World Playground

Putumayo Presents | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 17, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Putumayo World Music
• ASIN: B00000JT4P
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,223 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #1 in Music > Indie Music > Children's Music > General
  • #2 in Music > Indie Music > World Music > General
  • #50 in Music > World Music

Track Listings

1. I Am Fatou - Toure Kunda

2. The Butterfly - Colibri

3. Three Little Birds - Cedella Marley Booker & Taj Mahal (Jamaica)

4. Waltzing Matilda - Trevor Adamson

5. Home By Barna - Teresa Doyle

6. Mardi Gras Mambo - Buckwheat Zydeco

7. Tik Tik Tik - Glykeria

8. Bongo Bong - Manu Chao

9. Boom Boom Tarara - Ricardo Lemvo/Makina Loca

10. Good Morning To You - Nazare Pereira

11. Memories Of Africa - Shlomo Gronich & The Sheba Choir

12. Just Keep Goin' On - Eric Bibb/Needed Time

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This anthology of children-related tracks originates from the globally conscious Putamayo Records catalog. Artists from Africa (Senegal's Touré Kunda, Congo's Ricardo Lemvo), Europe (France's Manu Chao), the Caribbean (Jamaica's Cedella Marley Booker), North America (Buckwheat Zydeco and Eric Bibb from the U.S.; Canada's Teresa Doyle), South America (Brazil's Nazaré Pereira), and Australia (Trevor Adamson) offer tracks, and while the styles and moods vary, the album gels excellently. Even if the multicontinent angle strikes you as too catholic, it bears reiterating that this is a "playground" session, a collection that begins with a Senegalese in-line dance and continues through "Mardi Gras Mambo," a bongo-playing French monkey, and much more. And while the songs are playful, there's nothing in the way of tossed-off music. It's all first-rate, with the artists at the top of their games. --Andrew Bartlett

Product Description

A collection of world music for kids that takes children and their families on an inspiring musical and cultural journey around the world.

See all Editorial Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderfully eclectic mix of music for children and parents September 14, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Audio CD

What a wonderful mix of rhythms and styles, languages and tunes! My 15 month old loves to dance to Fatu Yo, the song from Senegal. It is a pleasure to find a children's album that isn't sacchrine or monotonous. It is a delight!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun listening! March 21, 2000

By Jan

Format:Audio CD

I'm a preschool music teacher in the D.C. area, and I occasionally do in-store programs for area bookstores. One store asked me to put together a program using the Putomayo World Playground CD, since it had just been released. I had a hard time deciding what songs to feature, since my daughters (age 9 and 12) and I liked so many selections. Our favorites were Mardi Gras Mambo (which I used in preschool classes around Mardi Gras time, complete with shakers and masks!), and Boom Boom Tarara -- great rhythm for dancing and rhythm instruments. Actually, we also LOVED the slow version, in Aboriginese, of Waltzing Matilda -- we made up a dance, and our Junior Girl Scout troop used this music for an international program. Everyone loved it! The CD is packed with danceable music, and even babies and toddlers will respond to the exciting rhythms and melodies. Lots of fun, and not the same-old-thing for kids to listen to -- we LOVE World Playground!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Introduction to World Music for Young and Old Alike January 10, 2001

By Ibochild

Format:Audio CD

This is a great CD to foster an interest in world music for young people at home or in the classroom. It is also good to promote an appreciation for other cultures.

The collection of songs are very diverse and are sung in an array of languages. In addition to the four songs sung in English, you'll also hear songs sung in Spanish (two of them), Mandingo, Pitjantjatjara (an Aboriginal language), Greek, Portuguese and Hebrew.

The extensive liner notes take you through each song complete with lyrics and a story behind the song. If the song is not sung in English, the lyrics are provided both in English and the original language.

The liner notes are written in plain English, so that elementary school age children can understand them. For example, "Three Little Birds," performed by blues legend Taj Mahal and Cedella Marley Booker (Bob Marley's mother) is described as "a reggae song about three birds who sing a song of hope." [Of course the same song was made popular in the 1970's by Bob Marley & the Wailers.] Unusual words include pronounciation and many songs include a glossary as well. So not only can a child sing along, but her or she can learn what a "tuckerbag" (food sack) is or learn to pronounce Pitjantjatjara (piddin-JAH-ra).

Now what about the music you say? It's all first-rate. For little kids, the best tracks are probably, "Three Little Birds" and "Bongo Bong." The latter was recorded by Manu Chao from France (but recorded in English). Older kids might appreciate "Tik Tik Tik," sung in Greek by Glykeria. It describes the nervous feeling one has when he or she becomes infatuated with someone.

What's also nice about this CD is the diversity of themes. There are light and playful songs, but there are also ones with a more somber tone. For example, "Zichronot M'Africa" (Memories of Africa), sung by Shlomo Gronich and the Sheba Choir (in Hebrew), tells the story of Ethiopian Jews who were flown in huge airlifts to Israel during 1991's "Operation Solomon."

In short, "World Playground" will entertain and inform your child about the world. Adults will also get a lot out of the CD and may learn new things as well. I certainly did. What a joy to make a discovery with a child? Seriously consider taking this musical journey.