For Little Ears: Let the Good Times Rouler!
I love listening to music from all over the world as I chauffeur my family around on mundane errands.
It really has an extremely positive effect on my emotional well-being, much more so than listening to “kiddie music” replay continuously and wondering if my intelligence is decreasing.
Thankfully there is a vast selection of high quality “world music” recordings on the market that are appealing to children and adults; several such recordings can be found at The Secret Mountain!
Let the Good Times Rouler is a collection of French party songs for children produced by The Secret Mountain.
By “French Party songs” I am attempting to describe “Zydeco Music that makes me want to do a Cajun two-step (if only I knew what that looked like)”!
Officially called “Acadian” music, Let the Good Times Rouler! was recorded by French Canadian musicians (did you know French Canadians are ancestors of Cajuns?).
Let the Good Times Rouler! is a folksy-French collection that makes great use of harmonica, banjo, accordion, and guitar. These songs make it hard for me to be still — I feel compelled to pas de deux or play the spoons or grab a washboard!
I absolutely love this CD; the songs are catchy and fun, whimsical without being corny.
I also appreciate that this is bona fide GOOD music that is not commercialized. I feel like Let the Good Times Rouler! is a well-balanced musical health-food I can proudly serve to my children. All natural, no preservatives!
Here is a list of tracks:
1. Barati, Baratin [Chat, Chatter] - Yves Lambert
2. Sautons Sur le Carreau [Let's Jump on the Square] - Mes Aïeux,
3. Grève des Poules [The Chicken Strike] - Yann Perreau
4. Bal des Alligators [At the Alligator's Ball] - Geneviève Bilodeau,
5. Danse à Saint-Dilon [The Dance at Saint-Dilon] - Martin Léon,
6. Train du Nord [The North Train] - Catherine Durand
7. Marlo le Mouton [Marlo the Sheep] - Carmen Campagne
8. Petits Poissons de Madame Grumelette [Madame Grumelette's Little Fish] - Richard Desjardins
9. Mitaines Mitées [The Moth-Eaten Mittens] - Alain Lamontagne
10. Feu de Camp [Campfire] - Bïa et Thomas Hellman,
11. [CD-Rom Track] (you can print French and English translations of the lyrics!)
The vocals are all in French.
Barati, Baratin is one of my favorites not only because of the toe-tapping rhythm, but probably also because it employs the forgotten art of WHISTLING! I’m not ashamed to admit I have “played the drums” to this song on my steering wheel.
Let The Good Times Rouler! is educational because it is a tool for my to expose my children to a different language in a fun way. Nothing is really “taught” on the CD, aside from one counting song, but I have found that just having practice listening to a different language is beneficial for future language study.
Jojo started going to a French preschool when he was two, so I collected French children’s CD’s so that he would know the nursery songs used in his school.
Think about how a baby is an active listener for about a year before it even starts to speak simple words.
We are all born with the capacity to learn any language and make any sound.
Babies remember (learn) the sounds that are heard often, but forget sounds that aren’t used frequently (like a “rolling r” for example, used in Spanish but not English, or a “th”, used in English but not Chinese).
I think about this a lot because of my experiences trying to learn Chinese, Lao, Thai, and French as an adult.
I haven’t been to China in two years, and some of the only Chinese vocabulary I remember is from a pop song that I memorized while studying Mandarin (translation here if you are intrigued).
Besides the language, listening to world music with your children is a wonderful way to for your family to learn about diversity and develop an appreciation for different cultures.
I don’t know if we will ever get the chance to travel to a French-speaking country, but I’m all for letting Les Bon Temps Roulez (the good times roll)! Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh-hoh-hoh! (French laugh).
The Secret Mountain is giving away TWO copies of Let the Good Times Rouler! to TWO lucky Mom Most Traveled Readers!
To enter, visit The Secret Mountain and comment here mentioning the name of another book or CD from The Secret Mountain that you would like to know more about.
TWO WINNERS will be chosen at random.
*Congrats to Christine W (non blogger) and Charissa (non blogger)!*
I have some other great world music CD’s to share with you soon, so stay tuned!
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22 September 2008, 1:28 pm
A poodle in Paris
22 September 2008, 2:11 pm
A treasure in my garden.
22 September 2008, 2:29 pm
Dream Songs Night Songs sounds beautiful. Would like to know more.
22 September 2008, 3:23 pm
a treasure in my garden
22 September 2008, 3:44 pm
I would love to know more about the Dream Songs Night Songs from Belgium to Brazil.
22 September 2008, 5:00 pm
[...] 2008 If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Where: Mom Most Traveled What: Let the Good Times Rouler! CD : Cajun music for kids - 2 winners How To Enter: Leave a [...]
22 September 2008, 5:11 pm
Dream Songs Night Songs sounds dreamy.
22 September 2008, 5:12 pm
The ways I try t teach my kids about different cultures is introducing them to different foods from around the world.
22 September 2008, 5:12 pm
I am a subscriber
22 September 2008, 5:16 pm
Dream Songs Night Songs
22 September 2008, 5:23 pm
Down at the Sea Hotel with some artist that I recognize, I am already showing my 13 month old globes and maps to recognize the world is bigger than our house. In the future, I hope to have international friends over and then we could find their home country on our globe.
22 September 2008, 5:24 pm
I like the Dream Songs Night Songs, too - anything that helps my babies relax!
22 September 2008, 5:35 pm
Songs from Belgium to Brazil.
22 September 2008, 6:58 pm
I think the “A duck in NYC” sounds cute
22 September 2008, 8:39 pm
Dream Songs Night Songs from China to Senegal. How fun!
22 September 2008, 9:13 pm
Bonjour! I love the French language. My paternal grandmother came over on a cattle ship with her parents when she was 13 years old. She lived in Calais, France. My dad tells me that she spoke French better than English her whole life. I have taken two years of French and have been to Paris. My oldest son has had two years of French. My other son has started with Spanish. Another CD I would enjoy is the “A Treasure in my Garden!” Thanks for a great giveaway contest. Cindi
22 September 2008, 10:04 pm
I’d like to know more about Dream Songs Night Songs - From China to Senegal.
22 September 2008, 10:57 pm
A Duck In New York City sounds like a fun read! I’d go see a cute duck on Broadway.
22 September 2008, 11:17 pm
like a treasure in my garden
23 September 2008, 12:41 am
Dream Songs Night Songs
23 September 2008, 12:42 am
subscriber
23 September 2008, 1:48 am
A Duck in New York city?I never heard of it but i would love to read it.
23 September 2008, 2:03 am
I loved your review. I too listen to a lot of world music around here, rather than those kid CDs. I have a vow (albeit, probably a naive one) that we won’t buy any kids CDs, but rather will expose SoJo to our music. We’ll see if we keep to that.
The Dream Songs Night Songs sounds wonderful. I think it would be hard for me to keep it in SoJo’s bedroom…I’d want it myself!
Kathleens last blog post..Giveaway: Handwoven Market Basket from Ghana
23 September 2008, 2:46 am
Dream Songs Night Songs
23 September 2008, 2:48 am
Its great how music can really put in a good mood, give you energy and inspiration. Thanks for sharing this so that we can all lift our spirits
xoxo
Meaghan
http://www.cancerlost.blogspot.com
23 September 2008, 4:34 am
Dream Songs Night Songs
23 September 2008, 9:43 am
Dream Songs Night Songs sounds wonderful…thanks
23 September 2008, 1:32 pm
The Fabulous Song looks Fabulous! Our family would love to listen/read about the musical family.
23 September 2008, 10:51 pm
Lullaby Berceuse sounds like a nice soothing collection for night-night time.
23 September 2008, 10:52 pm
I am subscribed.
23 September 2008, 10:53 pm
I have an activity book that has all kinds of activities and recipes and crafts from many different cultures and so about twice a month we have a day devoted to that. Also, many universities sponsor lots of cultural offerings and we’ve been able to partake in lots of experiences that way.
24 September 2008, 1:34 am
dream songs, works for us
24 September 2008, 4:01 am
I like a Treasure in my Garden, it looks like a nice collection of songs
legacyofbrutalitysa{AT}gmail.com
24 September 2008, 4:01 am
I am a subscriber!
legacyofbrutalitysa{AT}gmail.com
24 September 2008, 4:01 am
I have you on my blogroll:Here
legacyofbrutalitysa{AT}gmail.com
24 September 2008, 4:04 am
I try to keep different cultures in our household by sharing what I know about other cultures, we also try to do theme night dinners where it all matches a certain country or region. I spent a good deal of my teen years in New Orleans and grew to love zydeco music, we especially like cajun night around here. If only my husband would pay attention long enough to cook jambalya it would be awesome. Then he would stop begging for cajun night and actually chip in
legacyofbrutalitysa{AT}gmail.com
24 September 2008, 1:00 pm
treasure in my garden
24 September 2008, 11:29 pm
Dream Songs Night Songs sounds lovely! I’m sure my little guy would agree! Thank you!
natasha_sacopaso[at]hotmail[dot]com
24 September 2008, 11:30 pm
I’m an email subscriber
24 September 2008, 11:32 pm
My dad is from the Philippines and I try to expose my little guy to as much of that culture as possible. I never learned how to speak my Dad’s dialect, but I am having him speak to my son in it whenever possible in hopes he will learn. I also encourage him to eat any traditional foods, and he has some really cute baby outfits from our relatives there!
natasha_sacopaso[at]hotmail[dot]com
24 September 2008, 11:39 pm
Nice one for the kids
25 September 2008, 6:39 am
Dream Songs Night Songs sounds sounds great.
25 September 2008, 7:53 am
A treasure in my garden for me
25 September 2008, 5:49 pm
Treasure in my Garden
26 September 2008, 3:56 am
I love the Let the Good Times Rouler because I’m a Cajun. Got to have the little ones two-stepping early in life.
I also think that the Lullaby Berceuse would be good.
26 September 2008, 3:58 am
I have friends from many different cultures so it has been easy to teach my son. We also listen to music from all parts of the world.
26 September 2008, 8:38 pm
Treasure in my garden
27 September 2008, 7:37 pm
a duck in new york city
28 September 2008, 1:54 am
treasure in my garden
28 September 2008, 9:21 pm
Poodles in paris looks great!
Ginnys last blog post..Sarah Palin Fans ~ Shoe Sighting + More fun
28 September 2008, 9:22 pm
For different cultures, we try to read books. I also try to do crafts, etc when other cultures do holidays etc. Kid craft sites & even kid preschool websites are great for finding info. We also have a few muscial cd’s similar to this, I know one is an African music cd. The library is great for learning other cultures as well.
Ginnys last blog post..Sarah Palin Fans ~ Shoe Sighting + More fun
30 September 2008, 1:27 am
How cool!
30 September 2008, 3:48 pm
Dream Songs-Night Songs looks interesting!
30 September 2008, 3:48 pm
I am a subscriber!
30 September 2008, 11:35 pm
Treasure in My Garden
01 October 2008, 6:29 am
I would have to say Dream Songs Night Songs, thank you