An extraordinary repertoire: 28 Jewish nursery rhymes, lullabies and songs originating from the Ashkenaze, Sephardic and Yemenite communities, collected by Nathalie Sousanna and admirably illustrated by Béatrice Alemagna. The lyrics in Hebrew, Judeo-Spanish, Yiddish and Arabic are first reproduced in the original alphabets, then transcribed into Roman characters and translated into English. Additional notes on the origin and cultural context of each song as well as on the Klezmer music are also included. The sweet children's voices blending remarkably well with the adult's voices are to be noticed.

This storybook-CD combo is a Parent's Choice Gold Award winner. The collected songs are printed in English, Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish, and Yiddish. Because the songs come from a variety of cultures and are translated, the cadences vary widely, and rhyming is not always guaranteed. The pictures are collage-style media, with fun and detailed patterns creating a textured look with vibrant colors across the pages. The end of the book explains the history of the languages depicted, as well as sharing the history and development of the songs. The events and feelings the songs depict are things children and parents will both recognize, ranging from a child dreaming of his or her future, preparing a feast, feelings of love, celebration, and rites of passage in a child's life, among many more. Although the book can be read alone as a collection of stories presented in a poetic form, they are best read while listening to the music, as it brings the lyrics in the book to life.

Each song provides many learning opportunities for your child, who will very likely have a number of questions about the different languages, meaning of new words, and cultural variances. You can read the song, and then flip to the explanation in the back of the book to learn more about the song's history and interpretations. Each page is an independent song, with new content, style, and culture, so this book can be picked up and read in any order, or any number of songs at a time. You can challenge your little one analytically by asking them to tell you what the pictures or the song means to them - how would they interpret it? This encourages them to think about what they see and hear, but it also encourages imagination.

My four-year-old niece, Emily, received this book and CD combo as a gift. We read the book together over the course of about a week, reading a few songs at a time. We spent a good deal of time on each song, as Emily was bursting with questions. She loved seeing the different languages in writing and enjoyed the "cool new shapes!" Her favorite was the Hebrew song, "Lekha didi" because it showed a woman wearing a crown and said the word 'bride' in it, so Emily assumed she was a princess. Princesses rate very high in Emily's book.

--Audra

After successfully finishing her musical studies that earned her several prizes, Nathalie Soussana wrote and produced the shows A l'ombre de l'olivier, Romances de Paris and Silence on tourne and participated in the show Schubert et plus... si affinités staged at the Theatre du Renard in Paris. She is also author of the album Berceuses et comptines de Babouchkao, published by Didier Jeunesse.

Beatrice Alemagna has published over twenty albums and has been awarded several prestigious prizes: Figures Futur de Montreuil (France), Attention Talent-FNAC (France), Prix Octogones (France), Prix Andersen (Italy), Prix Chronos (France), two selections for the Prix Baobab du Salon du Livre jeunesse de Montreuil (France), the Bologna Ragazzi Award in Italy (special mention), Prix de l'album illustre de Rueil (France) and the Book Award in Taipei (Taiwan).

The Secret Mountain's music has touched the hearts of parents and children for years. With multiple awards from Parents' Choice, NAPPA and Juno Awards, the Montreal-based publishing house has made great children's entertainment that both kids and adults will love.