From Publishers Weekly
Folk musician Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary fame) offers an appealing addition to his Peter Yarrow Songbook series (Favorite Folk Songs; Sleepytime Songs). The lyrics of 12 folk songs, rooted in several cultural traditions, are illustrated in Widener's simple yet resonant folk art style, which creatively mingles conventional, earth-toned scenarios (a cowboy on horseback gazes on grazing buffalo in the painting accompanying "Home on the Range") with images featuring vividly hued, fanciful flourishes (John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt sports yellow trousers and a red blazer and waves a feathered purple top hat). The songs likewise vary from the melancholy of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" to the tenacity of "We Shall Not Be Moved" to the playfulness of "Hey, Lolly, Lolly." The author provides guitar chords, historical notes and personal anecdotes for each song. On the included CD, Yarrow sings each song, accompanied by his talented daughter Bethany Yarrow and a quartet of children. An energetic and uplifting package. Ages 5-up.
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From School Library Journal
PreS Up—Identical in format to Yarrow's
Favorite Folk Songs and
Sleepytime Songs, both Sterling, 2008), this book and CD set presents 12 songs, first on colorful, individual spreads and then in a section of "Lyrics with Chords." The final section, "About the Songs," gives a brief history of each selection and sometimes a personal anecdote about its significance. Widener accompanies each song with a dramatic, occasionally whimsical, acrylic painting. The CD features Yarrow on lead vocals and guitar accompanied by his daughter Bethany, also on lead vocals. Longtime Peter, Paul, and Mary accompanist Dick Kniss provides a familiar-sounding back-up bass, while banjo, mandolin, and other acoustic folk instruments are played by virtuoso instrumentalist Paul Prestopino. Children singing background vocals help to make this an irresistible sing-along experience. Occasionally, thoughtful alterations make the lyrics gentler for young audiences or present a subtle political or ecological message. For example, in "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain," we will "get" rather than "kill" "the old red rooster (even though we will all have chicken and dumplings in the next verse), while "Oh, You Can't Get to Heaven" cautions listeners that you can't get there "on fossil fuel, cause the Lord's gone green cause he knows it's cool."
Let's Sing Together is sure to be greeted with enthusiasm in storyhours, classrooms, and family singing sessions.—
Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA END
