phoenix. The illustrations for the Xiao poem is magical.

The poem for Guzheng (goo-zeng), a large stringed instrument, evokes an idyllic natural setting of mountains and waterfalls; and the illustration for it is out of this world.

While the instruments are all traditionally Chinese, the modern-day children playing these instruments are depicted with varying ethnicities and ages, adding to the multicultural richness of the reading experience.

Reading Emily Jiang's Favorite Bit of the book gives that much-coveted backstage pass access to the coming together of two brilliant minds, albeit independently, to create this thing of beauty.

This post written for Saffron Tree's Children's Book Week celebration.


[Disclosure: Although I received this book as a free review copy, the decision to share it and the views expressed here are entirely my own.]

[image source: Lee & Low Books]

Caspar Babypants in person

After Oggie's obsession with Caspar Babypants'  Sing Along! CD song collection, it was only natural that we don't miss the chance to meet the musician in person when he is in town.

Caspar (Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America) was at Powell's City of Books with his wife Kate Endle, doing a story time of their latest book Augie to Zebra.

Kate's illustrations are fabulous, my first intro to her style was the cover of the Sing Along! CD, and she has an etsy store to sell her print as well.

They are both so unassuming and easy to talk to, very sociable and thoroughly professional. I was glad to have met them and talked to them briefly.

Turns out Augie in the book is Caspar's son's name and sure enough it was interesting when Oggie introduced himself as "Oggie" to Caspar eliciting a, "No Way! That's my son's name too!"

The book Augie to Zebra has short alliterative sentences for each letter of the alphabet, with a name, an animal and an action. Like, Josie jams with jaguars, Pasquale paints with panda and so on. The names were interesting, drawn from around the world, as were the animals.

They also read from their other books, set to music, sung by Caspar. It was a short presentation, at the end of which they had a Q&A session where kids asked all sorts of questions which they answered with care and humor. Og's question was "How do you sing?" which was artfully answered by Caspar.

And that was not all, Caspar was performing his popular songs later that afternoon, which we couldn't miss. My favorite I Want To Be A Snowman and Og's favorite Butterfly Driving A Truck were performed, among other favorites, to a wonderfully bouncy audience made up equally of kids and adults.

We did manage to get a copy of his CD autographed.

After jamming with Nirvana and Pearl Jam, it must've been quite a transformation to create a different kind of music that appeals so much to the kids, but is unlike the banal and boring songs that is promoted under the kids' music genre...

What impressed me the most was how they were both doing what they love to do and are so good at it. They hung in there, through ups and downs and continued to follow their heart, their passion and bring joy to so many others.

Here Comes Science

Here Comes Science CD + DVD
by They Might Be Giants


Following the Caspar Baby Pants Sing Along CD fever, things gradually slowed down for a while in the musical immersion department. An occasional Beatles favorite or the CDs that came along with the books we borrowed from the library (esp., Crocodile Smile), was all they requested, nothing caught the kids' fancy much, but they liked listening to them nonetheless.

But not for long... Here Comes Science album by They Might Be Giants is the latest obsession with the 4 yo and the 7 yo, although each enjoys it in their own way, based on their exposure and experience.

Ana enjoys almost all the songs, her top favorite being What Is A Shooting Star? with Meet The Elements coming a close second -something about the tunes resonated with her, and then the words of course.

Og's favorite songs are How Many Plantes?,  I am a Paleontologist, and Blood Mobile, in addition to the two above that are Ana's favorites. It wasn't a surprise as planets and outer space related things seem to interest him at this stage.

The music did not quite resonate with me the way it did for the kids, but that's probably because I am a jaded adult. However, I do love that the lyrics actually teach kids something useful. And I smile inwardly when I hear, "I LOVE Science, Mama, it is so much fun!" from the 4 yo who probably doesn't yet quite grasp what science is :)

We were enjoying the audio CD for a week and waited until the weekend (when it is a "Watch Day") to play the DVD, which was an instant hit with its brilliant animation. Oggie is now aware of why we have blood and what it does in our body, thanks to the catchy Blood Mobile song.

Before this becomes history, I wanted to record it here, not just for looking back, but also to thank the wonderful musicians who bring so much joy and excitement to my kids. (I did correspond with Caspar Babypants and got a sweet and prompt response back!)

Caspar Babypants Sing Along!

Sing Along!
Music Album, audio CD
by Caspar Babypants


Ordinarily, I don't get around to sharing the music that kids are into currently. Sure, a particular song gets played ad nauseum until something else replaces it. C'est la vie.

I may not always see why they like that particular song,  or, at times, I do manage to see why and encourage it, but music is such an integral part of life that I am glad the kids get into it no matter the genre - and that includes the much-maligned 'kids music'.

I grew up with music - classical and wonderfully creative film numbers. I didn't worry about genres and styles - if it made me move, if it stirred my soul, if it made me laugh, if it made me cry, if it made me jump and skip, if it affected me in any way at all, it was good music. It's only when I started paying attention to lyrics when I was older that I started squirming with discomfort at times, but, the tunes are still very precious.

Every once in a while I manage to mention it in passing when something becomes a disturbing (as if there is any other kind) obsession, especially if it is an entire CD album - like , Blue Moo Jukebox Favorites, Burl Ives Favorites for Children and Songs of Wild Birds.

And in that spirit, I could not let this recent enchantment with Caspar Babypants' Sing Along!  album pass by unsung. It has become a phenomenal chart-topper at home over the last couple of weeks that I am not sure what to make of it.

We've listened to Caspar Babypants This Is Fun CD - it had a couple of songs that Oggie liked - viz., All You Pretty Babies, Baby's Getting Up; and Speedy Centipede made an impression when we read Creepy Creatures Centipedes by Valerie Bodden. But nothing nearly as influential and entertaining as the ones in CB's Sing Along! CD.

Oggie claims all 20 songs in the CB Sing Along! CD are his favorites and proceeds to order them from the 'first favorite' to the 'twentieth favorite'. It scares me a bit when he rattles off all the words to all the 20 songs - after all it is called Sing Along! and that is exactly what he does.

Ana is a bit more selective - she is obsessed with Baby Cloud. And then, in that order, I Want To Be A Snowman and My Flea Has Dogs.

If you do get to sample just the audio, you might see why my favorites in this CD are:
I want to be a snowman
Baby Cloud
Bad Blue Jay

The visuals interfere with the processing of just the music, so feel free to look away from the video while sampling the music in the youtube links above.

Some of the traditional tunes have been given a fresh life with creative lyrics and some wonderful musical arrangement. I enjoyed reading about the stories behind each of the songs in this CD. Yay to musicians!

I fell in love with Kate Endle's artwork on the Sing Along! CD album cover, and went on to discover some cute children's books she has created.

[image source: amazon.com]

The Songs of Wild Birds

The Songs of Wild Birds
(Book and CD)
by Lang Elliott

Published by: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Ages: 0+ (CD), All ages

Not often do I come across non-fiction books on Creatures of Nature, not targeted for children, that manage to capture and impress both the 3 and the 6 year old. And, blow me away at the same time.

Well-known sound recordist, writer and photographer Lang Elliott has exercised his magic all over us, or rather, I should say his Song Birds have.

This book and CD combination is a treasure for bird lovers, especially lovers of song birds native to North America.

The Songs of Wild Birds book has full page photos of 50 native songs birds, with one page description of each of the birds' calls and habits. That in itself might not have held the attention of the 3 year old, but the accompanying Audio CD certainly did.

With his gentle voice and unassuming tone, Lang Elliott introduces us to the world of beautiful music in nature, made by the wild song birds.

When I was young, song birds used to conjure up images of nightingales, warblers, jays, singing melodies somewhere out in the wilderness, even if I had no idea what the birds looked like other than the illustrations I had chanced upon in rare picture books.

Thanks to Ana's teacher, who pointed us to this book, both Ana and Og have actively learnt about some of the native birds, why they sing their songs, what exactly is their song, and how to identify some of the birds and their calls.

Judging by the fact that from the first week of June to-date of listening to the hour-plus CD daily in part or whole - either during commute or at bedtime, or simply for an afternoon Quiet Time, along with the book in hand turning the page to match the bird that Elliott shares in the CD - I am convinced this book sure seems magical to my 6-year old.

Especially when it came right at the heels of our own backyard wild birds study, particularly the Northern Flicker.

And, when I hear, "That looks like a Common Loon, Mama" or, "I think I heard a Red-Tailed Hawk screech, Mama" from the 3 year old when we are out in the trail nearby, I smile quietly, thanking Lang Elliott for introducing my kids to something beautiful. Even if there are no Red-tailed Hawks nearby and it was probably the call of a jay.

What is your favorite bird call? has been a frequent question at home for the past few weeks. And the kids' answer changes week to week depending on the mood. "My favorite is the Black-throated Green Warbler, Mama" says Ana, while Oggie chimes in, "My favorite is Barred Owl, Mama, he says Who Cooks For You?".

And sure enough, Lang Elliott makes it easy to remember some of the distinct sounds of these wild birds by providing a verbal/textual equivalent.

What's mine, you ask? Well, my all-time forever favorite from this book of 50 bird calls is that of the American Bittern. No contest. The sound-recording in the CD is amazing (compared to the youtube link here, I mean) - the oong-ka-choonk is so unique that it is hard to mistake it for any other call. And, the fact that the American Bittern is fondly nicknamed "thunder pumper" makes it hard to not pick this as my favorite.

The trivia that Elliott peppers the CD with did not go unnoticed. I heard Ana, on more than one occasion, state excitedly to whoever happens to pay attention at that time, that while her favorite is the Bald Eagle, its call is not. And proceed to elaborate:

"It makes a funny chirping sound. The movie people got it wrong. They play a screeching scary bird call and show the bald eagle up in the sky. It is actually the red-tailed hawk that makes that screeching sound. Red-tailed Hawks often fly near where Bald Eagles fly".

Of course, not that this in itself is not plenty, but, what made this book extra special to me is that it inspired Ana to draw these birds. She is not exactly a gifted drawing artist, although I believe drawing comes with training; but, she loves to draw, color, paint, make art, and that's what matters to me. Not the end product. At least, not at this time.

So, when she picks up the book, turns to a favorite page, and tries to draw the bird on the white board with a limited palette of markers, I wait till she is done and start clicking them before she erases that one and moves on to another one she'd like to try her hand at.

So what if her Seeder Waxwing doesn't quite look the original or her goldfinch is orange and black, right?

Lang Elliott has brought out many books along similar vein. Visit Lang Elliott's Books site for details. Along with his friends he has established a non-profit called The Music of Nature, which is, "dedicated to celebrating nature through the presentation of powerful media, especially high definition videos, sound recordings, photographs, and associated text."

Down With Darkness, Up With Light

Otherwise known as "The Lantern Song", Down with Darkness has been ringing in our house for the last couple of weeks thanks to a school tradition for the kindergartners around this time every year in Ana's school.

Kindergartners make and decorate their own paper lanterns and do the Lantern Walk: hold a lit candle in the paper lantern, in the dark auditorium full of doting family and friends, and walk a full circle singing this song with such spirit that makes me hold my breath and wipe away the tears every time I watch it.

And this time, I had a huge big lump in my throat as Ana walked around with her lantern singing this beautiful song.

Winter Solstice and some sort of mid-winter celebration has been a tradition for many cultures around the world for centuries. Many schools adopt this Lantern Walk tradition, including Waldorf. There are possibly numerous undertones and religious connotations to these lyrics that make many people uncomfortable.

I neither support nor dismiss these mystic associations, nor endorse the anthroposophical philosophy in the context of this particular song, as it doesn't matter to my children at this point. The words, taken literally, without any hidden agenda, can be beautiful - especially "Each of us is one small light, But together we shine bright".

Having chanted this Sanskrit verse practically all my life, knowing the meaning and interpretation, I was wondering how to teach something like this to Ana without overwhelming her:

Asato ma Sad gamaya
Tamaso ma Jyotir gamaya
Mrityor ma Amritam gamaya
Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi

Meaning of the phrases:
Asato-from unreal; ma-me;
Sad-to the real; gamaya-lead;
Tamaso-from darkness (of ignorance); ma-me;
Jyotir-to light; gamaya-lead;
Mrtyoh-from death; ma-me;
Amrtam-immortality; gamaya-lead;

Overall meaning:
Lead me (by giving knowledge) from the unreal to the real;
from darkness (of ignorance) to the light (of knowledge);
from death (sense of limitation) to immortality (limitless
liberation). -- India Divine

While entirely different in context, Ana seems to have her own simple interpretation of this song, singing joyously, just taking the words at face-value:

Down with Darkness (youtube video) by Emanuel Amiran
Down with darkness, up with light,
Up with sunshine, down with night.
Each of us is one small light,
But together we shine bright.
Go away, darkest, blackest night,
Go away, give way to light!

Burl Ives Favorites for Children

On a whim, I had picked up Burl Ives Favorites for Children a couple of months back...

D, with his banjo playing and bluegrass leanings, inadvertently helped me open up to and enjoy folk music (although I admit, it is not my favorite, thanks to growing up with sublime Carnatic Music). So we dutifully and enthusiastically introduced folk/bluegrass music to Ana at about two-ish and I still can picture her bobbing and swaying to a superbly energetic rendition of Little Sadie at the Chinook Salmon Festival Oxbow Park.

Now not all folk singers are alike (thankfully) and not all folk music is charming - at least in my mind. The same song by different performers have a different appeal. Each rendition, with its arrangement and nuances, of a particular song, seems to resonate differently even with the same cross-section of the audience. Anyway, what I am driving at is that Burl Ives' rendition of the four songs and stories in this CD collection has captured our hearts forever.

The CD is a collection of four stories and four songs, one song following one story. Each story is short and is narrated with a charming folksy edge that it is hard to restrict it to kids. Now the song that follows the story is basically about that story, set to music, with cleverly constructed lyrics that make some of the folk songs so cheeky and masterful at the same time.

My favorite song therein, the one I listened in repeat-mode for days even when kids weren't around, is The Tailor and the Mouse. The voice, the inflection, the arrangement, the tempo, the bare-yet-typical lyrics, and the mood - cheery, playful, light, all fit perfectly to make this brilliant for me. I admit, I am not sold on the Hi Diddle Dee songs and have heard my share of them that grew stale at the first listen, but, there's something about this particularly spare lyrics and Ives' style that made a deep impression. Perhaps it was the timing and the mood that did it for me.

And, incidentally, as a grad student, I was a die-hard fan of Pinky And The Brain show on TV right from its debut day. I remember raving about it to one and all. Many of my friends then dismissed it as cartoon for kids. Oh, but it was not. It was just brilliant. Anyway, it was short-lived and after the show went off the air, I have tracked down episodes, watching them on and off. I was pleasantly surprised to revisit this particular episode, especially right after I was smitten with Burl Ives' delivery of Tailor And The Mouse.

Also in the CD, Ives' presentation of the popular Mr.Froggy Went A-Courtin' is superb - the little touches in the arrangement and his power as a folksinger make this the best version of the song I have heard. So far. And it is very rewarding to catch Oggie humming along "Mhmm, Mhmmm, Mhm" at the right places in the song, making his best impression of a bobble-head doll.

Ana's favorites happen to be the Sailor And The Crocodile, as well as The Witch At The Well, story and song. The Witch At The Well, the first story in the CD, caught Ana's attention right away. And, she picked up the song easily - suitably substituting the words she couldn't quite catch from the CD.

Now, being terribly busy, D barely gets to keep up with what the kids do. Unless I supply a sort of daily highlights (usually via email as we are all in bed when he gets home and he is out by 5 am, before we wake up), he probably would miss a lot of things that kids do... and he does manage to catch up on certain weekends, dedicating a few hours to spend exclusively with them... and, of course, he feels all caught up now with the recent Spring Break :)

Anyway, one Friday evening when the CD had just come into her life, Ana sang along with Ives fairly nonchalantly, as if this was something secondary to munching her popcorn on and off, very neatly rendering the song, copying Ives with careless ease, while Oggie bobbed up and down and all around matching the tempo. D was flabbergasted! I have no idea if I was beaming, but I am sure I wanted to when I caught his quizzical expression and held up the CD cover for him, by way of explaining the evening's entertainment by his very own budding folksinger and her tag-along enthusiast :)

Blue Moo: 17 Jukebox Hits From Way Back Never

Blue Moo: 17 Jukebox Hits From Way Back Never
by Sandra Boynton

Sandra Boynton's books are clever and usually quite well-received by Ana. But, I wasn't quite sure if this particular book and CD set would be well-received, considering that the book is a bit... ummm... how shall I say... different?

I was not prepared for the sweeping endorsement for the music CD that came with the book though. It has gotten to a point of becoming an obsession with Ana. I am not sure what exactly she loves about this Blue Moo... especially since it seems to be geared towards older readership... looks like Everything about it is fascinating to my wee little 2¾ year old!

So much so that, even during the short ride to daycare each morning, she insists on listening to her favorite number(s) by The Uninvited Loud Precision Band on the music CD. Since D taught her to simply call it "March", after the style of music it is reminiscent of, the minute Ana is strapped in the car seat, she squeals repeatedly, "Appa, March! March, please!" until we play the CD. In repeat mode, of course :)

Now, I am trying to convince myself that it is the overplaying, but somehow, the boisterous, loud, catchy, upbeat numbers by The Uninvited Loud Precision Band as they parade (uninvited, of course) through your living room, your kitchen, your grocery store aisles (alphabetically marching from Rows A through Z) has become my reluctant favorite as well.

And, when we do play it at home, she marches around in circles till she is almost sweating from all the exertion!

Never thought she was one for old surf music, but, all on her own, after listening to it a few times, Ana picked up the title words to Speed Turtle sung by Brian Wilson (Beach Boys!) and started practicing it as a duet, with D or I supplying the rest of the few lines we know while she strategically blurts out "Speed Turtle" at the right pauses we make in the rendition :)

We don't get to play much of the other songs in the CD as Ana prefers to be stuck in a loop that repeats the 3 or 4 pieces by The Uninvited Loud Precision Band...

Thankfully, the book/CD is due back at the library soon and I am hoping to get some respite, and finally erase the constant replay of it in my head all through my work day!