cELLAbration DVD: a tribute to Ella Jenkins

A little while ago, I received an email from a representative of Sugar Mountain PR asking me if I wanted to receive free compact discs of children's music for possible review. I thought about the various discussions about the ethics of bloggers receiving gifts for book reviews, and made sure that I wasn't obligated to review any cds I received. I decided that as long as I always made it absolutely clear that I had received the media materials free from outside sources, there shouldn't be any conflicts of interest.

The representative who wrote to me noted that I was an Ella Jenkins fan, and sent me a free DVD copy of the cELLAbration! Ella Jenkins tribute concert performed at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, Maryland and organized by Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer. In the interest of being completely upfront with all of you, I also received some flyers plus a red harmonica put out by the Smithsonian Folksways Recordings with "Ella Jenkins" stamped on the top.

Lucia and I had listened to the cELLAbration! CD already, and especially enjoyed Sweet Honey in the Rock's rendition of "Did You Feed My Cow?" and Red Grammer's "Jambo." At 60 minutes plus special features, the DVD was a bit longer and more sprawling than the CD. At times, I was distracted by the fringed vests and silly hats of some of the performers. The Mariachi Los Camperos were just fine-- it was Riders in the Sky and Cathy & Marcy who were a bit overdressed for my taste. It was fun to see the non-verbal exchanges among the performers and Bill Harley's visually humorous introduction to Pete Seeger. The guest appearance of Ella Jenkins* herself was a pleasant surprise. However, the sudden appearance of the Hadrosaur from Hackensack (featured in a bonus track) in the finale was disconcerting and eerily evocative of Barney the Purple Dinosaur. I don't know about you, but no one in the House of Glee has ever been a fan of oversized puppets and costumes. (My family would not do well at Disneyland.)

The cELLAbration! DVD is scheduled for release on October 23, 2007. If you can get your hands on a copy, I'd recommend watching it in two shifts, with a break between Ella Jenkins' "I Know A City Called Okeechobee" and Bill Harley's "Milky Way."

*Follow the link to see the streaming video clip.

Song of the Week: Ring Around The Rosy Rag

According to Rise Up Singing, in 1968, after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, people in many cities expressed their grief and outrage in riots. Frank Rizzo, the Philadelphia police chief at that time, declared that any assembly of three or more people was a "riot." This particular "riot" about which Arlo Guthrie sings occured in Rittenberg Square.

I wish I could tell you that I grew up with this song because I listened to Alice's Restaurant when I was a little girl. In truth, my first exposure to both Ring Around a Rosy Rag (Track #3) and The Motorcyle Song (video!) was a children's paperback novel about the protagonist's friendship with a homeless girl in her class. It's called The Pickle Song, and it's by Barthe DeClements.

I transposed "Ring Around A Rosy Rag" from the key of C. Minh Le of Bottom Shelf Books is not going to like the B7 chord, but I didn't much care for the F chord. The chord progressions repeat for the chorus. The only thing that's slightly tricky is in the second verse, and I've rearranged two of the lines to indicate the rhythm.

RING AROUND THE ROSY RAG, by Arlo Guthrie

[G] I had a friend, a [B7] friend I could trust
[C] He went into the park and got busted
[G] Doing the [A] ring-a-round-a-rosy [D] rag
[G] Went in the park [B7] late at night
And he [C] put a lot of people over eighty up tight
He was [G] doing the [A] ring-a-round-a-[D] rosy [G] rag.

Chorus:
Ring around, ring around rose
Touch your nose and blow your toes and mind
Doing the ring-around-a-rosy rag (It really was a drag)
Ring around, ring-around-a-rose
Touch your nose and blow your toes and mind
Doing the ring-around-a-rosy rag.

[Insert instrumental fun here]

We ought to send Officer Joe Strange
To some Australian mountain range
So we all can do the ring-around-a-rosy rag-- would you
Like to put Philadelphia up tight, one mass
Ring-around-a-rosy in the middle of the night?
We all should do the ring-around-a-rosy rag.

Chorus

Kidfest update

I just found out that the Kidfest event where I'll present two storytimes is not going to be free after all. It's $7.50, which is the general fee for the Children's Museum. The Children's Museum is a non-profit organization, and I do know that they very much wanted the event to be free. The link for Kidfest '07 went up very recently, and the event is less than two weeks away. I'm lucky-- I only have to plan for my own hour for this event, whereas other people have to organize the entire three days.

Book, Book, Book-- Librarian!*

I met up with my fellow blogger, Book, Book, Book's, Els Kushner, shortly before she moved from Seattle, Washington, to Vancouver, British Columbia. However, the two cities are only 3 1/2 hours away from each other. This past weekend, the House of Glee drove up to Vancouver for a mini-vacation with my father (henceforth known as Papa Gleeful), Ulric and Ulric's girlfriend. Thanks to Papa Gleeful's foresight in planning an excursion that would get us out of Seattle, Bede got to meet up with the auntie with whom he'd not visited over 15 years, and I got to see Els again. I met up with Els at the Kids' Tent of the book and magazine festival called Word on the Street:



(Believe it or not, the weather is soggier in Vancouver than it is in Seattle.)

In addition to Book, Book, Book, Els now has a paid gig blogging for Scholastic. It's called Librarian Mom. Please visit her new blog and leave a comment or two.

*Meant to be read along the lines of "Duck, duck, duck-- goose!"

Poetry Friday: Swampland Lullaby

Here's another song for the Mitzi Drives the Bus EP:

Swampland Lullaby
Lyrics: Farida Dowler
Music: James Royce Shannon "Toora Loora Looral (That's an Irish Lullaby")

Over in the marshes
Many nights ago
The spring frog croaked his songs of love
With sweet tones from below.*
He couldn’t call with gusto
For the owls were on the wing--
With fine-tuned ears they’d hunt him,
So he softly had to sing:

Pi-po-pi-po-pi-po, Pi-po-pi-po-pie
Pi-po-pi-po-pi-po, the bugs and gnats do fly
The world is always hungry, someday we all shall die,
Pi-po-pi-po-pi-po, that’s a swampland lullaby.

Today's Poetry Friday Roundup (and you can join in too) is at AmoxCalli

*Recently changed from "tones so sweet and low" because spring peepers' calls are actually high pitched. You can listen to the "pi-po" of the spring peeper here.

Kidfest at the Seattle Children's Museum

This is a cross-posting from my Seattle storyteller gig website:

On Sunday, October 14 at 12 noon, I will present two storytimes geared for preschoolers and toddlers at Kidfest, the three day arts festival of the Seattle Children's Museum. Friday, October 12 focuses on the theatrical arts, Saturday, October 13 focuses on music, and Sunday, October 14 is storytelling day. The event is free to the general public costs $7.50, which is the general admission fee to the Children's Museum.

My plan is to present two different storytimes with a short break in-between so that caregivers and children could stay for one show or both, depending upon everyone's moods. Since my storytimes are right around the lunch hour, I recommend late morning snacks for everyone involved.

Here is the address for the Children's Museum:
305 Harrison St
Seattle, WA 98109
Telephone: (206) 441-1768

The Children's Museum is located in the Seattle Center, underneath the main food court and a short walk from the Seattle Children's Theatre and the Pacific Science Center. If you take the bus to Seattle Center, keep in mind that you're dealing with a Sunday schedule. If you come by car, plan to pay to park in the garage but congratulate yourself if you find free street parking.

I'm looking forward to finding out who else will be performing that day and meeting my audience. This is my first Seattle storytelling festival, and I'm delighted that it will be easily accessible to everyone-- or at least, those of you who will be in the Seattle area in mid-October. The rest of you may have to wait until I can make a storytelling video for you.

This post was updated on 10/02/07

September 2007 Carnival of Children's Literature

The September 2007 Carnival of Children's Literature is here! Actually, it's at Charlotte's Library. This carnival is called "Take a Ride on the Reading Railroad," and it's not to be missed.

For those who are wondering, "What exactly is a blog carnival?" Susan of Chicken Spaghetti has the answers.

Song of the Week: Dinosaurs in Cars

Since I just featured Nancy Stewart in yesterday's edition of Spinning Wheel, I thought it appropriate to feature one of Nancy's tunes for Song of the Week. I first heard a version of this song from my sister-in-law in 2001. She'd just had a baby eight months before and had learned "Dinosaurs in Cars" from the leader of her parent group. However, the song ended with one dinosaur and no resolution. My sister-in-law wondered where the song came from, and thought that perhaps it had been translated from another language. "It just stops in the middle and then goes on," she said.

A few years later, I bought Nancy's "Plant a Little Seed" cd and booklet set, which had the song my sister-in-law mentioned. Soon after, Nancy made it her song of the month, which you can listen to here and print out sheet music plus chords here. I sent it to my sister-in-law, who said, "No, this is not the song-- the tune was different." However, the words and music were indeed Nancy's compositions. Somewhere between Seattle, Washington, and Victoria, British Columbia, someone altered the tune and forgot the final verse.

Here are the lyrics:
There were five dinosaurs riding in cards
Havin a "wheely" good time
They said, "Step on the gas, we'll go really fast!"
And they did until one had a flat tire
Ca-chunk, ca-chunk, ca-chunk, ca-chunk
Whooosh---
And he said, "Go on without me!"

After counting down to one, the last dinosaur realizes that leaving his friends behind wasn't the only option after all. He fixes his car, picks up his friends, and they all go off having as much fun as before. However, now they are now a little bit the wiser for having figured out how to fix a flat tire. I am reminded of what Nancy told us in guitar clinic: Knowing how to change a tire on a car and a string on a guitar are two necessary life-skills.

Ahem. I have helped to change two flat-tires in my life, and one time I was the one holding the manual. As Bede lay on his back under the car, I said, "Now, the manual says to make sure you get the widget in the right place or the entire car will break into two parts."

If you need your guitar strings changed, I can definitely help you out with that project (and your guitar won't be at risk of breaking in half).

Spinning Wheel Part III: Nancy Stewart

Nancy Stewart leaps for joy

The singer, guitarist and songwriter Nancy Stewart and I had crossed paths a couple of times before we actually met. Nancy performed at a lot of libraries in both the King County Library System (where I worked) and the Seattle Public Library system. Also, we took the same storytelling workshop with Margaret Read MacDonald. In 2005, when I brought my two year old daughter to Nancy’s “Hooray For Washington!” program at our local library up the street, Nancy and I grinned at each other in recognition even though we had never formally met. That summer, my daughter and I became Nancy-groupies and attended five shows in two months. When I found out about Mother Goose Guitar, Nancy’s series of guitar lessons designed for grownups who work with children, I signed up.

Everyone who takes some version of the Mother Goose guitar course (there’s also an “advanced” class that focuses on strumming and finger-picking techniques) can attend her monthly guitar clinics to try out new songs, play old favorites, and get help changing guitar strings if needed. Nancy assures her students that the guitar clinic is a "no strings attached" affair, and that we can come even if we haven't picked up the guitar since the last clinic.

Nancy Stewart is more than a children’s performer. She is a continual source of ideas for teachers and librarians. Her website features a Song of the Month section complete with sheet music, activity ideas, and free mp3 downloads. If you’re looking for holiday music, you can find songs about Ramadan, Eid, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas and other holidays, as well as secular holiday songs that celebrate snow and twinkling lights (not that Seattleites get much of the former). Nancy also offers lots of songs about science: if you want to incorporate musically into your lessons the ways to identify the parts of an insect, the different layers of the earth’s crust, and various nocturnal animals, Nancy is your resource. In addition, Nancy has recorded a number of albums for children, including Oodles of Animals, Sing a Song of Science, Singin' Sidesaddle, and Goodnight, Sleep Tight (which my daughter repeatedly asks for before she goes to bed). If you're interested in purchasing any of Nancy's albums, you can order them from her shop or from independent bookstores like Island Books or All For Kids Books and Music.

Nancy Stewart says, “Being an entertainer is different than being a musician. I was so lucky to have spent nine years as lead guitarist and vocalist with a nationally known show band. I worked for Randy Sparks, creator of the New Christy Minstrels popular group in the 1960’s, operated the band like a business, and we had “rules” to insure consistency and professionalism. We worked at the best nightclubs and showrooms in the United States, which meant the audience was there to hear the music and be entertained, not dance or talk. We honed our skills and learned our craft well. I continue to use all that I learned from that experience; it doesn’t matter who your audience is if you are a true professional. I am very proud of that.”

The Spinning Wheel Interview

Saints and Spinners: What exactly do you do for a living?

Nancy Stewart: I write, perform and produce children’s music

S&S: How long have you been working in your chosen profession?

NS: I’ve been a children’s songwriter and performer for 26 years. Before that, I sang in nightclubs. My first professional job was singing in convalescent homes for a talent agency when I was 16.

S&S: What prompted you to perform for children?

NS: My son found his way out of his crib and got into mischief, while my husband slept! That marked the end of my nightclub career! Like the saying goes, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join em!” As I now like to say, “My children led me into my passion.” [Editor’s note: Nancy Stewart used to perform up to six shows a night.]

S&S: Why do you continue to do it?

NS: I continue to love it, and never run out of new ideas for songs to write or shows to create. Children keep me on my toes, and they appreciate every little thing you do. And adults who work with young children are the best!

S&S: Which performers are your inspirations for your work?

NS: James Taylor, Sting, Bonnie Raitt. This may seem funny, since these are not children’s performers, but music that moves me as a musician is what motivates me, whether I’m writing songs for children or adults... I actually try not to listen to other children’s musicians, because I don’t want to unconsciously copy them.

S&S:What are some of the things you enjoy doing outside of your profession?

NS: Spending time with my grown children, walking my dog, gardening, decorating, sewing

S&S:What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?

NS: When I was about 17, the professional group I sang with recorded the very first Mother Goose See’n Say toy for Mattell Toys. I never dreamed my life would come full circle with Mother Goose!

S&S: Was there ever a time when your audience surprised you? What happened?

NS: Children constantly surprise me. That’s the fun of it! It usually happens with my volunteers from the audience. Last week I had a four-year old come up to help me, and after I had her in place she said, “I have to go to the bathroom!” So I called for her grownup to come and get her, asked for another volunteer, and continued on. You never know what will happen! Children are very “stream of consciousness,” so it constantly makes for entertaining exchanges!


October 2005 concert at Pottery Barn Kids

S&S: What’s in heavy rotation on your stereo/iPod lately?

NS: Josh Groban and a compilation collection of songs called Acoustic Chill. I recently saw Josh Groban in concert, and he was amazing! His concert was professionally run in every way.

S&S: If you could headline a festival with three other performers, who would they be?

NS: My best friend and musical partner, Marylee Sunseri, Dennis and Lorraine of Tickle Tune Typhoon.


MaryLee and Nancy

S&S: What song for you never gets old?

NS: Sticky Sticky Bubblegum! I never get tired of it because children never get tired of it and ALWAYS request. It is the one song that ALWAYS works, no matter what kind of group I’m singing with. It seems almost to have a magic power! Of course it’s not a song I would ever sing without children around, but when you sing a song with children, the song becomes a vehicle that builds an instant relationship with you and them.

The Pivot Questionnaire is a set of questions popularized on “The Actor’s Studio" and introduced to me through Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. I pose the questions here:

What is your favorite word?
Excellent! – It’s just fun to say, and makes you happy to say it.

What is your least favorite word?
Stupid

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
Music!

What turns you off?
People being mean to each other or animals

What is your favorite curse word? (optional)
Let’s not even go there!

What sound or noise do you love?
The sound of my family (my children and relatives) at bi-weekly family dinners

What sound or noise do you hate?
Big trucks in the middle of the night

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
I wouldn’t do anything else, especially since I get to do so many different things in my business.

What profession would you not like to do?
Work in a factory doing the same thing over and over. I am SO grateful there are people willing to do that necessary work!

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Would you like to see you mom and dad again?

Michaelmas: September 29

From a German manuscript, circa 1300

Next Saturday, September 29, is the feast of Michaelmas. The day commemorates the archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael and their victory in casting the dragon (that is, the Devil) out of Heaven. Some universities in the United Kingdom use Michaelmas as the name of the first school term, too.

Lucia's school holds a Michaelmas festival every year to welcome the arrival of Autumn. Grownups and older children press fresh apple cider, bake bread and cook hearty root vegetable soups. Outside, the school-yard hosts a number of different games with the theme of "defeating the dragon." Unless the weather is absolutely miserable, families and friends share picnic blankets and eat dinner together. Lucia is looking forward to wearing the new apple-print dress for Michaelmas that I made at her request.


The old apple dress (now too small in the bodice)

Lucia's teacher sent out an email this morning with a description of the Michaelmas festival in the Waldorf school tradition:

Michaelmas is an old European harvest festival that is celebrated in Waldorf schools around the Western World. The story behind the festival is, briefly, that a dragon wanders the earth, devastating life on earth. St. George, with the help of the Archangel Michael, defeats the dragon, bringing peace to the earth and its inhabitants. The dragon can be seen in the process of the earth (in most places including Seattle in most years) at this time of year when the crops are ripe and mostly harvested, the rains have not fallen for months, the earth is dried and scorched and it seems as though the rains and winter will never come again. In the past people had to wonder at this time if the crops still growing would be brought in before the rains fell, if what they harvested would last through the long winter- who would survive? Who would not? In addition to this, autumn is often the time when our own inner dragons, who have been slumbering away during the lazy and fun days of summer, rear their ugly heads again. It is with the courage and might of Michael that we conquer our own inner dragons that we may go into the solitude and slumber of the winter in tact and with a certain amount of inner peace.

I looked online for various ways in which to celebrate Michaelmas with food, and decided that while we wouldn't cook a goose this year, I could make something with blackberries (tradition has it that the Devil landed on blackberry brambles after he was kicked out of Heaven, thereby rendering the fruit inedible) and something akin to a St. Michael's bannock. I appreciate Michaelmas as the festival to mark the beginning of Autumn. I can tell that people are itching for some sort of celebration by the proliferation of Halloween candy that appeared right after Labor Day. If you are so inclined, I encourage you to create a Michaelmas party of your own. And yes, all you Oktoberfest fans, I'm sure beer as well as hard cider will be fitting beverages for the grownups.


Aster novi-belgii, a.k.a. Michaelmas daisies

This post was updated at 8:00 am.

Planning ahead

Yesterday, Lucia told me, "When I am a woman, and Bhanu is a man, I am going to marry Bhanu" [a boy in her classroom].

I replied, "If you and Bhanu want to get married when you're grown up, you have my blessing. What does getting married mean?" Lucia was quiet. "Does it mean living in the same house?" I asked.

"Yes," Lucia replied.

"Does it mean having babies?"

".... NO!" Lucia replied. She clarified: "I will be the bride and Bhanu will be the groom and Mary will be the flower-girl."

At this point, it's all about the pagentry. After having been one of seven flower-girls at a wedding this spring, Lucia was incredulous that Bede and I did not have a flower-girl at our wedding. Sometimes I suspect that she feels sorry for us.

Shrinking Violet Promotions contest results

I won third place in the Shrinking Violet Promotions blog contest to change a book or song title into something from an introvert's perspective. Check out the comments section in the original post. I was amused.

Two story snippets

Here's the beginning of a blog post I started last September:

Today, while getting a filling replaced, I had two story ideas. One idea is a dramatic science-fiction comedy in which the main character is dentist to the aliens. This is a night-time secret job, of course. The other idea is an "ER" styled drama that takes place in a hospital in the Middle Ages. Of course, it could also easily be a comedy a la M*A*S*H.

If either idea catches your fancy, please feel free to use it. Just be sure to write a "thank you" to me in the acknowledgements page of your novel!

Mighty Mo Willems

After I dropped Lucia off at school this morning, I headed over the Bellevue Regional Library to attend a book-reading with author/illustrator Mo Willems. When it was my turn to have I am Invited to a Party! signed, I gave Mo my photoshopped picture of Aquamo (follow the link to find out why). He laughed, and said, "Now I am very scared of you." After he signed the book to Lucia, he asked if I was a blogger and said, "I love the bloggers. Say nice things about me!"

Song of the Week: Wild, Wild Party in the Loquat Tree

Loquat fruit

I used to be a moderately enthusiastic Indigo Girls fan. I bought their first two albums and played them regularly in the college dorms. Somewhere around "Rites of Passage" I lost interest. With the exception of the Dire Straits' cover of "Romeo and Juliet" plus the delightfully weird "Chickenman," the album just made me feel cranky.

Then, a quartet of friends in college performed the song "Wild, Wild Party in the Loquat Tree," written by Rand Bishop and performed by the Indigo Girls. I was a fan again, at least for that song. That "wild wild party" was as good as the one that took place in the Quangle-Wangle's Hat. Listen for yourself:

Put On Your Green Shoes (track 3)
or
Mary Had a Little Amp (track 11)

I found guitar chords for the song here. However, I'm not convinced. Here's what I've got, but be warned-- my guitar teacher often corrects my song interpretations:

[A] Out in the back by the grape stake fence
Is a place where nature makes [Em-A] so much sense
[A] All the creatures livin' in harmony
It's a wild wild party in the [Em-D-A] loquat tree

[A]Fuzzies and furries run walk or fly
Havin' a feast beneath a [Em-A] clear blue sky
[A]Animals comin' from miles around
To bounce the branch and shake the [Em-D-A] loquat down

The squirrel and the sparrow and the mouse and the [Em] bee
[A]All havin' a party in the [Em-D-A] loquat tree
[A] Eatin' all the yellow fruit they can see
It's a wild wild party in the [Em-D-A] loquat tree

[D]Peckin' at 'em pickin' at 'em [G]hidin' 'em [D]away
[A]Savin' 'em up for a [Em-D-A] rainy day
[D]No matter how big no matter [G D] how small
[A]There's more than enough there's [Em] plenty for [A] all ...

Chords played over spoken part:
[A]chatter, chirp, squeak, [Em] buzz x3
[A]chatter, chirp, squeak, [Em-D-A] buzz