Customer Reviews

Songs in French for Children

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This album was to my Mother Goose years (early 50's) what The Beatles'"Sergeant Pepper" was to the sixties: a landmark. It was produced by Columbia Records for the US Market and used an unlikely quintet: Les Quatre Barbus, a group of four existentialist-type bearded lads who opened for the likes of Boris Vian and Juliette Greco in the heady days of the St-Germain-des-Pres chansonniers, and Lucienne Vernay, a soft-spoken, smoky-voiced chanteuse. The result was dynamite and the songs used were very eclectic. There is one song by surrealist cult-figure Robert Desnos (absurdist but childlike, music by Joseph Kosma) and one song by perennial bohemian Georges Brassens (absurdist and cynical, but it is about the death of a female duck so it does qualify as a children's song). There are two translated American songs (Three Little Pigs and Old MacDonald Had a Farm). All the other songs are a mixture of French folklore and contemporary writing. The only major children's masterpiece of the era that is missing from the collection is "Une chanson douce" by Henri Salvador, but that's another story and he is also represented on this collection... The interpretation is fresh, the songs being handled by Lucienne alone when they are sentimental, Lucienne and the boys when they are folkloric and the boys alone when they are rowdy. What makes this album such a success is the imagination displayed in the production, recording techniques and orchestrations. There is always something mysterious, unexpected or simply wonderful going on in the background to make the stories engaging and the songs are not only sung, they are acted with the greatest of skill. It is a delight to hear those songs over and over again and they grow in profundity, significance and polish as you grow older (and you compare them to the usual caca that passes for children's entertainment these days). I will never know what American children of the 50's made of these songs (there was no English lyrics sheet enclosed, only liner notes) but I do know that as a French-speaking child in pre-Quiet Revolution Quebec, growing up in a sea of English at the time, it was a blessing. It should be noted that this album is still sold in France, 50 years later, under its English title. [...]

Very charming. The singing is clear and the singers add cute sounds in the background (le petit train has train sounds in the song). My only negative comment is that no written lyrics came with the CD. I speak French well, but am not a native French speaker so have difficulty gleaning the words from the songs alone. My 3 year old daughter really likes the songs and keeps asking me for the words in English, and it is frustrating not to be able to provide them immediately. I'm sure I can figure them out with some work, though. If lyrics had been provided with the CD I would have given this CD 5 stars. The price was right too!

These songs are universally appealing to the 2 - 6 y.o. age group to whom I teach French. The arrangements are clear, sparkling, and very entertaining. The gregarious spirit of the album draws kids into repeating and singing along with little concern for content. As they become more interested and start asking questions, parents can find lyrics, and in some cases history, of these classic songs by entering titles into an international search engine.

The songs are sung by adult singers, not a children's choir, and the voices are beautiful. That's why I can use the CD for beginning learners of French in a college classroom.
The songs are not just sung, one after the other. They are also a little bit acted out, with the interjection of voices and animal sounds that can be funny, instead of embarassing, to young adults. The CD is not just kids singing children's songs. It has more surprises, is more playful, a bit funny, so that kids and adults can enjoy it.
Good selection of songs. Nothing primitive or basic about it.

I am so glad I bought this and will buy it as gifts for others. The musical arrangements are lovely (to mother, young child, and baby) and Lucienne Vernay has such a beautiful, clean and simple voice. What a delight to listen to.

Our three boys (6y, 4y, and 2y) *love* this cd! We listen to it almost every day. The music is cheerful and gentle and the singers are pleasant to listen to.

I thought the songs/tunes were very nice but couldn't understand most of the lyrics even though I took years of French in college and high school. My daughter (6) doesn't seem to care. Wish I could find more bilingual songs -- I highly recommend Global Village Kids Sing and Learn CD -- they have nursery rhymes in French and English. Since the words are familiar to my daughter, she can pick up the French meaning. Does anyone know of any more bilingual music like that?

I bought this CD to introduce my daughter to French. I am a French teacher but I find it unnatural to speak to her in French (I am not a native speaker, and never spoke it at home) so I needed a way to bring French into our everyday interaction. Believe it or not, but I started playing this CD to my daughter when she was only two months old. For a month straight, all we did was sing and dance to this CD, and now that she is six months old, she still loves it. Her face lights up when the first song (her favorite) starts to play. When I am changing her diaper or getting her dressed and she is fussing at the changing table, all I have to do is press play on the CD player in her room and she starts to laugh and coo. I highly recommend this CD, but you must find the words to all the songs online if you don't know them or can't decipher them because there are no lyrics with this CD. Definitely learn the words and sing along because the songs are great and babies love to hear you sing!

I understand there's a generation of American kids who grew up listening to this in French class. I sadly studied Spanish but picked this up as a grown-up and love it all the same. It's great for people learning French. When you think of it, half the purpose of children's songs is developing language skills, whatever the language. Anyway, I sing along with it in my car. Don't laugh -- I'll bet you will too.

We have fun singing these songs, but there is no insert with the words so we're a little lost.