“Songs in the Shade of the Flamboyant Tree: French Creole Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes” is a hardcover book illustrating the 30 folk songs on its accompanying CD that are a welcome departure from our usual diet of kindie rock. The tunes are recorded with acoustic instruments and sung in French Creole by adults and kids.
Author Chantal Grosleziat explains that up until the 1980s, Creole — derived from French, African languages, and Amerindian terms — was “banned in church, on the radio, in government, and especially in school.” The CD preserves the Creole songs that celebrate life’s passages and rituals from the tropical isles of Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, and Reunion.
The publisher, Secret Mountain, claims that “Songs in the Shade” is appropriate for 2- to 7-year-olds, but we advise parents to page through the illustrations by Laurent Corvaisier before showing it to their children, because some could be frightening to sensitive kids in the same way that some English nursery rhymes have alarming narratives.
The translations and notes in the book help parents to explain the meaning of the songs, and the music can certainly be enjoyed without the provocative illustrations.
“Songs in the Shade of the Flamboyant Tree: French Creole Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes” book with CD, $16.95. Visit www.amazon.com.
