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Showing posts from December, 2013

No Time Like the Present

Give yourself and your baby a present.  Time together, apart-from-others time. No ring tones. No sass tones. No Ho! Ho! Ho!  Quiet, one-on-one book time, one-on-one look time. Sleepy head, head on shoulder time.  Quiet LOUD (2003) by Leslie Patricelli .

Song and Verse

There's still time! I traveled north this past Thanksgiving: 48 auto hours made possible by CD's, audio books and coffee, no cream, no sugar. A new purchase, You are My Little Bird (2006) by Elizabeth Mitchell, was among the mix. If you need a last minute baby gift, or clap happy entertainment for car seated little ones, this is it. You are My Little Bird is a compilation of children's folk songs sung in clear soft tones by Mitchell and friends. Most are in English, one is in Spanish, one in Japanese, one Korean. A favorite of mine, "Little Liza Jane," takes me back to Preservation Hall in New Orleans. Best books for very young babies carry rhythm and rhyme. Songs on paper. Young babies, ears awash in language sounds, face the daunting task of parceling and making sense of what they hear. Playful, beat-driven verse helps. Anthony Seeger, former Director Emeritus of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and You are My Little Bird 's producer, writes, M...